Amgen SS 2005
Ruth Abatzoglou, Century High School, S.A.U.S.D.
Brian Gabrich, Emerson Middle School, L.A.U.S.D.
I. OBJECTIVE: Upon completion of this lesson student will be able to:
- Identify and classify three common plankton
- Describe the effect of urban runoff on the marine environment
- Demonstrate improved microscope skills
- Demonstrate familiarity with a minimum of three marine internet resources.
- Describe three relationships of plankton to its environment
II. INTRODUCTION:
Show students transparences or power point of red tides. Pose these questions: Why is the water red? What causes some of our beach closures?
III. ACTIVITY 1: Students study zooplankton in water samples with microscope.
Resources:
http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/seaworld/CC_activities.htm
IV. ACTIVITY 2: Students develop and carry out an experiment on phytoplankton blooms.
Resources:
waves.marine.usf.edu/.../ redtide_menu_red4.htm
http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/seaworld/CC_activities.htm
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/info/plankton.cfm
V. ACTIVITY 3: Plankton Scavenger Hunt / internet research skills
VI. EXTENSION/ ASSESSMENT:
· Students compose a letter to their school paper informing the community of the importance of minimizing urban runoff.
Students develop a comic strip to educate others about urban
runoff.
· Students develop a public service announcement to educate other
on urban runoff.
VII. CALIFORNIA LIFE SCIENCE STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
Focus on Life Science 7TH GRADE
Standard: 7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.
a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers…microscopes…) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.
b. Use a variety of print and electronic resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as part of a research project.
c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.
d. Construct scale models, maps, and appropriately labeled diagrams to communicate scientific knowledge.
VIII. California High School Earth Science Standard:
Earth Science Standard 5: Heating of Earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents. As a basis for understanding this concept:
d. Students know properties of ocean water, such as temperature and salinity, can be used to explain the layered structure of the oceans, the generation of horizontal and vertical ocean currents, and the geographic distribution of marine organisms.
Activity
1: Zooplankton Lab 
I. INTRODUCTION: Let's have some fun with plankton! There are two varieties: phytoplankton, and zooplankton. Today we will be observing some preserved zooplankton.
II. MATERIALS:
microscope slide eyedropper pencil plankton
III. PROCEDURE:
1. Place a drop of solution with plankton on your microscope slide. Then, using lowest power, draw, in detail, any two plankton that you find interesting. Use the picture chart key to include the name of your plankton.
Reference: Zooplankton guides found at: http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/seaworld/CC_activities.htm
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2. Estimate their size by comparing the plankton to the ruler placed under the microscope.
3. Count the number of different plankton types (species) that you find in your sample.
4. Identify the three most common plankton types in your sample by using the plankton key.
5. Draw a possible food chain that includes your plankton. Include what your plankton would eat, and what would eat your plankton.
IV. ANALYSIS:
1. Why do you think we are observing zooplankton but not observing phytoplankton today? Explain in a couple of lines.
2. What advantage is there for a larvae that drifts in the ocean?
3. Name three purposes that plankton might serve in the marine ecosystem.
4. Why do you think it might be important to keep track of phytoplankton populations in our oceans?
V. FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
5. What are the major divisions of plankton?
6. What are the five basic components of plankton?
7. What is by far the most important form of phytoplankton in the ocean?
8. What is by far the most numerous of all zooplankton?
9. What fraction of plankton survive to adulthood? Why?
Activity 2: Phytoplankton Lab
I. PROBLEM: What happens to the ocean when there is urban runoff?
II. BACKGROUND: (Student will write his/her own background based on research of urban runoffs)
The two primary nutrients essential for life are nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). These both occur naturally in soil, water, and air. These are also in animal manure and fertilizer used on lawns. If an ecosystem receives too many nutrients, the system gets out of balance, single celled plants, called algae, are present in all water systems. These essential plants are the first link in the food web. However, excess algae cause problems for other life.
III. HYPOTHESIS: (You will write your own hypothesis here)
IV. MATERIALS:
· four 1-liter beakers or large jars
· lawn fertilizer
· Balance
· Aluminum foil
· Graduated cylinder
V. PROCEDURE:
1. Fill each jar with 750 ml of water.
2. Weigh and then add 10 mg. of fertilizer to one beaker.
3. Weigh and then add 25 mg. of fertilizer to a second beaker
4. Add 10 mg. of fertilizer to a third beaker, and completely cover it with aluminum foil (this is the control for light).
