Terrarium aquarium system with learner's comments
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Albert Einstein
Focus on observation, evidence, & inference
Students are given information to build a terrarium aquarium system.
After setting it up and observing it over several days, the following comments were collected, recorded and related to the science processes of:
- Observation
- Evidence
- Inference
The learners identified and discussed which statements are observational evidence and which areinferences and why.
Activity or challenge
Build a terrarium aquarium system, observe it for at least five minutes each day, and record your observations, questions, and findings.
We built an aquarium and terrarium system and in the terrarium side we planted 20 alfalfa seeds, 26 mustard seeds, 20 grass seeds. Later we are going to add crickets and maybe a reptile or amphibian.
In the aquarium side we put 3 guppies, two snails, 6 pieces of elodea, and 30 duckweed.
Results recorded by organism
Seeds
- Eleven of the twenty alfalfa seeds have sprouted. observation
- About twenty-one of the twenty-six mustard seeds have sprouted. observation
- Sixteen of the twenty grass seeds have sprouted. observation
- One Alfalfa seed sprouted in the grass section. observation
- There are little brownish-black seed things on some of he mustard plants. observation of seed things on plants - inference that it is a seed coat from the original seed
- There are ugly little flower buds inference until observational evidence it is a flower bud, not leaf bud or something else on some of the alfalfa plants.
- There is a strange mineral that looks like white powder in the soil. mostly observation white powder - maybe inference it is a mineral
Guppies
- The female fish doesnt move around as much as the male fish moves around. observation and comparison of then to now and male to female
- The fish have been eating the elodea. observed? inferred? deduced?
- The male is small and has a big tail. observation, inference? or comparison from know facts
- The female has a small tail and a big body. observation, comparison, noting gender differences from comparison
Snails
- The snails are always moving. has observed them over time
- One of the snails had eggs. careful observation or inference
- You can see through the eggs and they are attached to the aquarium walls. observation with detail maybe used hand lens
- The snail shell has a spiral top and a half oval for the rest observation very specific and descriptive
Elodea
- There are small bits of elodea floating and most of the pieces are bit off. observation, inference, deduction - seems to understand something has been eating the elodea, or is the meaning bit and spit - not eaten?
- The top of the elodea is a darker green and the bottom is a light green. observation, comparison, closely observed
Duckweed
- The duckweed is getting longer roots, some have brown around them. observation, distinguishes some roots from others; has noticed change over time