Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

These two lessons (Chapter 2 Lesson 4 and Lesson 5) are part of a unit developed by the American Museum of Natural History, the Lawrence Hall of Science SEPUP Program, and the University of Connecticut. The unit follows the 5E model (Engage, Explore, ...

This lesson (Chapter 2 Lesson 3) is part of a unit developed by the American Museum of Natural History, The Lawrence Hall of Science SEPUP Program, and the University of Connecticut. The unit follows the 5E model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, ...

   The Ecosystems unit is one of six unit in the Carbon TIME curriculum, which focus on carbon-transforming processes from the molecular scale to the global scale.  Ecosystems are larger systems where carbon-transforming processes ...

This resource is an interactive model showing the role of soil in the carbon cycle.   Using arrows to represent the cycling of the carbon through the soil under a variety of conditions, it gives a visual depiction of the process.  Stud ...

In this two-part lesson, students develop food webs and investigate human impacts on marine ecosystems. In Part I, students explore the ecological role of organisms in an ocean habitat and use information provided on Food Web Cards to develop food ch ...

A resource specifically aimed to improve the content knowledge of an educator who plans to teach about the flow of matter and energy in ecosystems. Gives thorough explanation through text, graphics, and animations of all relevant ideas and how all of ...

In this series of games, your students will learn how organisms consume and transfer energy in an ecosystem. The Food Webs in an Ecosystem learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic perf...

This modeling sequence allows students to explore how factors, both environmental and otherwise, can affect the relationships within an ecosystem through changes in population size.

This activity uses a mix of multimedia resources and hands-on activities to support a storyline of investigation into melting sea and land ice.

This classroom activity is aimed at an understanding of different ecosystems by understanding the influence of temperature and precipitation. Students correlate graphs of vegetation vigor with those of temperature and precipitation data for four dive...

This activity illustrates the carbon cycle using an age-appropriate hook, and it includes thorough discussion and hands-on experimentation. Students learn about the geological (ancient) carbon cycle; they investigate the role of dinosaurs in the carb...

This video introduces phytoplankton - the base of the marine food web, the source of half of the oxygen on Earth, and an important remover of CO2 from the atmosphere. The video also explains how satellites are used to monitor phytoplankton and how wa...

In this activity, students conduct a life cycle assessment of energy used and produced in ethanol production, and a life cycle assessment of carbon dioxide used and produced in ethanol production.

This is a hands-on inquiry activity using zip-lock plastic bags that allows students to observe the process of fermentation and the challenge of producing ethanol from cellulosic sources. Students are asked to predict outcomes and check their observa...

This short activity provides a way to improve understanding of a frequently-published diagram of global carbon pools and fluxes. Students create a scaled 3-D visual of carbon reservoirs and the movement of carbon between reservoirs.

In this 3-part lab activity, students investigate how carbon moves through the global carbon cycle and study the effects of specific feedback loops on the carbon cycle.

In this experiment, students investigate the importance of carbon dioxide to the reproductive growth of a marine microalga, Dunalliela sp. (Note that the directions are for teachers and that students protocol sheets will need to be created by teacher...

In this activity, students explore the role of combustion in the carbon cycle. They learn that carbon flows among reservoirs on Earth through processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, combustion, and decomposition, and that combustion of fossil ...

This animated video outlines Earth's energy. The video presents a progression from identifying the different energy systems to the differences between external and internal energy sources and how that energy is cycled and used.

In this activity, students explore the way that human activities have changed the way that carbon is distributed in Earth's atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere.

This video highlights specific climate change-related phenomena that are threatening the flora and fauna of Yellowstone National Park.

Four secondary lessons that accompany the documentary film, Ocean Frontiers II. Part 2 of a 3-part set for the film series.

Students are introduced to the Dust Bowl as an historic event that indicates human impact on soils. (Phenomenon presentation is in a separate file.) Characteristics of soils are discovered and potential solutions are elicited for how to avoid a simil...

Carbon is an essential building block for life. Learning how carbon is converted through slow- and fast-moving cycles helps us understand how this life-sustaining element moves through the environment. Discover how NASA measures carbon through both ...

Learn how the atoms in our bodies were created in star supernovas and neutron star collisions during the evolution of the Universe and how those atoms are shared among plants and animals during the history of Planet Earth..

An animated video illustrating how carbon atoms are transferred from a T-Rex to a Saurolophus.