Ecology

media type="custom" key="27779373" **Ecology is the study of the organisms and their interactions with each other and with the environment. This page is broken down by topic. Within each topic you can find presentations, assignments, valuable links, quizzes and projects.**

Main Topics:

 * 1) Background Information Survey
 * 2) [[file:Poster Template.ppt|Scientific Poster Template]]
 * 3) === Scientific Method Pretest ===
 * 4) Biology Pretest
 * 5) === [|Study Scientific Method Vocabulary] ===
 * 6) ===@Scientific Method Quiz===
 * 7) [[file:Basic Lab Report.doc|Lab Report]]
 * 8) Kingdom Pretest
 * 9) Food Web Pretest
 * 10) ===Study Ecology Vocabulary===
 * 11) ===Ecology Vocab Quiz 1===
 * 12) Glacier Recession
 * 13) ===Ecology Vocab Quiz 2===
 * 14) ===Matter Cycles===
 * 15) =Matter Cycle Pretest=
 * 16) =Symbiosis web-quest=
 * 17) ===Where are the honey bees?===
 * 18) ===Coral Reef and Oyster Project===
 * 19) ===Wolf Webquest===
 * 20) Seals Project (Go through the Powerpoint and complete 1-14)
 * 21) =Unit 1 Benchmark=

=Scientific Method=

Objectives:

 * 1) =====The student will be able to identify parts of experiments (Independent variable, dependent variable, control groups, hypothesis and conclusion)=====
 * 2) The student will be able to read and make graphs and data tables
 * 3) The student will be able to use scientific tools, microscopes, and the metric system
 * 4) The student will demonstrate proper lab safety techniques
 * 5) The student will be able to identify biased data and experiments
 * 6) The student will be able to write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers written in scientific notation

Example:

 * Dr. Imanut wants to examine whether a new drug increases the maze running performance of older rats. Dr. Imanut teaches two groups of older rats to find a piece of tasty rat chow in the maze. One group of rats is given the new drug while they are learning the maze. The second group is not given the drug. One week after having learned the maze he retests the rats and records how long it takes them to find the rat chow. **
 * The independent variable is what Dr. Imanut changed. In this case the independent variable was the drug. One group was given the drug and the other was not given the drug.
 * The dependent variable is what Dr. Imanut measured. In this case the dependent variable was how fast the rats learned the maze. The speed of learning was dependent on whether or not the mouse had the drug and was measured.
 * The control group is the comparison group in the experiment. In this case the control group was the rats without the drug. The rats are normally not given drugs so this group was the normal group that the drugged group was compared to in the experiment.
 * Dr. Imanut's hypothesis would be; if the new drug works then the older rats will increase their speed through the maze.

Online Resources:
Practice: Back to the top
 * 1) How to identify variables
 * 2) Great site for help with every part of the scientific method
 * 1) Practice Quiz
 * 2) Practice Quiz 2

[[image:http://www.pc.gc.ca/~/media/pn-np/ns/kejimkujik/Graphs%20jpg/graph_acid1_e.ashx]]

 * All graphs have the X and Y axes labeled. This graph also has a legend because there are multiple lines.
 * The Dependent variable (what is measured) is always on the Y-axis, so in the graph pH is the dependent variable.
 * The Independent variable (what is changed) is always on the X-axis, so in the graph year is the independent variable.
 * This graph shows that the pH changes depending on the year and the season.

Example 2:

 * Tables are little harder to read.
 * The two variables are listed at the top (Temperature & Number of movements)
 * The temperature would be the Independent variable because that is what you can control.
 * The number of movements would be the Dependent variable because that is what depends on the temperature.
 * This table shows that Guppies move more in higher temperatures.

Online Resources:
Back to the top
 * 1) How to make a graph and practice
 * 2) Graphing Guidelines and practice
 * 3) Graphing Tutorial

Need to be familiar with this common lab equipment:


Need to be familiar with how to use a microscope:
1. You always need to focus and center the image under low power first, then you can move to medium and high power. 2. You use Coarse Adjustment knob under low power and the Fine adjustment knob under high power. 3. If you do not use the fine adjustment knob you could break the slide.



Need to be familiar with how to use the metric system:
The above chart shows that there are 3 base units: Meter, Gram, and Liter The above chart also shows the prefixes that indicate how large or small the unit is:
 * Meter - is used to measure length
 * Gram - is used to measure mass
 * Liter - is used to measure volume
 * Kilo - is the prefix we put in front of the base unit for very large measurements. (Kilometer = 1,000 meters)
 * Mili - is the prefix we put in from of the base unit for very small measurements. (1,000 Millimeters = 1 meter)

Class Resources:
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Part 4: Lab Safety
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