1. Population Density Activity Exactly how pristine are the lawns of South?

2. The Big Idea We frequently hear about the results of nationwide polls: – “64% of Americans prefer crunchy to smooth peanut butter.” But did they actually poll everyone in America? – Nope. You didn’t get a call, did you? So what’s actually happening is they asked a (hopefully) sufficiently large group of people and then generalized to everyone.

3. The Big Idea We’ll be doing the same thing for the plants on the front lawn of CB South. Each group will get a 1 m 2 quadrat, which is simply a PVC plastic frame. We’ll take it along with a meter stick out to the front lawn and randomly your group will select some grass space to sample. We’ll then generalize your group’s results, along with the rest of the class’s data, to understand the various population densities of non-grass plants on South’s front lawn.

4. The Procedure Lay down your quadrat. Using the meter stick, measure out an imaginary rectangle that only covers the top 10 cm of your quadrat. Record on Page 1 the plants, rocks, et cetera that are growing there. – Pay close attention to our focal species shown on the next page. – Use their appropriate symbols to plot their locations. Move the meter stick down another 10 cm and repeat the process.

5. The Data Analysis Once you’re done, we’ll come in, combine data from all groups and perform an aggregate analysis. Important: The two tables on Page 3 will contain different information. – Table 1 will show how many plants of each type your group found. – Table 2 will show how many plants of each type the class found and the total density per 1 m 2.

6. Focal Species http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/Plants/Commono%20Dandelion/060.JPG Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major) http://www.organic-lawn-care-guide.com/images/plantain.jpg Buckhorn Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) White Clover (Trifolium repens) http://www.cnseed.org/wp-content/uploads/White%20Clover.jpg http://weedsinlawn.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/buckhorn-plantain.jpg

7. Other Species http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X_OYfED5FOU/TCN5YQXwY1I/AAAAAAAAAAM/_aMJ7F0uAE8/s1600/DSCN8522.JPG Prostrate Knotweed (Polygonum aviculare) http://www.uaex.edu/yard-garden/images/weed_id/chickweed_common.jpg Chickweed (Stellaria media)