Vocabulary: abiotic factor, algal bloom, biotic factor, concentration, eutrophication, mean,
oxygen, parts per million, photosynthesis
Prior Knowledge
... [Show More] Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. All animals need oxygen. We get oxygen from the air we breathe. How do fish get theirs?
Fishes get their oxygen by filtering water through their gills to get oygen
since they don’t have lungs like humans do.
2. Where does the “fizz” in soda come from? Carbon dioxide
Gizmo Warm-up
The Pond Ecosystem Gizmo™ lets you study ponds as
an ecologist would. Each of the tools can be dragged
to the pond to take measurements.
1. Drag the Thermometer to the pond at 6:00 AM.
What is the water temperature? 29 °C
2. Click Fast-forward ( ) until about 12:00 PM, and
then click Pause ( ).
What is the water temperature now? 31 °C
3. Just as soda contains dissolved carbon dioxide, pond water contains dissolved oxygen. The
unit for measuring the concentration (amount) of oxygen is parts per million (ppm).
Drag the Oxygen gauge to the pond. What is the concentration of oxygen? 4.04ppm
4. Drag the Fishing pole to the pond, and click Play ( ). Fish for about four hours.
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How many catfish did you catch? 2 How many trout? 0
This study source was downloaded by 100000830772748 from CourseHero.com on 12-14-2021 04:48:02 GMT -06:00
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Activity A:
A day in the life
of a pond
Get the Gizmo ready:
Click Reset ( ). Remove the Fishing pole from
the pond.
Introduction: The fish in a pond are affected by biotic factors such as other fish, aquatic
plants, insects, and bacteria. They are also affected by abiotic factors, or nonliving factors
such as temperature and the concentration of dissolved oxygen.
Question: How does the amount of dissolved oxygen in a pond change during one day?
1. Observe: Use the Oxygen gauge to measure the concentration of dissolved oxygen at
several different times. How does the oxygen concentration change over a single day?
The oxygen levels go up as the sun rises and decreases overnight. The
oxygen levels are cyclic and are directly related to the sun.
2. Predict: At what time should the amount of oxygen in a pond be lowest? (Circle one)
6:00 AM 12:00 PM (noon) 6:00 PM 12:00 AM (midnight)
3. Test: Measure the dissolved oxygen at four times during the day: 6 AM, 12 PM (noon), 6 PM,
and 12 AM (midnight). Then click New pond and repeat the test for two more ponds. Record
your results in the table below.
6:00 AM 12:00 PM 6:00 PM 12:00 AM
Pond 1
4.04ppm
5.24ppm 6.50ppm 5.26ppm
Pond 2 6.15ppm 7.76ppm 9.40ppm 7.89ppm
Pond 3 3.24ppm 4.18ppm 5.11ppm 4.22ppm
4. Analyze: Was your prediction correct for all three ponds? Explain. Yes, this is the time
when it has gone with the least amount of sunlight exposure. I also predicted that the
oxygen levels would rise during the day, and go down at night which is shown in the
table.
5. Draw conclusions: The dissolved oxygen in a pond is produced by pond plants and algae
(small, plant-like organisms) in a process called photosynthesis.
A. At what time of day does photosynthesis take place? From 6:00AM – 6:00PM
B. What source of energy is present during this time? The sun [Show Less]