Download High School Environmental Science Scavenger Hunt

Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science
Piedmont Region
Examine the Piedmont region, then circle the biotic factors you find in this location.
turkey
tree
water
sand
soil
toad
snake
rock
Ridge and Valley Region
Look around at the Ridge and Valley region. Can you spot three abiotic factors in this environment? What are they?
1.
2.
3.
Briefly explain how the abiotic factors that you found help to determine the
biotic factors in this environment.
Coastal Plain Region
The water that the dinosaurs are shown drinking in The Ruling Dinosaurs gallery is
the same water that is on Earth now. Since Earth is a closed system, as a whole,
water has neither been added nor lost over time. This is an example of the law of
of matter.
relativity
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History. energy
conservation
fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science
Locate the gopher tortoise in the Coastal Plain. His burrow, which can be more than 40 feet long, provides shelter to numerous other animal species. These animals benefit from the shelter, but the gopher tortoise is neither harmed nor helped.
This relationship is called:
mutualism
parasitism
commensalism
Okefenokee Swamp Region
Find two examples of adaptations (plant or animal) that would make it easier to live in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Explain how the adaptation helps the organism.
1.
2.
Using plants and animals that you find in the swamp, create a food chain for this habitat.


Plant
(Producer)
Plant-eater
(Consumer)

Meat-eater
(Consumer)
Meat-eater
(Consumer)
Meat-eater
(Consumer)
What is the main reason that energy passed up the food chain decreases with each level?
photosynthesis
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History. entropy
excretion
fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science
Give two examples of decomposers.
1.
2.
Where would they fit in the food chain?
Coast and Barrier Islands Region
The loggerhead sea turtle has several adaptations to aid life in a marine environment.
After each adaptation, explain how it helps the turtle.
Flippers:
Nictitating membrane (clear eyelid):
Flat shell:
Gray’s Reef
Using the following organisms from Gray’s Reef, match them up with their proper designations.
Sponge
Ecosystem
Group of Sponges
Community
Coral with various invertebrates living on it
Gray’s Reef
Organism
Biome
Atlantic Ocean
Population
Photos © Fernbank Museum unless otherwise noted.
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History. fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science Answer Key
Piedmont Region
Examine the Piedmont region, then circle the biotic factors you find in this location.
turkey
tree
water
sand
soil
toad
snake
rock
Ridge and Valley Region
Look around at the Ridge and Valley region. Can you spot three abiotic factors in this environment? What are they?
1. sunlight
2. rock, soil, etc.
3. temperature
Briefly explain how the abiotic factors that you found help to determine the
biotic factors in this environment.
The amount of sunlight determines plant species in an area and thus determines the food chain. Types of soil af fects what
plants can grow there or which animals can make burrows. Temperature could affect which species can live there.
Coastal Plain Region
The water that the dinosaurs are shown drinking in The Ruling Dinosaurs gallery is
the same water that is on Earth now. Since Earth is a closed system, as a whole,
water has neither been added nor lost over time. This is an example of the law of
of matter.
relativity
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History
energy
conservation
fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science Answer Key
Locate the gopher tortoise in the Coastal Plain. His burrow, which can be more than 40 feet long, provides shelter to numerous other animal species. These animals benefit from the shelter, but the gopher tortoise is neither harmed nor helped.
This relationship is called:
mutualism
parasitism
commensalism
Okefenokee Swamp Region
Find two examples of adaptations (plant or animal) that would make it easier to live in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Explain how the adaptation helps the organism.
1. cypress tree buttresses—hold tree up in water
2. alligator—has eyes and nostrils on top of head to hide body under water
Using plants and animals that you find in the swamp, create a food chain for this habitat.


