1. Try the activity with a single color, but use different shaped objects. For example, a green toothpick might blend in with grass more than a green disk.
   
2. Try the activity allowing more or less time than 5 minutes.
   
3. Try the activity varying size of the team or playing field.

Assessment:
Upon completion of the lesson, the students will be able to:

1. describe the role of camouflage on survival
   
2. describe the role of competition for food on predators survival
   
3. predict how a change in color or shape will affect an animal's survival.

Capillary Action in Soil
Lesson 2

Background:
Water is an essential substance for sustaining life. Plants get their water from the soil. Water moves through the soil from wetter areas to drier areas by capillary action-even against gravity. As plants absorb the water from the soil, capillary action brings more water to the roots.
Water is a polar substance that has hydrogen bonding holding its molecule together. When the attraction of the water for soil is greater than that of another water molecule, the water spreads out. This activity will look not only at capillary action as it occurs, but also factors that affect the rate and distance of moisture movement.

Objective:
The student will:

demonstrate capillary movement of moisture in soil
demonstrate how particle size affects moisture movement

Materials:
3 glass lamp chimneys or other clear cylinders, 3 shallow pans, thin cloth, rubber bands

Procedure:

1. Cover one end of the chimney with a square of cloth and fasten it in place with a rubber band.
   
2. In the open end, fill each one 3/4 full with dry soil. In one place sand, in the 2nd clay soil, and in the 3rd topsoil
   
3. Put each filled chimney in a shallow pan and add water to the pan.
   
4. Keep a record of how long it takes to move up 1 cm, 2 cm, etc. in each chimney.
   
5. If the soil particles are large, does the moisture move faster or slower than in finer soil?
   
6. Does the moisture move as high in the coarser soil?
   
7. The moisture moves faster through coarser soil because there is more space between the particles for the water molecules to move through. The moisture doesn't move as high in coarse soil though because the water molecules are not as strongly attracted to the soil and the weight of the water keeps it from riding higher.
   
8. On the other hand, a fine soil more strongly attracts water molecules so the moisture moves farther up.
   
9. Since there is less space between soil particles, the water cannot move between them as rapidly.

Extension Activities:
Heat a piece of glass tubing in a Bunsen burner flame until the glass is soft. Pull the ends of the glass tubing so that a long narrow glass tube is obtained. This narrow tube is a capillary tube. Put the narrow end in some water and see the water rise in it, not unlike how water moves up in soil.
Capillary action can also be related to thin layer or paper chromatography. The classic experiment is to separate pen dye by paper chromatography. Capillary action carries the solvent and dyes up the paper. Another property of water somewhat related to capillary action is surface tension. Fill a test tube or other narrow diameter container with water. Notice the curved surface of the water as you look at the tube from the side. The curvature, its meniscus, is caused by surface tension. Surface tension can also be demonstrated by floating a needle on the surface of a cup of water. This can be done by lowering the needle gently to the water surface as it rests on the tines of a fork. Surface tension can be broken by adding a drop of the soap or detergent to the water. In fact, this is soaps and detergents are used-to break the surface tension so that dirt is carried away from soiled fabric. Surface tension is what makes bead on a waxed surface or enables "water spiders" to glide on the surface of a pond.

Assessment:
Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate how capillary action works
   
2. demonstrate or explain how the size of the particle affects the speed and height of liquid movement

Making Soil Artificially
Lesson 3

Background:
Soil is produced in part by the breakdown of rocks. This activity explores some to the processes involved in breaking down rocks.

Objective:
The student will demonstrate four common ways rock is broken down into soil.

Procedure:

1. Rub two stones (ore even brick or concrete pieces) together over a sheet of paper. Is it easy to rub off particles of the stone? This activity can be related to how wind, water, and glaciers cause rock to break down.
   
2. Heat a small piece of limestone in a Bunsen burner flame. Drop it quickly into a pan of ice water. What happens to the stone when it hits the water? This activity and the next can be related to why we have pot holes in our streets.
   
3. Completely fill a small glass jar with water and put the cap back on. Wrap the jar in a towel and put it in freezer or outside if it's cold enough. What happened to the jar when it froze? This activity might be best demonstrated by one students per class rather than having everyone do it.
   
4. Put some small pieces of limestone in a little vinegar in a flask. Heat the flask. What do you observe on the surface of the limestone? Vinegar contains acetic acid which attacks the limestone. Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves in water to produce carbonic aid which has the same effect. Of course there acid rain as well. This can be related to the erosion of the features on some buildings and sculptures.

Extension Activities:
Obtain samples of various rocks that undergone some sort of breakdown. For example, rocks that have evidence of the influence of water, acid, or glacial breakdown can be used for a show and tell. Tumble some coarse rocks in a rock tumbler to show how not only the rocks become rounder and smoother, but that soil is also produced.

Assessment:
Upon completion of this lesson, the students will be able to describe or demonstrate four ways in which rock is broken down into soil.

Hydroponics
Lesson 4

Background:
Plants require nutrients from the soil. Some of these nutrients are organic, and others are inorganic. This activity will explore the effect of various inorganic substances on plant growth. Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants in liquid nutrients solutions. The plants will be grown in water solutions containing dissolved inorganic substances.

