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Life Science: Population Changes: Getting Started

6th Grade Life Science Project for Mr. Shinn


WHERE HAVE ALL THE CREATURES GONE?

Research and Describe a Population Change

STEP 1

Explore topics! Describe a population and determine what may be causing a change.

Do you want to study:

  • a land animal
  • a bird
  • an insect
  • a plant
  • marine life
  • something else?

Visit the Library Database and Websites tabs above to explore topics and learn about a population change.

Data & Scientific Principles

STEP 3

Research and provide data as evidence to support the population change.

Qualitative Data Quantitative Data
The fisherman observed the trout had bloody wounds on the side of its body. 

(Think five senses: taste, smell, touch, hear, sight)		 The Dioxin in the Great Lakes increased by 70 parts per trillion between 1930 and 1950.


Which scientific principles listed below apply to your population change?

  1. ​Food contains substances like protein, fat, and starch.
  2. Food provides energy and building materials for organisms.
  3. Animals get their energy and building materials from eating other animals and plants. Plants make their energy and building materials from light and water.
  4. Organisms in a food web are related through producer/consumer, predator/prey, and parasite/host relationships. Because of these relationships, one population affects others through direct and indirect interactions.

  5. Organisms that live in an ecosystem are affected by other organisms and by the abiotic factors in that ecosystem.
  6. All organisms in a food web are interconnected.
  7. All plants and animals have special structures that perform the functions necessary for reproduction and eating.
  8. Organisms in an ecosystem compete for limited resources like space, food, and water. When there is not enough of a resources individuals in the population die.

Develop Specific Questions

STEP 2

Develop research questions to answer.

Here are some examples:

  • What has changed where this organism lives?
  • Is there another organism doing something to affect this organism?
  • What happened to the climate or food supply?
  • Did something happen to the organism's offspring?
  • What are other direct or indirect relationships affecting or affected by the population change?

What are YOUR questions?


 

Provide a Claim and Continue Research

STEP 4

Provide a claim with evidence to support your claim. You should also provide answers to your research questions.

Example of a claim:

There is a decrease in food in the water for an organism. 

Example of evidence:

The Dioxin in the Great Lakes increased by 70 parts per trillion between 1930 and 1950.

Present as a Poster

STEP 5

Present the results of your research on poster paper. Check to make sure you have the following requirements:

  • Research and describe a population change
  • Develop specific questions that will guide your research.
  • Provide data and scientific principles.
  • Provide a claim with evidence to support your claim.