Terrariums And Vivariums Student Activity Book

Transcription

1 ELEMENTARY SCIENCE PROGRAM A Collection of Learning Experiences on TERRARIUMS AND VIVARIUMS Terrariums And Vivariums Student Activity Book Name This learning experience activity book is yours to keep. Please put your name on it now. This activity book should contain your observations of and results from your experiments. When performing experiments, ask your teacher for any additional materials you may need.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Activity Sheet for L.E. #1 Planting & Germinating Seeds Activity Sheet for L.E. #2 What s In a Terrarium Activity Sheet for L.E. #3/4 Terrarium Information Sheets Activity Sheet for L.E. #4 Setting Up And Populating The Terrariums Activity Sheet for L.E. #5 Constructing Your Own Terrarium & Populating It Activity Sheet for L.E. #8 - A Closer Look: The Earthworm...16 Activity Sheet for L.E. #9 A Closer Look: The Isopod Activity Sheet for L.E. #10 Moisture And Light Preference of Isopods Activity Sheet for L.E. #11 What Do Crickets Eat? What do Isopods Eat? Activity Sheet for L.E. #12 Carnivore in the Vivarium...23 Activity Sheet for L.E. #13 Designing a Plant Experiment...24 Activity Sheet for L.E. #14 Lichens The Soil Builders...25 Activity Sheet for L.E. #15 Death In The Vivarium Terrarium/Vivarium Student Assessment Student Self Assessment...31 Glossary

3 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #1 Name PLANTING AND GERMINATING SEEDS Draw your observations of your germination bag. Date Date Date Date Date Date 3

4 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #1 Page 2 Draw your observations of your 9 oz tumbler. Date Date Date Date Date Date 4

5 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #2 Name WHATS IN A TERRARIUM Use your previous knowledge and research to complete the following chart. Type of Habitat Woodland Desert Tropical Animals Found Plants Found What is the soil like? Soil Plant growing soils are made up of four ingredients. 1. Rocks that have disintegrated into tiny particles of sand, silt, or clay. These minerals are called inorganic because they never were alive. About 45% of soil that grows plants is minerals. 2. Decomposing plants and animal remains as well as manure are known as humus. These materials are organic because they came from living organisms. Soil is about 5% humus. 3. Water makes up about 25% of the soil 4. Air makes up about 25% of the soil. Make a circle to the right of the pie graph that shows the percentages of the make up soil. Give the graph a good title and label the sections. If water can easily seep through soil, as it can into the large grains of sandy soil or loose gravel we say that the soil has good drainage. Soil with a great deal of tiny silt or clay sized particles holds water so it does not have good drainage. 5

6 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #2 Page 2 Which of the habitats listed on the chart would have the best drainage? When trying to grow plants, too much drainage can be a problem just as too little drainage can harm plants. What will happen to plants that have too much drainage? What will happen to the plants that have too little drainage? 6