Objective:
The student will:

1. design a controlled experiment
   
2. interpret the significance of the results

Materials:
plant seeds (for example, beans), vermiculite (or other inert material for anchoring plants), jars or other containers for growing plants that will hold liquid, a variety of chemicals like magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts), trisodium phosphate (a cleaning product), sodium nitrate (saltpeter), sodium chloride (table salt) and distilled water for dissolving the chemicals

Pre-activity Discussion:
The goal of the experiment is to see what effect various solutions have on plant growth. Would changing the amount of light each test plant receives tell you about the effect of the solution the plant is grown in? This leads into the next question, "What is a controlled experiment?" What should the control consist of in this experiment?
Are all the seeds the same size, color, or texture? Would it be appropriate to draw conclusions based on an experiment with one seed? This questioning is intended to get students thinking about variability in experimental populations that are often not controlled. By experimenting on a whole collection of seeds, your seeds, your conclusions will be based on the average or "typical" seed.
It also brings up the idea of experimental reproducibility. Have you documented what you did well enough that you (or someone else) can duplicate it? When you repeat the experiment, do you get the same results? Why or why not?

Procedure:

1. Prepare a jar for each solutions that will be tested and label them.
   
2. Explain that Vermiculite is a mineral that doesn't dissolve in water so it won't affect the growth of the plants.
   
3. Fill each of the jars with one of the chemical solutions of your choice. Some possible chemicals are listed in the materials section. The solutions are prepared from the powdered chemical dissolved in distilled water. The control will have just distilled water.
   
4. Plant at least five of the same variety of seeds in each jar.
   
5. Treat all jars the same. Same temperature, amount of light, etc.
   
6. Measure plant growth daily. This can be done in mm. Make note of plant color or shape. Analyze the results. In which solution was growth most rapid? In which solution did the plants survive the longest?

Extension Activities:

1. Conduct a study to see if it is the cation or the anion that contributes to growth.
   
2. Conduct a study to see how the concentration of a salt influences growth.
   
3. Conduct a study to see if a mature plant responds to the solutions in the same way as a seedling.
   
4. Conduct a study to see if one type of plant responds better to the solution than another type of plant. For example, does a native plant do better than a cultivated plant? In a broader context, are native plants more resilient than cultivated plants or are they easily supplanted by cultivated plants?

Assessment:
Upon completion of the lesson, the students will be able to:

1. design a simple controlled experiment
   
2. make careful observations and record them
   
3. interpret data from an experiment when appropriate.

Chemical Products from Plants
Lesson 5

Background:
Plants produce many chemicals that affect humans. This activity explores what those chemicals are, where they are found, and how they affect humans.

Objectives:
The student will develop library research skills and develop a factual and cohesive writing style.

Pre-activity Discussion:
Plants produce many substances. Some of them have been used as medicines and others are poisons. These substances are organic compounds, compounds of the element carbon. You might want to discuss the historical definition of what was organic and what wasn't. Like inorganic substances, organic substances have chemical formulas that provide the same kinds of information. If you ask students for the chemical structure of the molecule, you should discuss how the same numbers and kinds of atoms can be arranged in different ways. The chemical structure shows that arrangement. Chemicals, like many plants and people are known by common names. To refer to a specific one without the possibility of confusion, we must provide a unique name. That's why the Latin plant name and IUPAC chemical names are part of the report.
Books on plants will probably provide the Latin name of the plant. Many of the other details needed for the report will also be given in the same books. If you can find a copy, The Dictionary of Sacred and Magical Plants is a good source of information about the plants and their chemicals. Additional information about IUPAC name, structure, and effects of the chemical can usually be found in the Merck Index.

Procedure:
Each student is assigned a different plant to research. They are given the common name of the plant. Depending on the level of your students, you can choose common plants like sugar, cane, tea, coffee, cocoa, or various herbs and spices. You may choose more esoteric plants so that more research effort is required. The student will write a report and give an oral presentation about his/her plant. The report should include as many of the following features as possible.

1. What is the common name of the plant you are reporting on?
   
2. What is the plant's Latin scientific name?
   
3. Where does the plant grow?
   
4. What type of biome is this?
   
5. Would you expect the plant to grow in Chicago?
   
6. What substance (one of the major ones) with pharmacologic activity is produced by this plant?
   
7. What is the IUPAC name for this substance?
   
8. What part of the plant produces the most substance and when?
   
9. What is the formula for this substance?
   
10. What is the chemical structure of this substance?
    
11. What are the physiological/psychological effects of the substance on the human body?
    
12. What does the plant look like (provide a picture or drawing)?
    
13. How many different resources did you cite in your report?

Extension Activities:
Every culture has used plants for medicinal or ritual purposes. As a multicultural activity, students might select to report on plants used by their ethnic culture or one they are interested in learning more about. Have students build a ball and stick model of the chemical structure of their plant chemical.

Assessment:
Upon completion of this lesson, the students will be able to write a good report based on facts gleaned from library research and use a variety of library resources in preparing their report.