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Biodiversity
The variety of all life on Earth: how many kinds of living things there are, why people depend on them, what threatens them, and how scientists measure biodiversity and its loss. Three ages, each with a text, an experiment, a game, a quiz, a printable worksheet and a teacher sheet.
Ages 6–7So many kinds of life!Biodiversity means all the different kinds of living things. Find out how many kinds there are, why we need them, and count the different leaves near your school.Ages 10–11Measuring biodiversityWhat biodiversity is, how many species we know, why we depend on them and what threatens them. Then do a fair test: does a wild area have more plant species than a mown lawn?Ages 15–16Biodiversity: measuring it and losing itGenetic, species and ecosystem diversity; how uncertain species counts and extinction rates are; interpreting the IUCN Red List and the Living Planet Index; and a Tullgren-funnel investigation of leaf-litter invertebrates.