Lesson 28 of 84 · Ecosystems
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌿 Wild JungleHow Seeds Travel
Ecosystems.
🎯 Your mission
Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.
⚡ The twist
Living things break the rules of non-living things — find the rule they break.
Mind = Blown
🦠 You have more bacterial cells in your body than human cells.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: what will happen to the plant if you change the water?
What You'll Learn
Succession is the gradual change of an ecosystem over time. Primary succession begins on bare rock, while secondary succession occurs after a disturbance like a fire.
Key Words
- organism
- habitat
Materials Needed
- tape
- small pots
- cotton balls
- zip-lock bags
Safety First
- Do not mix unknown chemicals together.
- Tie back long hair before starting the experiment.
Steps
Read the introduction and identify the main idea of this lesson.
Set up a composting experiment: place food scraps in one sealed bag and leaves in another. Observe decomposition over two weeks and record changes.
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 3What is the function of chloroplasts in plant cells?
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.
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Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Checkout complete lesson on Ecosystems for 4th Grade
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