5. Don't add anything to the fourth beaker (this is the control for fertilizer).
6. Label and date each beaker, and place them on a sunny window sill.
7. Observe and record observations over a 2 week period.
VI. RESULTS
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Observations 10mg |
Observations 25 mg |
Observations 10 mg covered |
Observations No fertilizer |
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VII. ANALYSIS:
1. What happened to the beakers with fertilizers in them?
2. What happened to the control beakers?
3. How could nutrients get into our ocean?
4. How can we reduce our inputs of nutrients to the ocean?
5. What are ways we can improve this experiment?
VIII. CONCLUSION:
Compare your hypothesis with your results. (Write a paragraph) You should also include possible sources of errors in this experiment.
Let's go adventuring on a scavenger hunt! Use your search engine for any plankton web sites you can find to answer the following, and be sure to write down the web site you used:
1. What does the word "plankton" actually mean?_____________
2. Most of the world's oxygen comes from where?____________
3. What is the speed of the water current beyond which plankton are unable
to swim against?________
4. What are the two basic types of plankton?_______________
5. Which of the two above plankton types has more species?_______
6. Which of the above two plankton creates its own food?__________
7. What is the process used by the above plankton to create food?_______
8. Which of the above two form the base of the food web?_________
9. Which of the above two plankton would you expect, then, to be more
numerous? ________
10. How many sizes does plankton come in, and what are their names?______ 11. Which sizes are the most abundant phytoplankton in the ocean?_______
12. Which sizes contributes most to photosynthesis in the ocean? ________
13. What are plankton that spend their whole lives as plankton called?______
14. What are plankton that spend only part of their lives as plankton called?
____________
15. What are the names of the two most important phytoplankton?________
16. What is the name of the plankton that causes most red tides?________
Other red tides?_______
17. What do zooplankton mostly eat? (careful here) ____________
18. Zooplankton that eat phytoplankton are called what?__________
19. Which stage of their lifecycle are zooplankton in?___________
20. What is the name of the most common zooplankton?__________
21. What does the most common zooplankton use to swim?____________
22. The word "copepod" is derived from Greek, meaning what? __________
23. Most phytoplankton use what to move around?____________
EXTRA CREDIT:
24. Plankton that live at the ocean-atmosphere boundary are called what?____
25. What is another name for the "concentration" of plankton?________
26. What sized plankton escapes through nets?____________
Let's go adventuring on a scavenger hunt! Use your search engine for any plankton web sites you can find to answer the following, and be sure to write down the web site you used:
1. What does the word "plankton" actually mean? wanderers (Greek)
2. Most of the world's oxygen comes from where? phytoplankton
3. What is the speed of the water current beyond which plankton
are unable to swim against? approx. 1 knot
4. What are the two basic types of plankton? phytoplankton; zooplankton
5. Which of the two above plankton types has more species?zooplankton
6. Which of the above two plankton creates its own food? phytoplankton
7. What is the process used by the above to create food? photosynthesis
8. Which of the above two form the base of the food web?phytoplankton
9. Which of the above two plankton would you expect, then, to be more
numerous? phytoplankton
10. How many sizes does plankton come in, and what are their names?
6; mega-, macro-, meso-, micro-, nano-, pico- plankton
11. Which sizes are the most abundant phytoplankton in the ocean? Nano-,
pico-, plankton
12. Which sizes contribute most to photosynthesis in the ocean? Nano-, pico-
13. What are plankton that spend their whole lives as plankton
called? holoplankton
14. What are plankton that spend only part of their lives as plankton
called? meroplankton
15. What are the names of the two most important phytoplankton? diatoms,
dinoflagellates
16. What is the name of the phytoplankton that causes most red tides?
Dinoflagellates Other red tides? Cyanobacteria, diatoms
17. What do zooplankton mostly eat? (careful here) zooplankton
18. Zooplankton that only eat phytoplankton are called what? herbivores
19. Which stage of their lifecycle are zooplankton in? larval, juvenile
20. What is the name of the most common zooplankton? copepods
21. What does the most common zooplankton use to swim? antennae
22. The word "copepod" is derived from Greek, meaning what? oar-foot
23. Most phytoplankton use what to move around? flagella
EXTRA CREDIT:
24. Plankton that live at the ocean-atmosphere boundary are called what?
neuston
25. What is another name for the "concentration" of plankton?
standing crop
26. What sized plankton escapes through nets? Nano-, pico- plankton