5E Population Ecology Lesson Plan

Time: 100 minutes (to be divided into two 50 minute class periods)

Teachers:

Subject:

James Taylor
Janelle Ruiz

Biology/ Population Ecology

Grade:
High School (9-10)

Standard:
Strand 4: Life Science
Concept 3: Interdependence of Organisms
Analyze the relationships among various organisms and their environment.

PO3: Assess how the size and the rate of growth of a population are determined by birth rate, death rate,
immigration, emigration, and carrying capacity of the environment.

Objective (Explicit):

The students will be able to understand how competition, limiting resources, and carrying capacity impact
population and community growth rates and sizes by constructing a graph.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable):
The students will be given a formative assessment where they are responsible for constructing a graph, which
depicts the growth rate of examined paramecium populations. The graph will be examined by the teacher and
given a stamp, to represent mastery of objective.
The students will also be responsible for answering analysis questions following the lab, acting as another
formative assessment. The questions will test their comprehension of competition, limiting resources, and
carrying capacity.
The students will be required to participate in class discussions, to demonstrate higher levels of thinking and
comprehension. This can act as a formative assessment.
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (knowledge, skill, purpose):
N/A

Key vocabulary:
1. Population- Organisms sharing an environment.
2. Community- Two or more populations sharing an
environment.
3. Intraspecific Competition- Competition for
resources among members of a population.
4. Interspecific Competition- Competition for
resources among members of two or more different
species.
5. Limiting Resources- Limitations on food, water,
and other resources that cause the population to
stop increasing.
6. Density Dependent Factors- Limiting factors that
become prevalent after the population density
reaches a certain level.
7. Density Independent Factors- Limiting factors that
are prevalent despite the population density.
8. Carrying Capacity-The greatest number of
individuals a given environment can sustain.
9. Exponential Growth- Explosive population growth,
where the number of organisms increases.
10. Logistic Growth- Population growth slows or stops
after a period of exponential growth.

Materials:
1. Laptop, provided by school
2. Internet
3. Worksheet, to construct graph and answer
analysis questions
4. Graph paper
5. Pencil/ markers

Engage (10min)
The teacher will put And Theyre Off on the projector for the students to answer. The question will ask the students:
what would happen if a population of organisms had unlimited resources, no disease, and no predation? As the
teacher checks their responses, by pulling popsicle sticks, guide the students to consider exponential growth. Follow
up their responses by asking if this is how organisms live in the real world. When they say no, ask what it is called
when organisms are not in an ideal environment. Guide the students to discuss limiting factors and carrying capacity.
Introduce the activity that you will be completing for that day.

Teacher Will:

Circulate and make sure students are on task

Guide And Theyre Off class discussion

Students Will:
Answer And Theyre Off on their own (5min)
Discuss And Theyre Off as a class (5min)
* Students will pick up a worksheet while entering class

Explore (55min)
The students will be exploring a website where they will be completing a virtual lab. The lab has the students make
liquid cultures of two different species of paramecium, prepare wet mounts, and view the organisms under the
microscope. They are required to count the number of organisms and record it in a data table, which will be used to
construct a graph. The teacher will explain why they are doing this lab virtually and not in class. Explain that it is
beneficial because you can observe how the organisms are changing over time, which you could not do in class. Be
sure to make a connection to the paramecium organisms they saw in the pond water lab the previous week as well.

Teacher Will:

Students Will:

Explain procedures and demonstrate how to

Log onto:
navigate the website(9-10min)
http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/00
78757134/383928/BL_04.html
Note: There is rice in the test tubes to provide food
for the bacteria
Read background information aloud as a class
(3-4min)
Note: The two species of paramecium do not prey
upon eachother
Prepare virtual test tubes
Prepare virtual wet mounts
Note: You must multiply by 2 to get correct units
Look through virtual microscope and record
Every student needs to collect their own data
quantitative data (27-30min)
Have students read the background information

