Prospect Park Zoo: High School

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Grade Levels: 9^th Grade

Learning Standard: Applying concepts, interpreting data, and classifying

Time Requirements: Approximately 4 hours Preparation Time and 3

hours Class Time.

Topics covered by This Lesson: Habitats, Niche, Food chain, and Food webs

Pre-Visit:

Purpose:

Give students an opportunity to understand the different

Energy roles of an organism in an ecosystem.

Objectives:

After completing the lesson, students will be able to

       Describe the energy roles of organisms in an ecosystem

       Describe how much energy is available at each level of an energy pyramid

       Explain food chain and food webs

Material required: Bread, earthworms, earthworm farm, yarn, graph paper

Student Learning Prerequisites: Students should be able to understand the

terms producers, first consumers, second consumers, and identifying each organisms energy role.

Visit: Students will visit the Prospect Park Wildlife Center. They will choose to observe three animals. For each animal students should note the type of habitat, feeding behaviors, classify each organisms as a first level consumer ( herbivore), second level consumer (carnivore) or a third level consumer. The three animals that are observed must not have the same energy roles.

Post Visit:

Assessment:

1.      Enhance students' understanding of food chains by having them use the lists they compiled at the Center above to draw their own food chain.

2.      Assess students' understanding of food webs and energy pyramids by having them draw food webs of their own choice and label each organism to show its energy role in the food web, whether each consumer is a herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and the percentage of energy available at each level of the web.

Extension and Suggested Homework Assignments: Provide students with a food web and have questions that are related to the food web.

Examples of possible question to the food web:

1.      Which organism in the food web above are sometimes a first-level consumer and sometimes a second-level consumer? Explain

2.      Choose one food chain in the web.  Name all the organisms in that food chain. Start with the producer and end with the top- level consumer.

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