7 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #3 & 4 Name TERRARIUM INFORMATION SHEETS THE WOODLAND TERRARIUM/VIVARIUM INFORMATION SHEET Woodland Soil System For the woodland terrarium, the soil system should consist of gravel, crushed charcoal, and potting soil. The gravel ensures aeration of the potting soil and drainage. A 2 cm layer of gravel should be placed on the bottom of the aquarium. A thin layer of crushed charcoal on top of the gravel helps absorb odors. The top layer should be formed with two bags of moisten potting soil. Making hills and valleys with the potting soil makes the terrarium more interesting. If it is planned that animals will be added later, allow space for a 14 cm x 14 cm plastic pool to be sunk 2 cm into the soil surface. Cover the terrarium with plastic wrap. The screen lid will help secure the plastic wrap. If excessive moisture or heat builds up, fold back a corner of the plastic wrap for ventilation. Plants The plants that are sent consist of woodland moss, polypodium fern, lichen cluster, and Venus Flytrap. The potting soil that comes with the plants can be added just before planting. Other small plants from the woods like partridgeberry, fungi, and wintergreen may be brought in and added to the terrarium. Make holes in the potting soil with the hand trowel and gently insert the roots and press the potting soil around them. A carpet of woodland moss and occasional small rocks with lichens arranged around the plants helps keep the potting soil from spattering during watering. Place plants in an appropriate and attractive manner and sprinkle carefully with water and cover the aquarium lid with plastic wrap. Adjust the aquarium lid so that a little moisture collects. Covered terrariums do not need to be watered as frequently as potted plants. Be careful not to supersaturate the potting soil in a terrarium. The woodland potting soil should remain moist but not soggy. Remove dead leaves to prevent mold from growing inside the terrarium. Plants can be pinched back by removing the newest buds at the tip of the plant. This will keep them shorter and more full. Avoid direct sunlight. Place the terrarium in medium to bright light and keep the potting soil moist. The Venus Flytrap is an interesting carnivorous plant and does not do well in the extreme moisture. You will want to plant it in the woodland terrarium but give it less water than the other plants if possible. Animals To complete the terrarium, small animals may be added. Now it is called a vivarium (terrarium with animals). Land newts and toads may be placed in the woodland vivarium. Using the spray bottle, mist the glass walls of the vivarium with dechlorinated or distilled water so the animals can drink. Fill the small pool 7

8 with dechlorinated or distilled water. A screen cover is necessary to keep the animals in the vivarium. Read about your woodland vivarium animals in The Golden Guide: Reptiles And Amphibians Earthworms, ants, sow pill bugs, and other small creatures found under rocks and decaying wood are natural inhabitants of this setting and can be brought in. Land newts and toads should be removed from the vivarium when they are to be fed. If the animals cannot be easily removed, clean the vivarium after each feeding or decaying food will produce undesirable odors. Crickets will be sent to your school to feed the land newts and toads. Feed land newts and toads twice weekly. Other small insects or larvae can supplement their diet. Optional It may be interesting to place a piece of an old woodland branch or a scoopful of garden or forest soil in a small terrarium and water it. In a few days you may have an assortment of young plants and little animals to study with magnifiers. 8

9 THE DESERT TERRARIUM/VIVARIUM INFORMATION SHEET Desert Soil System For the desert terrarium, the soil system should consist of gravel, crushed charcoal, potting soil, and sand. The gravel ensures aeration of the potting soil and drainage. A 2 cm layer of gravel should be placed on the bottom of the aquarium. A thin layer of crushed charcoal on top of the gravel helps absorb odors. Next mix two jars quartz sand with two bags of moistened potting soil. Put the potting soil and sand mixture on the crushed charcoal. Making hills and valleys with the potting soil and sand mixture makes the terrarium more interesting. A final layer of white Caribbean beach sand will make your terrarium attractive. If it is planned that animals will be added later, allow space for a 14 cm x 14 cm plastic pool to be sunk 2 cm into the soil surface. Do not cover the terrarium with plastic wrap. Plants The plants that are sent consist of small cacti and some succulents such as jade plants, hens and chicks, and aloe. The potting soil that comes with the plants can be added just before planting. Make holes in the potting soil and sand mixture with the hand trowel and gently insert the roots and press the potting soil and sand mixture around them. Handle the cacti with gloves. After the plants are in place, the potting soil and sand mixture should be kept evenly moist until the roots are established, but never so much that you see any water standing. From then on, water sparingly once a week so that the surface of the potting soil and sand mixture remains fairly dry. Keep the terrarium in a sunny area and do not add a lid. The desert terrarium does best when getting at least 4 hours of direct sunlight each day. Animals To complete the terrarium, small animals may be added. Now it is called a vivarium (terrarium with animals). Anoles and land hermit crabs may be placed in the desert vivarium. Using the spray bottle, mist the glass walls of the vivarium with dechlorinated or distilled water so the animals can drink and fill the small pool with dechlorinated or distilled water. A screen cover is necessary to keep the animals in the vivarium. The anoles that you receive are reptiles and they thrive quite well in our desert habitat although they are not true desert dwellers in the wild. The anole is often called a chameleon. See page 48 of the Golden Guide: Reptiles And Amphibians. Anoles should be removed from the vivarium when they are to be fed. If the animals cannot be easily removed, clean the vivarium after each feeding or decaying food will produce undesirable odors. Crickets will be sent to your school to feed the anoles. Feed anoles twice weekly. Other small insects or larvae can supplement their diet. 9

