Lesson 4 of 5 · Human Impacts on Earth
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌿 Wild JungleLitter That Never Leaves
Human Impacts on Earth.
🎯 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
An apple core breaks down in weeks, a drinks can in decades, and a plastic bottle in centuries. Because the timescales differ so wildly, the same amount of litter causes very different amounts of long-term harm.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Materials Needed
- six pots
- soil
- labels
- sample materials
- gloves
Safety First
- Wear gloves when burying and digging, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards.
- Do not bury anything sharp or anything belonging to someone else.
Steps
Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.
Bury six labelled samples — apple, paper, foil, plastic, cotton, polystyrene — in marked pots of damp soil. Dig them up after four weeks, photograph each and rank them by how much broke down.
Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.
Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 2Which of these is biodegradable?
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.
Ready?
Litter That Never Leaves
Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).
Full screen — no distractions
Checkout complete lesson on Human Impacts on Earth for 5th Grade
Get the full Human Impacts on Earth track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.