This illustrated guide is designed to help students recognize and learn the different parts of a flower. The single Web page can be easily printed for use at field sites.
This illustrated guide (dorsal view) to a male spider is designed to help students recognize and learn its common and unique body parts. The single Web page, which can be easily printed for use at field sites or in the lab, also includes a short description for the following labeled parts: chelicera pedipalp anterior eye row posterior eye row cephalothorax (or prosoma) pedicel abdomen (or opisthosoma) spinnerets coxa trochanter femur patella tibia metatarsus tarsus.
This illustrated guide (ventral view) to a female spider is designed to help students recognize and learn its common and unique body parts. The single Web page, which can be easily printed for use at field sites or in the lab, also includes a short description for the following labeled parts: chelicera fang endite labium sternum coxa lung slit epigynum spinnerets.
This illustrated guide to a grasshopper is designed to help students recognize and learn the body parts of an insect. The single Web page, which can be easily printed for use at field sites or in the lab, also includes a short description for the following labeled parts: head thorax antenna abdomen spiracles coxa trochanter femur tibia tarsus genitalia wings.
In this video segment from Cyberchase, a plant expert shows Bianca the patterns and symmetry found in nature.
This video segment adapted from the NOW-RAMP 2002 Expedition documents a research expedition to Pearl and Hermes Atoll in Hawai`i. Watch as biologists assess the bird and plant populations and then work to eradicate invasive species.
This Web site takes an in-depth look at pearls. It contains information on how both natural and imitation pearls are created, the freshwater and marine mollusks that are the source of pearls, and examines how pearls became important symbols of wealth, status, and religious beliefs, as well as how mother-of-pearl shells had an even higher value for some cultures.
This article introduces the 17 species of penguins and shows how a study of penguin habitats and life cycles can fulfill national science content standards for K-grade 5. The author provides links to web resources and suggests books. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.
In this video from Outdoor Nevada, Brian Wignall speaks with an ornithologist about the peregrine falcon, a majestic and endangered species that is one of the fastest animals in the world.
In this video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!", geologist Peter Ward discusses evidence for a Permian-Triassic mass extinction.
In this minds-on activity, students analyze the relationships between photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and the production and use of ATP. Students learn that sugar molecules produced by photosynthesis are used for cellular respiration and for the synthesis of other organic molecules. Thus, photosynthesis contributes to plant metabolism and growth. The optional final section challenges students to explain observed changes in biomass for plants growing in the light vs. dark. This activity helps students meet the Next Generation Science Standards.
This video segment from Nature profiles a small business in which homing pigeons play a central role.
In this problem-based learning activity, students are presented with the scenario that they are representatives of an organization that is tasked with evaluating the potential effects of a warming climate on New England forests. Student worksheets, teacher guide, and assessment rubric are included. The resource is part of Forests: A Sticky Situation, from the lesson series The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.
This online article, from Biodiversity Counts, offers insight into how plants interact with arthropods. It has: an explanation of the difference between detrimental and mutually beneficial relationships; some of the chemical and mechanical modifications plants have made to attract helpful arthropods and fend off harmful ones; a detailed overview of pollination, with descriptions of seven common pollination syndromes; a detailed overview of plant defense mechanisms; and a series of questions students can ask when they see an arthropod on a plant in order to learn more about how the two are interacting.
The unit is designed to be completed in six or more sessions. The comprehensive curriculum materials contain information for teachers, including activity tips and an overview of the many varied reasons that plant life flourishes in one plot but not another. Students speculate on why plants are more abundant in some areas of the site than others. They list factors that might account for the differences, such as temperature, humidity, light, soil, rainfall, wind, and human or animal activity, and figure out how they can collect more data on these factors. They discuss why it might be important to take a count of all the individual plants in each plot and develop a plan for conducting the field study. A reading selection describes how scientists count plants and gives students tips for conducting their own survey. Students then count plants and record their data. Several optional activities are provided.
This unit on plant identification helps students prepare for their fieldwork by developing their observational skills and introducing them to resources that will help them with plant identification. It's designed to be completed in five or more sessions and has comprehensive curriculum materials information for teachers, including overviews of binomial nomenclature and dichotomous keys. Additionally, a guide to finding local specialists is available online. There are optional activites and information on supplemental resources available on line.
This article, part of Biodiversity Counts, reports on the process of doing a plant inventory. The article discusses how scientists begin by marking out the plot, using colored flagging and permanent marker, why you may need to divide a plot into smaller subplots if the plants you're inventorying are smaller than trees, and some of the difficulties scientists face in the field when they're working in particularly dense areas.
What do plants eat? This unit explores plants and how they make food.
Why do quantitative biologists sometimes claim that mRNA copy numbers are Poisson distributed in simple models of gene transcription? The first video segment addresses this question under the simplifying assumption that mRNA degradation occurs after a well-defined, deterministic lifetime, and the second segment illustrates the same basic concept for the more realistic situation in which degradation is stochastic.
Many factors influence the success and survival rate of a population of living things. Explore several factors that can determine the survival of a population of sheep in this NetLogo model. Start with a model of unlimited grass available to the sheep and watch what happens to the sheep population! Next try to keep the population under control by removing sheep periodically. Change the birthrate, grass regrowth rate, and the amount of energy rabbits get from the grass to keep a stable population.