10 The land hermit crabs are not desert animals, but they live in sandy beach areas. They will need the 14 cm x 14 cm plastic pool set into the surface of the desert containing the dechlorinated or distilled water. Read about hermit crabs in the booklet provided. Hermit crabs need salt; therefore, a salted cracker is a good addition to their diet. Hermit crab food and occasional small pieces of vegetables are also suitable. The Caribbean beach sand will provide the hermit crabs with necessary calcium. Optional A few small branches or rocks can be added for anoles to climb on. Shells of all sizes can be added for hermit crabs to climb into when they molt. 10

11 THE TROPICAL TERRARIUM/VIVARIUM INFORMATION SHEET Tropical Soil System For the tropical terrarium, the soil system should consist of gravel, crushed charcoal, potting soil, and peat moss. The gravel ensures aeration of the potting soil and drainage. A 2 cm layer of gravel should be placed on the bottom of the aquarium. A thin layer of crushed charcoal on top of the gravel helps absorb odors. The top layer should be formed with two bags of moisten potting soil and peat moss. Making hills and valleys with the potting soil makes the terrarium more interesting. If it is planned that animals will be added later, allow space for a 14 cm x 14 cm plastic pool to be sunk 2 cm into the soil surface. Cover the terrarium with plastic wrap. The screen lid will help secure the plastic wrap. If excessive moisture or heat builds up, fold back a corner of the plastic wrap for ventilation. Plants The plants that are sent consist of English ivy, maidenhair fern, rex begonia, and coleus. The potting soil that comes with the plants can be added just before planting. Make holes in the potting soil and peat moss with the hand trowel and gently insert the roots and press the potting soil and peat moss around them. Place plants in an appropriate and attractive manner and sprinkle carefully with water and cover the aquarium lid with plastic wrap. Adjust the aquarium lid so that a little moisture collects. Covered terrariums do not need to be watered as frequently as potted plants do. Be careful not to supersaturate the potting soil and peat moss in a terrarium. The tropical potting soil and peat moss should remain moist but not soggy. Remove dead leaves to prevent mold from growing inside the terrarium. Plants can be pinched back by removing the newest buds at the tip of the plant. This will keep them shorter and more full. Place the terrarium in medium to bright light and keep the potting soil moist. Avoid direct sunlight. Animals To complete the terrarium, small animals may be added. Now it is called a vivarium (terrarium with animals). Tree frogs may be placed in the tropical vivarium. Using the spray bottle, mist the glass walls of the vivarium with dechlorinated or distilled water so the animals can drink. Fill the small pool with dechlorinated or distilled water. A screen cover is necessary to keep the animals in the vivarium. Read about your tropical vivarium animals in The Golden Guide: Reptiles And Amphibians. Tree frogs should be removed from the vivarium when they are to be fed. If the animals cannot be easily removed, clean the vivarium after each feeding or decaying food will produce undesirable odors. Crickets will be sent to your school to feed the tree frogs. Feed tree frogs twice weekly. Other small insects or larvae can supplement their diet. Optional A few small branches or rocks can be added for tree frogs to climb on. 11

12 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #4 Name SETTING UP AND POPULATING THE TERRARIUMS Draw and label the contents of your terrarium in the rectangle below. Underneath the diagram label the habitat your team is modeling. List the materials used in your terrarium. Then tell why each material was used. Which characteristics of the plants in your terrarium make them suitable for this habitat? 12

13 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #4 Page 2 What are the desired environmental conditions for your team s terrarium? Circle on from each list. a. bright sun, diffuse sunlight, shade b. high humidity, moderate humidity, low humidity c. poor drainage, moderate drainage, good drainage 13

