Lesson 7 of 84 · Ecosystems
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌿 Wild JungleDecomposers: Nature's Recyclers
Ecosystems.
🎯 Your mission
Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).
⚡ The twist
Living things break the rules of non-living things — find the rule they break.
Mind = Blown
🌳 Trees can talk to each other through underground fungus networks.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: what will happen to the plant if you change the water?
What You'll Learn
Decomposers like fungi and bacteria break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil. Without decomposers, dead material would pile up and nutrients would be locked away.
Key Words
- consumer
- decomposer
- food web
Materials Needed
- labels
- seeds
- soil
- cups
- water
Safety First
- Clean up spills immediately to prevent slipping.
- Use materials only as directed in the experiment.
Steps
Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.
Collect and classify 10 organisms from your yard into kingdoms, phyla, or groups. Use a dichotomous key if available.
Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.
Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3Which stage comes after a caterpillar in metamorphosis?
Where you see this in real life
This is why plants grow toward windows and why scabs form.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Watch a plant or pet for 5 minutes today and write down what you noticed.
For the dinner table
“Tell me something you noticed about your own body today.”
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