Lesson 7 of 84 · Ecosystems
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🌿 Wild JungleDecomposers: Nature's Recyclers
Ecosystems.
🎯 Your mission
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
⚡ The twist
Living things break the rules of non-living things — find the rule they break.
Mind = Blown
🦠 You have more bacterial cells in your body than human cells.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: what will happen to the plant if you change the water?
What You'll Learn
Decomposers like fungi and bacteria break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil. Without decomposers, dead material would pile up and nutrients would be locked away.
Key Words
- consumer
- decomposer
Steps
Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.
Collect and classify 10 organisms from your yard into kingdoms, phyla, or groups. Use a dichotomous key if available.
Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.
Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3Which stage comes after a caterpillar in metamorphosis?
Where you see this in real life
Your own body is doing this thousands of times every second.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Find one thing about your body that's different from a friend's. Wonder why.
For the dinner table
“Tell me something you noticed about your own body today.”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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