Lesson 7 of 84 · Ecosystems
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🌿 Wild JungleDecomposers: Nature's Recyclers
Ecosystems.
🎯 Your mission
Learn the rule. Then catch nature using it.
⚡ The twist
What the body does in one minute is wilder than any cartoon.
Mind = Blown
🦠 You have more bacterial cells in your body than human cells.
Make a hypothesis first
Guess: how does the body solve this problem?
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
- DNA
- gene
- chromosome
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.”
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.
Checkout complete lesson on Ecosystems for 7th Grade
Get the full Ecosystems track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.