Lesson Plans

Biology 5th Edition ©1999

by Finney

Week 28: Study of Population Growth Curves, Analysis of Communities, and an Analysis of Dissolved Oxygen

Chapter 52: Population Ecology
Chapter 53: Community Ecology

College Board Performance Objectives:

• Explain how models are useful in describing growth of a population.
• Explain how population size is regulated by biotic and abiotic factors.
• Explain the interaction between populations of different species.

College Board Lab Objectives:

Suggested Laboratory Experiments:

Resources:

• Chapter 52: Population Ecology, pp. 1082–1106
• Chapter 53: Community Ecology, pp. 1107–1130
• Instructor's Guide, pp. 787–817
• Student Study Guide, pp. 418–434
• Test Bank, pp. 787–817
• Lab Manual: none
• CD-ROM: Chapters 52 and 53 include narrated presentations, activities, and links to the Internet.

Pacing Guide:

• Chapter 52: Population Ecology—2 days
  Grow yeast cultures so that they are of different stages. Take a drop of the solution and count the cells under the microscope or take the turbidity of the solution with a turbidity sensor, colorimeter, or spectrophotometer. This will help students learn how to collect population growth data. You can use a videocamera with the microscope to show the class the method of counting or you can have the students work in groups. Also, have a mealworm culture so that you can count the numbers of the various stages of development over a few weeks. Students will see the difficulty collecting population data.
• Chapter 53: Community Ecology—2 days
  Purchase and grow cultures of Paramecium aurelia and Paramecium caudatum. Grow them separately and observe and make a population study. Mix them and continue to study the population. Use a video camera and a microscope to project the images to the class. Every few days over a few weeks collect data as a group.

Key Words:

Suggested Exercises:
Critical thinking questions and end-of-chapter activities are included in these exercises.

1. Challenge Questions, p. 1105 #1–3 and p. 1130 #1
2. Science, Technology, and Society, p. 1106 #1 and p. 1130 #1
3. Have students perform a skit on organism competition. A few students are on the side keeping data. Have one group of students hold a blue piece of paper. Another group holds red paper. Have one become two and two become four and four become eight. Have the same profile for the group with the red paper. Allow the two groups to mix together. Each time a red has an encounter with a blue the student with blue must flip a coin. If it is heads, he dies and leaves the group. Over time, all blue will die.
4. Have students collect articles from the newspaper and Internet on these topics.
5. Assign groups of students to answer questions in Section 2C from the Annotated Course Outline. Review AP* Labs 7 and 8 and have students explain the objectives of the labs from the Annotated Course Outline.

Troubleshooting Tips/Error Traps: