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Ecosystems
From a tide pool to a whole national park: what an ecosystem is, how its living and non-living parts depend on each other, how energy from the Sun flows through it, and what happened in Yellowstone when wolves came back. Three ages, each with a text, an experiment, a game, a quiz, a printable worksheet and a teacher sheet.
Ages 6–7Living and non-living togetherAn ecosystem is a place where plants, animals, rocks, water and weather all work together. Go on a hunt for living and non-living things and find out who needs whom.Ages 10–11How an ecosystem worksBiotic and abiotic factors, producers and consumers, and what happened when wolves returned to Yellowstone. Then build a sealed bottle ecosystem and watch it recycle its own water.Ages 15–16Energy flow and interactions in ecosystemsTrophic levels, the 10% rule and the Silver Springs data; why food chains are short; trophic cascades and their uncertainty; and a field investigation linking abiotic factors to plant distribution.