The next hour and so we will spend on setting up a small aquarium. It will slowly turn it into an artificial aquatic ecosystem.
This activity will be done in a group. Your teacher will help you break into groups.
Material for set up
Transparent plastic bottle - one per group (empty water or cold drink bottles can be used for this purpose)
Scissors or a thick cutter (to cut the plastic bottle)
Measuring cups: you can collect small measuring cups that come with children’s medicine and syrup.
Artificial Manure: solutions will be provided to your school.
Important - make sure that every team uses the bottle of the same volume.
Most important: to avoid any accidents, your teacher will cut the bottle for you.
Steps:
Wash the bottle properly so that no dirt or any material remains there. Measure the bottle 17 cm from the bottom and make a round mark at this height.
Take the help of your teacher to cut the bottle at the mark.
Preparing your aquatic ecosystem
Please fill the bottle up to 12 cm of height using tap water.
As you already know you need biotic and abiotic components in an ecosystem. You already have an abiotic component in your bottle.
Which is that?
Get a cup of water from pond, stream or puddle. Measure just 50 ml using measuring cups and pour it into your bottle.
Why have we got this water?
Water from the natural water bodies such as pond, stream or puddle will contain many biotic components such as different kinds of micro organism and help in setting up of our system.
Once you have done that please mark the name of your team on the bottle.
Team A
This team will use paper (you can also use newspaper, black chart paper etc.) to cover your bottle from outside so that no sunlight reaches the water.
Team B
Will add a pinch of artificial manure or urea solution to the water.
Team C
Will not addany manure to the water or coverthe bottle with paper.
Please keep your ecosystem near a window where there is enough sunlight. Now you need to go for long-term observation.
What to observe
As you know in order to call your bottle an ecosystem it needs to have both abiotic and biotic factors. You already have abiotic factors - Water, Sunlight, Air, Urea or Manure. You need to wait till biotic factors appear in it. Make observation as given in activity 3.1
Discussion
Could you call this an ecosystem? If so Why?
Will you call it a man-made ecosystem or a natural ecosystem?
[Contributed by administrator on 10. Januar 2018 21:33:39]
Let's make an ecosystem
This activity will be done in a group. Your teacher will help you break into groups.
Material for set up
Transparent plastic bottle - one per group (empty water or cold drink bottles can be used for this purpose)
Scissors or a thick cutter (to cut the plastic bottle)
Measuring cups: you can collect small measuring cups that come with children’s medicine and syrup.
Artificial Manure: solutions will be provided to your school.
Important - make sure that every team uses the bottle of the same volume.
Most important: to avoid any accidents, your teacher will cut the bottle for you.
Why have we got this water?
Water from the natural water bodies such as pond, stream or puddle will contain many biotic components such as different kinds of micro organism and help in setting up of our system.
Once you have done that please mark the name of your team on the bottle.
Team A
This team will use paper (you can also use newspaper, black chart paper etc.) to cover your bottle from outside so that no sunlight reaches the water.
Team B
Will add a pinch of artificial manure or urea solution to the water.
Team C
Will not add any manure to the water or cover the bottle with paper.
Please keep your ecosystem near a window where there is enough sunlight. Now you need to go for long-term observation.
Discussion
Could you call this an ecosystem? If so Why?
Will you call it a man-made ecosystem or a natural ecosystem?