Forest Ecosystem Gizmo
Forest Ecosystem Gizmo
Forest Ecosystem Gizmo
1. When a rancher puts cattle in a pasture, what happens to the amount of grass in it?
1. Select the DATA tab. Select Pictograph and click the Tree to show the size of the tree
population for the past several years.
Because no deer
B. Explain why this may have happened. ____________________________________
2019
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
Click Reset.
Trees
Select the FOREST tab.
1. Form hypothesis: Where do you think trees get the nutrients they need to grow? _________
2. Predict: Based on your hypothesis, how will the tree population change if ALL other
organisms (deer, bears, and mushrooms) are removed from the forest?
I thik the trees might decline because
_________________________________________________________________________
whenthoes things die they decomposein the
soiland thats where thetrees get
there nutrients
3. Analyze: Remove ALL organisms except trees. Click Advance year a few times and select
the DATA tab. Was your prediction correct? Explain what you found.
and is steady
_________________________________________________________________________
4. Draw conclusions: Substances that contain carbon and are produced by living things are
called organic. Examples of organic materials are sugar, blood, protein, and fat. Other
materials, like water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and ammonia, are called inorganic.
Some living things, called producers, can produce the organic materials they need (like
food) from inorganic matter. All other organisms are consumers; they consume organic
matter since they cannot make it themselves.
Producers
Do your results show you that trees are producers or consumers? Explain. _____________
food to survive
_________________________________________________________________________
5. Analyze: Click the FOREST tab. Click the plus (+) button for mushrooms several times.
Click Advance year a few times. Select the DATA tab.
It didn't affect
How did adding mushrooms affect trees? ________________________________________
the trees
6. Extend: The mushrooms thrived without hurting trees. How could this happen? Try for two
possible explanations. Write your ideas in your notebook or on the back of this sheet.
trees and
s
1. Explore: Using the Gizmo, try to figure out what bears depend on for nutrition.
2. Form hypothesis: How do bears get the energy and nutrients they need? _______________
the deer
3. Predict: Based on your hypothesis, which population(s) would be hurt if bears were added?
4. Test: Click Reset. Click Advance year a couple times. Add as many bears to the forest as
possible. Then go forward a couple more years. Select the DATA tab. Which populations
were hurt by adding bears?
consumers
5. Classify: Are bears producers or consumers? Explain your reasoning. _________________
6. Draw conclusions: An organism that breaks down organic matter into simpler materials (like
carbon dioxide) is called a decomposer. Decomposers absorb nutrients from living things or
the organic matter they leave behind. They do not need to kill to get their food.
NO
Do your results suggest bears are decomposers? Explain your reasoning. ______________
and animals in it
7. Challenge: Using the Gizmo, figure out what bears prefer to eat most. Write your results and
reasoning in your notebook or on the back of this sheet.
are
Deers because they
carnivores
2019