8 ORGANISMS REQUIRE A SUPPLY OF ENERGY AND MATERIALS FOR WHICH THEY OFTEN DEPEND ON, OR COMPETE WITH, OTHER ORGANISMS

Task 6a

WORKSHEET

Materials and tools for a working group:

  • crumbs of bread, dead fly, honey

If there is an anthill around the school, pupils can explore what the ants do in their natural environment. The teacher discusses the topic with the pupils in the classroom first, while the pupils write down their predictions. Pupils should propose at least three types of food that will be attractive for ants and 3 that ants will not be interested in. If the pupils could not suggest anything, the teacher can propose own suggestions (e.g. larger crumb of bread, dead fly, honey).

It is suitable to observe ants in their natural environment before verifying the proposed types of food. Pupils can observe what e.g. ants are bringing to the anthill. In addition, they can also focus on the anthill itself – what it consists of, what ants used to build it of, etc. This way, the pupils could recognize the relationship between animals and plants, and pupils can also distinguish between items ants carry to the anthill for anthill construction and for food.

Pupils map what ants naturally carry to the anthill. Further they place near the anthill (about 1.5 m – outside the „sidewalk“ of ants) the food they want to investigate. Individual food samples should be about 20-30cm apart. If the teacher is limited in time, they can place food samples near their path. The pupils will then observe which food sample is most attractive for ants.

They record their findings and compare them with the predictions. In a case pupils cannot stay outside on the place to observe the food samples for longer time, they can create bigger pieces of the food samples, so the ants cannot carry them into the anthill at once. In a few hours, however, they can observe which sample contains the most ants.

In the classroom, the teacher and pupils compare their predictions with the findings. The activity can continue with investigation whether ants are interesting food source for other animals. Again, the first they make predictions and verify them using secondary sources. Once verified, they can establish a food chain based on their findings.