Lesson+16

Grade Level: 10 

Unit: Biology 

Lesson Objectives (include 4 or 5): Student will understand Student will be able to  Time Required to complete this lesson:  2 or 3 class periods to explain the concepts presented here.
 * That varying climatic conditions on earth result in the formation of characteristic biomes and communities of organisms.
 * That chemical elements and simple compounds vital to living organisms (in particular water, carbon, and nitrogen) cycle continuously between organisms and non-living reservoirs. 
 * That nearly all of the energy for ecosystemic processes comes from the sun, is captured by **producers** (plants and algae), and is passed along one or more levels of **consumers** (animals and fungi) that eat plant material or other consumers.
 * Understand that humans play an important role in ecosystemic processes and depend upon the proper functioning of these processes as do other living organisms.

Title of lesson: Biomes and Ecosystems

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in 3-5 sentences). **Ecology** is a branch of biology that studies the interrelationships of living organisms with each other and with their non-living environment while **ecosystems** are the actual partnerships between living and non-living objects within the environment. While organisms vary in the types of environments (**biomes**) to which they are best adapted to survive, they all depend upon energy, water, and other nutrients to live. Different species of organisms also depend upon one another to survive. Plants and other similar organisms can obtain energy from the sun, but other organisms must consume plants or other consumers for energy. Other relationships besides predator/prey relationships exist between organisms. These relationships can be beneficial to both partners (**mutualism**), to only one (**commensalism**), or to neither (**competition**).

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): Students will most likely encounter this material in lectures and exams.

Resources/materials needed: Besides the in-class lecture material, I have created an Ecology Page on this site. It presently contains a biomes world map and diagrams describing the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles.

Technology used:  A computer to access the study materials on the Ecology Page.

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: It provides an alternative to the textbook in studying key concepts of ecology and ecosystems.