The science behind a climate headline

Today we discussed what makes a source credible.  We compared the two editorials you read for the info lit assignment and you had to defend an article's credibility.   At the end of class we watched the four minute TED talk on The Science Behind a Climate Headline.

Homework and a Reminder: Your 3-2-1-R is due Sunday by 8PM.  On Tuesday you will have a mini-mental inventory on global warming and climate change.  Review your notes and handouts.  This will be a way for me to see what you have retained about climate change and global warming.

Owl Pellet and Energy Pyramid Recap

Today we recapped the owl pellet lab and made connections with what we saw and how energy moves through an ecosystem.  We emphasized that no energy transformation can be 100% complete because much of what an organism eats is used to keep the organism alive.  What isn't used for growth, reproduction, daily activities etc., can also be lost as heat.

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/l/loom/wk%2014/energy%20pyramid.jpg

Homework: Your info lit on climate change is due tomorrow.

Owl Pellet Dissection

Today students dissected owl pellets.  We found voles, mice and even a pocket gopher!  Below is a picture of a skull and mandibles that Kobe found.  Can you figure out what animal this belonged to?

So what was the point of this lab?  We were able to see how no energy transfer is 100% complete as we move up through the trophic levels.  Consider the cow pictured below.  How much energy is actually left in its tissues out of the 100kJ it consumes?

There's only 4kJ left in the cow's tissue!   So here's something to think about, based on the picture above and what you know about mass meat production:  Why do people say that a  vegetarian diet is more eco-friendly?   Here's a story from Radio Boston about what it takes to make your meat.

Homework:  Your info lit packet is due on Saturday.

Info Literature

Yesterday we met with Mrs. Harding, from the Bunn Library, who spoke with us on how to critically assess where our sources of information on the internet come from.   On Saturday you need to turn in the completed Info Lit packet that you received in class.

On Thursday we will be getting an up close and personal look at just how matter is transferred through the food chain.

Mental Inventory

Today you had your first major assessment of the year on photosynthesis, energy and the scientific method.

Homework: You have a 3-2-1-R due on Sunday by 8PM and you need to finish the post lab questions for 'testing a hypothesis.'  I will collect the testing a hypothesis questions at the start of class on Tuesday.

Global Warming Day 2

Today we revisited global warming and climate change. Our two main questions for today were:

1. How does an increase in carbon dioxide lead to an increase in global temperature?
Solar radiation hits the Earth and some of it is absorbed and some is reflected back into space.  Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which means that it re-reflects this energy back to the Earth.

Image from:  http://www.nps.gov/goga/naturescience/images/Greenhouse-effect.jpg 

This reflection back to Earth can lead warmer temperatures.  As the oceans get warmer, more ice melts, as more ice melts, there is less ice to reflect the light away from the Earth, as more....well, you get the idea.

image from:   http://www.350resources.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/iceposfeedbacksmall2.jpg 

This is an example of a positive feedback loop.

2. What are the impacts of a change in temperature on living things?
Here's the list of things you came up with in class to answer this question:
* As temperature increases, it pushes on the zones of tolerance of organisms.  This can impact their niche.
* Changes in temperature can impact migration patters of organims
* Tangle food webs but putting stress on areas that weren't stressed before --> boom and bust of populations
* Impact geography (ice melt)

Homework: Study for your mental inventory tomorrow!

Testing a hypothesis

Today we tested your hypothesis about plankton in the pond.  On September 17th, you submitted the following:

THIS IS OUR HYPOTHESIS (PERIOD E).

We could test the amount of plankton in shady areas and sunny areas to determine if the shade makes a difference on the photosynthetic phytoplankton and the zooplankton that eat the phytoplankton.

So, our hypothesis is…

If the amount of shade increases, then the amount of plankton in that area will decrease because the phytoplankton need sun to photosynthesize and the zooplankton stay where the phytoplankton are so they can eat the phytoplankton.

Below is the data we collected, because we needed to share the waders, we didn't get to sample site three (you also have a link to the data in your email).

The post lab questions are due in class on Tuesday.

Climate Change

We hear the words "climate change" and "global warming" all the time, but what do these terms actually mean?  Are these terms synonymous? No!  Global warming is NOT synonymous with climate change.  We started today off by discussing what you know about each of these topics and one of you admitted, "well they aren't what I thought they were...."

The Earth's climate is changing and "Global surface temperatures have increased about 0.74°C (plus or minus 0.18°C) since the late–19^thcentury (NOAA, 2012).  One of the causes of this an increase in greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide and methane.  To help us visualize greenhouse gasses, we watched the clip "None Like It Hot."  Part of being a good scientists is being able to distinguish facts from opinion, and from that clip you gleaned that greenhouse gasses trap "Mr. Sunbeam" that would otherwise radiate back into space.  You can see what actually happens to photons here. 

