Science Year 9

Biology
Unit 2 – Living things in their environment
Lesson 2.3 – Ecology
Coursebook: Pages 26 and 27
Workbook: Pages 22 and 23

Prepared by: Mrs. Fatme Allawa

Starter / Key vocabulary:
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Starter / Key ideas / Learning Objectives/ By the end of the lesson
students will be able to:
 Explain the terms given in Key vocabulary
 Know the work of people in the natural world
 Using sampling techniques
Starter / Key vocabulary:
 Ecology
 Ecologist
 Conservation
 Reserve
 Investigating
 Technique
 Sampling
 Quadrat
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Scientific enquiry skills The Cambridge Secondary 1 Science course places a strong emphasis on the
development of scientific enquiry skills. These are addressed throughout the Coursebook, Workbook
and worksheets. Activities in the Coursebook that help students to develop their scientifi c enquiry
skills are marked with the symbol
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

1 Whether the area was grazed by camels, or by

oryx and gazelles.
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Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

2 The mean number of plants per plot, and

the mean number of plant species per
plot.
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Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

3 The position of the plots; the size of the plots.

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Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

4 For example, camel grazing reduces the number

of plants and the number of species of plant,
growing in the same area.
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

5 Students could come up with various ideas. Look for ideas that
improve the control of variables, or that increase the quantity of
data obtained. For example, the researchers could start off with an
area where nothing grazes, and then introduce camels to one part
of it and oryx and gazelles to another part, using equal numbers of
camels and oryx + gazelles.
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

6 There is no single correct answer; look for the

idea of standardisation. For example, the
students could sweep the net in a particular way
through the water, for a particular length of
time, and then collect the organisms they have
caught. They could do this a set number of
times.
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:
Mid-lesson / Key ideas:

7 They could record the number of

invertebrates and the concentration of
dissolved oxygen at several different points in
the river. Plot a graph, with concentration of
dissolved oxygen on one axis and number of
invertebrates on the other. Look for a pattern
in the graph.
Closure / Key vocabulary:
 Ecology – the study of living organisms in their environment.
 Ecologist – people who study the relationship between living organisms and their environment.
 Conservation - the care and protection of these resources so that they can persist for future generations.
 Reserve - retain for future use.
 Investigating - carry out a systematic or formal inquiry to discover and examine the facts of (an incident,
allegation, etc.) so as to establish the truth.
 Technique - a way of carrying out a particular task, especially the execution or performance of a scientific
procedure.
 Sampling – collecting data from a small part of a whole area, or from just a small number of a large number of
individuals.
 Quadrat – a square area within which you can sample the organisms in a habitat.
Key points / Summary
Workbook
Workbook

1 Students are most

likely to mention the
sharp teeth, which
could have been used
for killing prey.
Workbook
Workbook
2 This would mean that the jaw muscles could
contract very strongly. This would have helped
the animal to bite down hard and kill its prey,
and also to bite through bones when it was
eating.
3 It could stand sideways on to the Sun. This
would increase the surface area that was
warmed by the Sun’s rays.
4 a A fossil is the preserved remains of a once-
living organism, that have turned to stone.
After the animal dies, its tissues are replaced
by minerals.
4 b sedimentary
Homework:

- Solve the Science Homework