saw palmetto
Plant
(Producer)
gopher tortoise
Plant-eater
(Consumer)

great horned owl
Meat-eater
(Consumer)
diamondback rattlesnake
Meat-eater
(Consumer)
fox
Meat-eater
(Consumer)
What is the main reason that energy passed up the food chain decreases with each level?
photosynthesis
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History
entropy
excretion
fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science Answer Key
Give two examples of decomposers.
1. fungi
2. bacteria
Where would they fit in the food chain? after the fox, cycling nutrients back in
Coast and Barrier Islands Region
The loggerhead sea turtle has several adaptations to aid life in a marine environment.
After each adaptation, explain how it helps the turtle.
Flippers: swim quickly in the water, escape predators
Nictitating membrane (clear eyelid): see underwater
Flat shell:
streamlines the shell, also for swimming faster
Gray’s Reef
Using the following organisms from Gray’s Reef, match them up with their proper designations.
Sponge
Ecosystem
Group of Sponges
Community
Coral with various invertebrates living on it
Gray’s Reef
Organism
Biome
Atlantic Ocean
Population
Photos © Fernbank Museum unless otherwise noted.
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History
fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science
Georgia Performance Standards
Piedmont Region
Examine the Piedmont region, then circle the biotic factors you find in this location.
• SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system.
c. Characterize the components that define a biome. Abiotic factors—to include precipitation, temperature and soils. Biotic factors—plant and animal adaptations that create success in that biome.
Ridge and Valley Region
Take a look around the Ridge and Valley mountain region. Can you spot three abiotic factors in this environment?
What are they?
• SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system.
c. Characterize the components that define a biome. Abiotic factors—to include precipitation, temperature and soils. Biotic factors—plant and animal adaptations that create success in that biome.
Briefly explain how the abiotic factors that you found help to determine the biotic factors in this environment.
• SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system.
a. Describe how the abiotic components (water, air, and energy) affect the biosphere.
• SEV3. Students will describe stability and change in ecosystems.
d. Explain how biotic and abiotic factors influence populations.
Coastal Plain Region
The water that the dinosaurs are shown drinking in The Ruling Dinosaur gallery is the same water that is on Earth now.
Since Earth is a closed system, as a whole, water has neither been added nor lost over time. This is an example of the law
of conservation of matter.
• SEV1. Students will investigate the flow of energy and cycling of matter within an ecosystem and relate these
phenomena to human society. d. Relate the cycling of matter and the flow of energy to the Laws of Conservation of matter and energy.
Identify the role and importance of decomposers in the recycling process.
Locate the gopher tortoise in the Coastal Plain. His burrow, which can be more than 40 feet long, provides shelter to
numerous other animal species. These animals benefit from the shelter, but the gopher tortoise is neither harmed nor
helped. This relationship is called: commensalism.
• SEV3. Students will describe stability and change in ecosystems.
e. Describe interactions between individuals (i.e. mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, predation,
and competition).
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History
fernbankmuseum.org
Getting to Know Georgia’s Regions
A Walk Through Time in Georgia Scavenger Hunt:
High School Environmental Science
Georgia Performance Standards
Okefenokee Swamp Region
Find two examples of adaptations (plant or animal) that would make it easier to live in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Explain how the adaptation helps the organism.
• SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system.
c. Characterize the components that define a biome. Abiotic factors—to include precipitation, temperature and soils. Biotic factors—plant and animal adaptations that create success in that biome.
Using plants and animals that you find in the swamp, create a food chain for this habitat. What is the main reason that
energy passed up the food chain decreases with each level?
• SEV1. Students will investigate the flow of energy and cycling of matter within an ecosystem and relate these
phenomena to human society.
b. Relate energy changes to food chains, food webs, and to trophic levels in a generalized ecosystem,
recognizing that entropy is a primary factor in the loss of usable food energy during movement up the trophic levels.
Give two examples of decomposers. Where would they fit in the food chain?
• SEV1. Students will investigate the flow of energy and cycling of matter within an ecosystem and relate these
phenomena to human society.
d. Relate the cycling of matter and the flow of energy to the Laws of Conservation of matter and energy. Identify the role and importance of decomposers in the recycling process.
Coast and Barrier Islands Region
The loggerhead sea turtle has several adaptations to aid life in a marine environment. After each adaptation, explain how it
helps the turtle.
• SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system.
c. Characterize the components that define a biome. Abiotic factors—to include precipitation, temperature and soils. Biotic factors—plant and animal adaptations that create success in that biome.
Gray’s Reef
Using the following organisms or systems from Gray’s Reef, match them up with their proper designations.
• SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system. b. Recognize and give examples of the hierarchy of the biological entities of the biosphere
(organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biosphere).
© 2008 Fernbank Museum of Natural History
fernbankmuseum.org