Construct a graph (10min)

aloud. Review any unfamilar vocabulary words
Circulate and make sure students are on task
Co-Teaching Strategy
One teacher goes over procedures and the other enforces classroom management. The two teachers circulate the
classroom offering help, answering students questions, making sure students are staying on task, and managing
classroom behaviors.
Differentiation Strategy
Some students may need to work with their lab partner more closely. Offer those students lab partners that are
excelling in the class, have patience, and are willing to explain the lab to them.
Explain (15min)
The students will be answering analysis questions afeter their virtual lab and graph are completed. The questions will
offer a way to formatively assess the students understanding of the objective. The teacher will stamp the students lab
at the end of class. Ask follow up questions, that are not from the worksheet, to connect past learning and check for
understanding. This may also serve as a formative assessment.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Circulate and make sure students are on task
Answer analysis questions
Stamp labs
Get lab stamped
Ask follow up questions
Co-Teaching Strategy
One teacher circulates the classroom offering help, answering students questions, making sure students are staying
on task, and managing classroom behaviors. The other teacher stamps students lab work and checks for
understanding.
Differentiation Strategy
Some students may need to work with their lab partner more closely. Offer those students lab partners that are
excelling in the class, have patience, and are willing to explain the lab to them.

Elaborate (10min)
After the students have completed their lab, pose a new question. Tell the students to come up with their own
examples of how competition, limiting resources, and carrying capacity impact other populations and communities
growth rates. This is a good way to help students contextualize and construct their learning. The teacher should have
their own examples ready in case the students cannot think of anything.

Teacher Will:

Students Will:

Pose the new question to the students

Come up with a new example (4min)
Ask students to share their examples
Participate in a class discussion, sharing
examples (6min)
Guid the students and help them stay on task
Co-Teaching Strategy
One teacher guides the student discussion, while the other circulates the classroom to manage classroom behaviors.
Differentiation Strategy
Provide students with ample time to come up with examples. Some students may need a warning that they will be
called on, to give them time to prepare their responses.
Evaluate
The students will be given a formative assessment where they are responsible for constructing a graph, which
depicts the growth rate of examined paramecium populations. The graph will be examined by the teacher and
given a stamp, to represent mastery of objective.
The students will also be responsible for answering analysis questions following the lab, acting as another
formative assessment. The questions will test their comprehension of competition, limiting resources, and
carrying capacity.
The students will be required to participate in class discussions, to demonstrate higher levels of thinking and
comprehension. This can act as a formative assessment.

Teacher Will:
Stamp students labs
Ask follow up questions
Guide student discussion

Students Will:
Construct Graph
Answer analysis questions
Participate in class discussions

Data Table:
Day

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16

P. aurelia grown P. caudatum

P. aurelia grown P. caudatum

alone, cells/ml

in mixed
culture, cells/ml
1X2=2
5X2=10
17X2=34
34X2=68
40X2=80
46X2=92
47X2=94
48X2=96
48X2=96

1X2= 2
5X2=10
27X2=54
42X2=84
47X2=94
50X2=100
49X2=98
49X2=98
49X2=98

grown alone,
cells/ml
1X2=2
4X2=8
15X2=30
24X2=48
28X2=56
30X2=60
28X2=56
29X2=58
28X2=56

grown in mixed
culture, cells/ml
1X2=2
7X2=14
11X2=22
11X2=22
8X2=16
5X2=10
1X2=2
0
0

Graph:

Paramecium Growth Rate Over Time

Growth (cells/mL)

300
250
200

P. caudatum (grown
in mixed culture)

150

P. auelia (grown in
mixed culture)

100

P. caudatum (grown
alone)

50
0
0

6 8 10 12 14 16
Time (in days)

P. auelia (grown
alone)

Analysis Questions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Total of

22 points

1. Make a hypothesis about how you think the two species of Paramecium will grow
alone and how they will grow when they are grown together. (2pts)

2. Explain how you tested your hypothesis.

(2pts)

3. On what day did the Paramecium caudatum population reach the carrying
capacity of the environment when it was grown alone? How did you know?
(3pts)

4. On what day did the Paramecium aurelia population reach the carrying capacity
of the environment? How do you know?
(3pts)

5. Explain the differences in the population growth patterns of the two Paramecium
species. What does this tell you about how Paramecium aurelia uses available
resources?
(4pts)

6. Describe what happened when the Paramecium populations were mixed in the
same test tube. Do the results support the principle of competitive exclusion?
(4pts)

7. Explain how this experiment demonstrates that no two species can occupy the
same niche.
(4pts)