Design and Investigation Portfolio
Design an Investigation
It's time to design your own investigation. Your investigation will be a simulation of the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations in an ecosystem. So far, you have observed students model competition between wolves for water, prey, and space. You read about a similar investigation that modeled the difference between intraspecific and interspecific competition. You learned how graphs can help display and interpret data. You will use all these ideas as you design your own simulation.
Choose a Question to Investigate
Designing any investigation starts when you ask a question. Think back to some of the questions you generated about how the original simulation could be expanded. Choose one of these questions or think of a new one.
List Materials
What materials will you need to perform your simulation? Make a list of these and take time to gather them all before you begin. You might need:
• beans of different colors
• a timer
• cups or bags
• pencil
• paper
Write a Procedure
Write out your procedure and read it aloud to your Learning Coach. Talk through any confusing parts and make adjustments if needed. Look back at the video or text for ideas if you need help.
Test Your Simulation
Before you use your simulation to collect data, test it out. Use your materials and follow your procedure. Does it work as you intended? If not, take a moment to adjust it.
Here is a sample investigation design for simulating the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations in an ecosystem:
Question: How does the availability of food affect the population growth of different colored beans in a simulated ecosystem?
Materials:
- Beans of different colors (e.g. red, blue, green)
- Timer
- Cups or bags
- Pencil
- Paper
Procedure:
1. Label cups or bags with the different colors of beans.
2. Place an equal number of beans of each color in each cup or bag to represent the initial population of each colored bean.
3. Set a timer for a specific amount of time (e.g. 1 minute).
4. Start the timer and allow the beans to "compete" for food (e.g. by shaking the cups/bags).
5. After the time is up, count the number of beans of each color that remain in each cup or bag.
6. Record the data on a piece of paper.
7. Repeat the simulation multiple times with varying amounts of food available (e.g. reducing the number of beans in the cups/bags).
8. Analyze the data collected to determine the effects of food availability on the population growth of each colored bean.
Test Your Simulation:
- Test the simulation with a small sample size to ensure that it works as intended. Make any necessary adjustments before conducting the full investigation.
By following this design, you will be able to investigate how resource availability impacts the population dynamics of organisms in an ecosystem. Make sure to carefully document your procedures, data, and observations for analysis and discussion.
hey can u write a procerder for for panthers and aalligaotrs
Here is a sample investigation design for simulating the effects of resource availability on panthers and alligators in an ecosystem:
Question: How does the availability of prey affect the population dynamics of panthers and alligators in a simulated ecosystem?
Materials:
- Small toy panthers
- Small toy alligators
- Small toy prey animals (e.g. toy rabbits, toy fish)
- Timer
- Cups or bags
- Pencil
- Paper
Procedure:
1. Label cups or bags with the different types of toy animals (panthers, alligators, prey).
2. Place an equal number of toy panthers and toy alligators in separate cups or bags to represent the initial populations of each species.
3. Place toy prey animals in another cup or bag to represent the available food source.
4. Set a timer for a specific amount of time (e.g. 1 minute).
5. Start the timer and allow the toy panthers and alligators to "hunt" for prey (e.g. by shaking the cups/bags).
6. After the time is up, count the number of remaining toy animals in each cup or bag.
7. Record the data on a piece of paper.
8. Repeat the simulation multiple times with varying amounts of prey available (e.g. increasing or decreasing the number of toy prey animals).
9. Analyze the data collected to determine the effects of prey availability on the population dynamics of panthers and alligators.
Test Your Simulation:
- Test the simulation with a small sample size to ensure that it works as intended. Make any necessary adjustments before conducting the full investigation.
By following this design, you will be able to investigate how resource availability, specifically prey, impacts the population dynamics of panthers and alligators in an ecosystem. Make sure to carefully document your procedures, data, and observations for analysis and discussion.
no but with beans representing resources
Here is a revised investigation design for simulating the effects of resource availability on panthers and alligators in an ecosystem using beans as resources:
Question: How does the availability of resources (represented by beans) affect the population dynamics of panthers and alligators in a simulated ecosystem?
Materials:
- Beans of different colors (e.g. black beans for panthers, green beans for alligators, red beans for prey)
- Timer
- Cups or bags
- Pencil
- Paper
Procedure:
1. Label cups or bags with the different colors of beans representing panthers, alligators, and prey.
2. Place an equal number of each colored bean in their respective cups or bags to represent the initial populations of panthers, alligators, and prey.
3. Set a timer for a specific amount of time (e.g. 1 minute).
4. Start the timer and allow the beans to "compete" for resources by shaking the cups/bags.
5. After the time is up, count the number of beans of each color that remain in each cup or bag.
6. Record the data on a piece of paper.
7. Repeat the simulation multiple times with varying amounts of beans available (e.g. increasing or decreasing the number of beans representing prey).
8. Analyze the data collected to determine the effects of resource availability on the population dynamics of panthers and alligators.
Test Your Simulation:
- Test the simulation with a small sample size to ensure that it works as intended. Make any necessary adjustments before conducting the full investigation.
By following this design, you will be able to investigate how resource availability, represented by beans, impacts the population dynamics of panthers and alligators in an ecosystem. Make sure to carefully document your procedures, data, and observations for analysis and discussion.
make a data chart to putthe data in u ai
Here is a sample data chart that you can use to organize the data collected from your simulation investigating the effects of resource availability on panthers and alligators in an ecosystem:
| Trial | Panthers (Black Beans) | Alligators (Green Beans) | Prey (Red Beans) |
|-------|------------------------|--------------------------|------------------|
| 1 | 10 | 8 | 15 |
| 2 | 9 | 7 | 12 |
| 3 | 11 | 6 | 14 |
| 4 | 8 | 9 | 13 |
| 5 | 12 | 5 | 11 |
In this data chart, each row represents a trial of the simulation, with columns for the number of black beans (representing panthers), green beans (representing alligators), and red beans (representing prey) remaining after the competition for resources. You can continue to add more rows for additional trials to further investigate the effects of resource availability on the population dynamics of panthers and alligators in your simulated ecosystem.