Lesson 13 of 84 · Habitats
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌿 Wild JungleEcosystems: Living and Nonliving Parts
Ecosystems: Living and Nonliving Parts.
🎯 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
Ecosystems include all the living and nonliving things in an area that interact with each other. A pond ecosystem includes fish, frogs, algae, water, rocks, and sunlight.
Key Words
- adaptation
- metamorphosis
Materials Needed
- small pots
- cotton balls
- zip-lock bags
- labels
- seeds
- soil
Safety First
- Work in a well-ventilated area when using vinegar or other strong-smelling substances.
- Dispose of materials properly after the experiment.
Steps
Read the introduction and identify the main idea of this lesson.
Build a model ecosystem in a jar using soil, small plants, and water. Seal it and observe how the water cycle works inside it for one week.
Compare the before and after states.
Write your conclusion: did the results match your hypothesis? What would you change next time?
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What is an ecosystem?
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.”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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