How much CO2 is in the atmosphere and how much able to be removed through photosynthesis?  Check out the climate change bathtub simulation below.

Click to get to the simulation

Why does this matter?  How will this affect what lives where and why?  Some turtles sex is determined by the temperature of its surroundings while it is in development.  For birds, an increase in temperature can change their migratory patterns. 

You examined a version of this data today.  What are these two graphs telling us about predator-prey relationships and the effect of climate change?

Homework: Complete all of the remaining questions in the Ecology questions packet.

Building on the Concept Map and Testing a Hypothesis Preview

Today we built on the concept map we made yesterday in class.  Each of you received a copy of the map below.  It was your job to build on this map, what other things can you add?  There are definitely lines missing that can show relationships between things on this map.

Concept map for 2FS from ilanasaxe

We finished the class previewing the Testing a Hypothesis Lab which we will be doing on Thursday.

Niche Review and Concept Map

Today we took time to review your homework on niche and zones of tolerance.  We then spent some time in class making a concept map of what we know about what affects 'what lives where and why.'

Photosynthesis Gizmo!

Today we worked as a class to investigate how manipulating the various variable would affect the rate of photosynthesis in a plant.  Here are just a few of the things we learned:

* When we conduct an experiment, we can only change one variable at a time, otherwise we can't be sure what caused the change.
* Plants have an optimal range of wavelengths of light for conducting photosynthesis
* Temperature can affect how much dissolved oxygen is in water

Homework:  Answer the questions in the Niche packet.   Below is the color version of the figure on page 4 of the packet.  Remember: You are to work for 30 minutes, then make a note of how far you got.  Then work for 15 more minutes (generally you would only have 30 minutes of homework, but you only have two classes tomorrow).

Cellular Respiration and Energy Transformations

Today we went over the basics of cellular respiration, reviewed the homework and discussed why energy transformations are never 100% efficient.

Homework for Wednesday: Answer questions: 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 and 21 in the Ecology homework packet.  The directions at the top of the first page will tell you what you need to read.

Below is a diagram that sums up the relationship between cellular respiration and photosynthesis:

http://elinow-bioreview2.wikispaces.com/file/view/cycle.gif/191496710/cycle.gif

Energy Pyramid:  http://im.glogster.com/media/5/20/38/74/20387412.gif 

Photosynthesis

As we discovered on Thursday the pond is filled with phytoplanton that perform a process called photosynthesis.  Today we learned more about this processes as well as practiced identifying the independent and dependent variables in an experiment.

Homework due Tuesday:
Read pages 136-139 and answer questions 1,2,3, 4 and 7,8,9 from the 2FS Ecology Homework packet.

Reminder: Your 3-2-1 is due by Sunday at 8PM.

Here's the song we watched in class to give us an overview of Photosynthesis.

Evaluating data and van Helmholt

Today we looked for patterns in our data from the Sampling the Environment lab yesterday.  For homework  finish the post lab questions.  You have been emailed a link with the class data in a google doc.

In discussing our sampling yesterday we discovered that not everyone used the exact same method.  This led us to a discussion of controls and variables.  After warming up with some Simpson's variable problems, we got down to business used the Van Helmholt worksheet to look controls and variables in relation to photosynthesis.  If you did not finish the van Helmholt worksheet in class you need to finish that as well.


Reminder: On Sunday, your 3-2-1 reflections are due.

Sampling the Environment

Phytoplankton
from: http://tinyurl.com/btt2jjc 

Today we went out to the pond to collect quantitative data about the disolved oxygen (D.O.) levels and temperature of the pond.  We also made qualitative observations about the types of plankton that were collected using the plankton tows.

For homework: Complete the questions on pages 1 and 2 of the lab handout.  You do not need to complete the last question on page 2.   In case your paper got too wet during the lab, the questions are posted below.

Tomorrow we will look at our data and begin to discuss how what we saw can relate to the use of energy in the pond.

Questions due tomorrow:
1. Why should the estimated linear distance of your tows be equal?
2. Why do we care about long-term data on pond plankton?
3. Why do we care about the pond's DO levels?
4. Why do we care about the pond's temperature?
5. Each sampling point was sampled more than once (by different people in the canoes, and some groups).  Why did we sample multiple times?

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data

Today we spent time discussing your first homework.  The big thing we learned is how important it is to really READ the directions for an assignment.  On Thursday we have our first lab.  We went over how to use the equipment and dress properly for lab.

Homework:  Complete the lab safety contract.  You must bring this completed to class.