14 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #5 Name My own terrarium/vivarium CONSTRUCTING YOUR OWN TERRARIUM/VIVARIUM AND POPULATING IT 1. Place gravel in your container to cover the bottom. 2. Place small pieces of crushed charcoal over the gravel. 3. Put 3-4 cm of soil to cover the gravel and charcoal. 4. Plant some green plants in the soil. Water the plants and soil lightly. Continue to water as needed. Place rocks or branches in your terrarium 5. If you place a small animal in your terrarium, use a screen to cover your container. 6. Observe the living things in your vivarium for several weeks or longer. Water and feed as needed. When finished, my own terrarium/vivarium will look like this: Label your plants and animals. 14

15 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #5 Page 2 Changes in my terrarium/vivarium: Date What is Observed Happening: On (date), my terrarium/vivarium looked like this: 15

16 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #8 Name A CLOSER LOOK: THE EARTHWORM Carefully remove earthworm from its location. Use your double lens magnifier to examine the earthworm. How many segments does the earthworm have? Gently touch your earthworm from head to tail and then tail toward head, can you feel a difference? Using your double lens magnifier, can you see the tiny bristles on each segment? Find the front of the earthworm and locate its mouth. Locate the lighter colored segments about 1/3 of the way from front to tail. It is involved in reproduction. Now, moisten a paper towel and put the earthworm on a tray. Have the earthworm move on the tray. Do the segments change size or shape? Do the bristles help the earthworm move? Draw your earthworm below. Label the mouth, swelling, segments, and bristles?. 16

17 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #9 Name A CLOSER LOOK: THE ISOPOD What is an isopod? Obtain an isopod from the vivarium. Place it in a cover magnifying bug box. Observe the isopods movements and body parts. Remove the isopod from the magnifying bug box and put it on the white part of your activity sheet. Study it carefully with a double lens magnifier. How many legs can you find? Does it have antennae? How many segments (parts) does the body seem to have? Can you find eyes or mouth parts? Draw what your isopod looks like. 17

18 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #9 Page 2 After observing the isopod, does it feel like your isopod has a tough outer covering or exoskeleton? Based on the number of legs and body parts your observed, which of the following anthropod classifications do you think your isopod belongs with? (circle one) Insect Arachnic Crustacean Many-legged Can you name some water forms of animals that your isopod is related to? Is the isopod a vertebrate or invertebrate specie? Are the isopods legs jointed? 18

19 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #10 Name MOISTURE AND LIGHT PREFERENCE OF ISOPODS Based on the information you have gathered about isopods, predict whether they prefer dark or light and dry or wet conditions. Create a test box out of a shoebox. On one side of the shoe box, line with black paper and light paper on the other. Cut a large hole at the white end lid and cover with plastic wrap. Create another test box out of a shoebox. On one side of the shoe box, label one end of the box D (dry), and the other and W (wet). Wet a paper towel and fold it. Place it in the W end of the box. Fold and place the dry towel at the D end. Cut a small door in the middle of the lid of your shoe box about 2cm x 2cm. Insert a brass fastener in the little door to help you open it. Next, place the lid on the box. Through the door gently drop your isopods, one by one, into the shoe box. Close the door. Wait 10 minutes. Then remove the lid and quickly observe where your isopods are. Record your observations. Light/Dark Test White Paper Number Found (Trial 1) Number Found (Trial 2) Black Paper Wandering Do the isopods prefer light or darkness? What kinds of places would you find an isopod? 19

20 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #10 Page 2 Wet/Dry Test Number Found (Trial 1) Number Found (Trial 2) Wet Paper Dry Paper Wandering Do the isopods prefer wetness or dryness? What kinds of places would you find an isopod? 20

21 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience 11 Name What do crickets eat? WHAT DO CRICKETS EAT? WHAT DO ISOPODS EAT? Inside a clear plastic tumbler, press a tape roll or a rolled up gummed label. Then press several foods onto the sticky surface. You might try several seeds, leaves, stems, a dead spider or fly, or whatever you think a cricket will eat. Moisten a cotton ball and put it in the bottom of the tumbler. Put in two crickets and attach the lid. Store them out of direct sunlight in a temperature between 65 and 100 F. Fill in the first two columns of the chart below as soon as you finish setting up the experiment. Kind of food provided. How much was provided? Was the food eaten? Was the food plant or animal? 21

