Ecology and interdependence
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Food Chain
In this ecosystem consisting of hawks, snakes, rabbits and grass, the population of each species can be studied as part of a food … chain. Disease can be introduced for any species, and the number of animals can be increased or decreased at any time, just like in the real world.
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Rabbit Population by Season
Observe the population of rabbits in an environment over many years. The land available to the rabbits and weather conditions can be … adjusted to investigate the effects of urban sprawl and unusual weather on wildlife populations.
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Estimating Population Size
Adjust the number of fish in a lake to be tagged and the number of fish to be recaptured. Use the number of tagged fish in the catch … to estimate the number of fish in the lake.
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Interdependence of Plants and Animals
Discover how animals, plants, and sunlight interact to maintain a balance of gases in Earth's atmosphere. Place aquatic plants and … pond snails into sealed test tubes and incubate in a light or dark room. Measure concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide using the indicator bromthymol blue, and use this information to infer oxygen levels as well.
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Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Set the initial percentages of three types of parrots in a population and track changes in genotype and allele frequency through … several generations. Analyze population data to develop an understanding of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Determine how initial allele percentages will affect the equilibrium state of the population.
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Microevolution
Observe the effect of predators on a diverse population of parrots. The initial percentages and fitness levels of each genotype can be … set. Determine how initial fitness levels affect genotype and allele frequencies through several generations. Test predictions about what initial conditions lead to equilibrium, and which lead to extinction.
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Natural Selection
You are a bird hunting moths (both dark and light) that live on trees. As you capture the moths most easily visible against the tree … surface, the moth populations change, illustrating the effects of natural selection.
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Effect of Environment on New Life Form
Using the scientific method, control the environmental conditions for an unknown species in order to learn how the species responds to … changes in conditions. Sunlight, water, and temperature can be controlled as the thickness of the aliens' torsos are measured.
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Effect of Temperature on Gender
Determine the gender of birds and geckos as they hatch in an incubation chamber. Control the temperature of the chamber, and record data … to determine if the temperature has an effect on the gender of either species.
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Rainfall and Bird Beaks
Study the thickness of birds' beaks over a five-year period as you control the yearly rainfall on an isolated island. As the … environmental conditions change, the species must adapt (a real-world consequence) to avoid extinction.
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Greenhouse Effect
Within this simulated region of land, daytime's rising temperature and the falling temperature at night can be measured, along with heat … flow in and out of the system. The level of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere at any given time can be adjusted, allowing the long-term effects to be investigated.
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Photosynthesis Lab
Study photosynthesis in a variety of conditions. Oxygen production is used to measure the rate of photosynthesis. Light intensity, … carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and wavelength of light can all be varied. Determine which conditions are ideal for photosynthesis, and understand how limiting factors affect oxygen production.
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Water Pollution
Get to know the four main types of pollution present in the environment, and then look at a variety of real–world examples as you try to … guess what type of pollution is represented by each situation. All of the real–world situations can be viewed every day in different parts of the world.
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