1. Starter: What is an ecosystem? Application: StemScopes Worksheet13
Levels of Organization 14
Levels of Organization
8/31/15
8/31/15
EQ: Explain the levels of organization in living organisms
Starter:
What is an ecosystem?
Application:
StemScopes Worksheet
Connection/Exit:
Your parents are not home and you are required to make dinner for everyone. What steps would you take to make a spaghetti dinner, starting with the least important to the most important Then explain how leaving out one of those steps could change what you make.
Practice:
Notes

2. Table of Contents Date Lecture/ Activity/ Lab Page
8/27 Syllabus /Notebook Guidelines 1-2
8/ Periodic Table/ Formula 3-4
8/27 Language Scripts and Quickwrites 5-6
8/ Lab Report/ Safety Equipment
8/ Testing a hypothesis
8/ Levels of Organization

3. Starter
Ecosystems
Re-write your definition if needed

4. Practice
Ecosystems Notes

5. Populations vs. Communities
What is the difference between a biological population and a biological community?
A biological population is “a group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time,” while a biological community is “a group of interdependent organisms living and interacting with each other in the same habitat.”
Biology Community Definition quoted from: Biology online biological community. (25, March 2009). Retrieved from
Biological Population Definition quoted from: Biology online population. (2008, July 27). Retrieved from Biology online. (2007, December 24). Retrieved from

6. Limiting Factors Do populations often grow exponentially?
What are limiting factors?
Limiting factors are any factors (things) that affect an organism’s ability to survive in its environment. These factors affect population growth.
Examples?
Availability of food and water, predators, temperature, space/shelter, and disease
Discuss the first question with students, then move onto the concept of limiting factors. Students should note that usually populations are not able to continue growing exponentially. You may need to explain the concept of exponential growth, depending upon students background in this concept in math class. Ask students to name possible examples first, before showing them the answer.
Paraphrased definitions from: Biology online. (2007, December 24). Retrieved from

7. Density-Dependent Factors
What are density-dependent factors?
Factors that depend upon the size of the population. These factors will have an increasing effect as the population size increases.
Examples?
Availability of food and water, competition, predators, and disease
Discuss this with students before showing them the answer, see if they can come up with a reasonable definition based on their knowledge of the word “dependent.” Again, ask students to think of examples before showing them the examples on this PowerPoint.
Paraphrased definitions from: Biology online. (2007, December 24). Retrieved from

8. Competition What is competition?
Competition is “a symbiotic relationship between or among living things for resources, such as food, space, shelter, mate, ecological status, etc.”.
Examples?
Trees that grow very close together vie for sunlight and soil nutrients, lions and tigers that vie for similar prey, and a farm of rice paddies with weeds
growing in the field
Again, discuss with students first, before showing them the “right answer.”
Competition definition quoted from: Biology online competition. (27, April 2010). Retrieved from

9. Competition
What happens to competition between individuals as population size increases?
Competition will also increase.
If the demand for resources exceeds the supply, then the population size will eventually decrease.
Again, discuss with students first, before showing them the “right answer.”

10. Density-Independent Factors
What are density-independent factors?
Factors that are not dependent upon the size of the population and can affect any population.
Examples?
Temperature, weather (storms, floods, drought), and habitat disruption by humans
Again, discuss with students before showing the answer; they may be able to determine a good definition based on their knowledge of the word “independent.”
Paraphrased definitions from: Biology online. (2007, December 24). Retrieved from

11. Carrying Capacity
Ask students to interpret this graph, then lead a discussion on carrying capacity. The formal definition is on the following slide. “t” is time, “N” is number of individuals, and “K” is carrying capacity. At first, the population grows well, as resources are abundant, then as the population reaches it’s carrying capacity (limit), the growth of the population slows and will stay at a steady rate unless there is a disruption such as disease, storm, etc.
Image citation: Cephas. (Designer). (2009). Carrying capacity 2. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from

12. Carrying Capacity
Carrying capacity is the “largest number of individuals of a particular species that can survive over long periods of time in a given environment.”
Why is knowing carrying capacity important to ecologists?
Discuss the importance of carrying capacity with students. They will likely come up with a variety of responses possibly including the following: it helps establish hunting restrictions/freedoms, it helps those at wildlife sanctuaries determine the right number of individuals for an area.
Carrying Capacity Definition quoted from: Biology online carrying capacity. (14, June 2006). Retrieved from

13. Stemscope worksheet reading and Writing
Application
Stemscope worksheet reading and Writing

14. Connection/Exit
Your parents are not home and you are required to make dinner for everyone. What steps would you take to make a spaghetti dinner, starting with the least important to the most important Then explain how leaving out one of those steps could change what you make.

15. Starter: What is an ecosystem? Application: StemScopes Worksheet13
Levels of Organization 14
Levels of Organization
8/31/15
8/31/15
EQ: Explain the levels of organization in living organisms
Starter:
What is an ecosystem?
Application:
StemScopes Worksheet
Connection/Exit:
Your parents are not home and you are required to make dinner for everyone. What steps would you take to make a spaghetti dinner, starting with the least important to the most important Then explain how leaving out one of those steps could change what you make.
Practice:
Notes