22 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #11 Page 2 Observe your crickets for the next couple of days. Have they eaten any of the materials you provided? How much have they eaten? After five days, what conclusions can you make? Did your crickets eat the same amount each day? Are crickets herbivores (plant eaters), carnivores (meat eaters), or omnivores (animals that eat both)? Return your crickets to their vivarium habitat. Can you now provide crickets with their preferred foods in the vivarium. 22

23 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #12 Name CARNIVORE IN THE VIVIARIUM Which vivarium are you gathering data? Which carnivore is being added to the habitat? How many crickets were in the habitat before the carnivore was introduced? Date: How many crickets can you count in the habitat after one day? Date: How many crickets can you count in the habitat after two days? Date: How many crickets can you count in the habitat after three days? Date: How many crickets can you count in the habitat after four days? Date: Are there any crickets left on day five? Which animal is the prey? Which animal is the predator? Describe the food chain in our habitat? 23

24 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #13 Name DESIGNING A PLANT EXPERIMENT After you have considered many characteristics of plants, decide on an experiment that will be a fair test. Perhaps you will deprive a plant of something it may need or supply differing amounts of a need. Think about changing a plant s environment. Perhaps you might test the function of only one part of a plant. Try to come up with an original experiment. This activity sheet will help you plan your experiment. What would you like to know? What can you find out through research? Do you have a hypothesis? If yes, what is it? How will you set up your fair test? How will you record your data? 24

25 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #14 Name LICHENS THE SOIL BUILDERS Look around for flat rocks exposed to the sun. You will find one that has some dark circles with a lighter outer edge. They also may be found on tree bark as a washed out green/gray patch. When you find the sample, examine the lichens using the double lens magnifier. Use the space below to draw what you see. What do you think a lichen is? What are some animals that might depend on upon lichen? There are animal species that use symbiosis. Have you seen pictures of a hippopotamus with a bird on its head? The bird eats pests from the hippopotamus. Explain how this relationship helps both? The simpler plants like algae, mosses, ferns, and fungi do not reproduce with seeds. These plants reproduce by making thousands of spores. Spores contain no food for the young plant so most spores are not successful. Why is it that these plants do not become extinct? 25

26 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #15 Name DEATH IN THE VIVARIUM Throughout this unit, you have observed that organisms (plants and animals) have died. The predators (toads, frogs, and anoles) have reduced the population of their prey (crickets). Some plants or animals may have died because their conditions of our model habitats did not meet their needs. Plants and animals also die of old age. Decomposers like bacteria are organisms that help break down dead organisms, releasing carbon dioxide, simple nitrogen compounds, and water back into the air and ground to be reused again. See if you can observe the affects of bacterial on dead and decaying organisms. Put about 100 ml of sand into each of two ziplock plastic bags. Moisten the sand with water in one bag. Place similar specimens of decaying organic matter in the front of each bag. Label and date the bags. Dead Leaf Date in moist sand Dead Leaf Date in dry sand Observe and record changes that you see over the next two weeks. You could alter this experiment by making the variable heat or light instead of moisture. Remember to have a fair test there must be only one variable at a time. Describe your experiment and your results? 26

27 Activity Sheet for Learning Experience #15 Page 2 Bacterial can be beneficial but it also can be harmful. Below are a list of affects of bacteria. Write beneficial or harmful before each statement. Bacteria break down waste products and dead organisms. Bacteria causes food to spoil. Bacteria in the stomachs of some animals help digest plant materials and release vitamins. Tooth decay and gum disease are caused by bacteria. Nitrogen from the air can be changed or fixed by bacteria in some plants roots to form of nitrogen that helps the plants grow. Cheese, yogurt, and sour cream are produced by milk being mixed with various bacteria. Diseases like tuberculosis, typhus, cholera, strep throat, and tetanus are caused by bacteria. Bread, vinegar, soy sauce, tea, and cocoa need bacteria to be produced. Some medicines are made with bacteria. 27

28 Name: Terrarium/Vivarium Student Assessment Date: Directions: Read the question carefully and answer based on your knowledge about terrarium/vivarium. Circle the correct answer. 1. A terrarium is covered with glass or plastic to best model the: a.) food cycle b.) life cycle c.) rock cycle d.) temperature 2. Which animal is an invertebrate? a.) a segmented worm b.) a tree frog c.) an anole d.) a cat 3. Decomposing plants and animals in the soil are called humus is also called organic matter because it: a.) was never alive b.) was a predator c.) was alive d.) is brown in color 4. An animal might be classified as a crustacean because it has: a.) 3 pairs of legs b.) 3 body parts c.) 4 pairs of legs d.) 7 pairs of legs 5. A tropical biome would have: a.) low humidity b.) a large variety of plants and animals c.) low temperature d.) short scrubby trees 6. You would find an exoskeleton on: a.) an anole b.) a toad c.) a cricket d.) a fish 28

29 Terraria/Vivaria Assessment Page 2 7. In a desert, a group of animals and plants depend on each other for food and other needs. This group is called a: a.) habitat b.) community c.) population d.) niche 8. Grain seeds get their energy from the sun. The seeds would be called: a.) producers b.) inorganic c.) predators d.) consumers 9. Crickets go through three stages (egg, nymph, adult) in their lives. This kind of form change is called: a.) population b.) complete metamorphosis c.) incomplete metamorphosis d.) cloning 10. Animals that eat both plants and animals are called: a.) omnivores b.) carnivores c.) herbivores 11. List three characteristics of an earthworm that could be used for classifying. a.) b.) c.) 12. List three characteristics of an isopod that tell you it is a crustacean. a.) b.) c.) 13. List three things that green plants need to make their own food. a.) b.) c.) 29

30 Terraria/Vivaria Assessment Page Explain how the roots, stem, and leaves of a cactus help it survive in the desert. 15. Explain three ways that bacteria are helpful. a.) b.) c.) 30

31 TERRARIUMS & VIVARIUMS STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT Name: Date: 1. What do you now know about terrariums and vivariums you didn t know before? 2. What do you know the difference between terrariums and vivariums? 3. How do you think you and your partner(s) worked together? Give some examples. 4. What learning experiences did you enjoy? Explain why did you liked them. 5. Were there any learning experiences in the unit you didn t understand or that confused you? Explain your answer. 6. Take another look at your activity sheets and science notebook. Describe how well you think you recorded your observations and ideas. 31

32 GLOSSARY Adaptation Chlorophyll Community Earthworm Ecosystem Environment Habitat Interdependence Isopod Lichen Moss Organism Population Predator qualities that help an animal live in its environment. green material in plant cells that helps them make their own food in photosynthesis. all of the living things in an area that interact with each other. a soft-bodied invertebrate, classified as a segmented worm, having two body openings connected by a long intestine, a heart-like organ, small brain and nerve cord. a group of living thing and their nonliving environment. everything that surrounds and affects a living thing. the special place in a community in which a plant or animal lives. the need of certain living organisms for other organisms. any of a large order of small crustaceans in which the body is composed of seven thorcic segments each bearing a similar pair of legs; it is sessile-eyed (attached directly at base and not raised up on a stalk). any of a numerous complex plant group (Lichenes) made up of an alga and a fungus growing in symbiotic association on a solid surface, such as a rock. small green plants that do not have real roots, stems and leaves; bryophytic clumps of these plants. a living thing. a group of the same kind of plant or animal living in the same place. an animal that hunts other animals for food. 32

33 Reptile Segmented cold-blooded vertebrates that have thick skins made of scales or plates; it has dry skin and breathes with lungs. divided into many similar parts; sections. Terrarium Vivarium a container in which land organisms can live. a container for keeping and observing animals and plants indoors. 33