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Science lesson plan · 10th grade (Year 11 in England) · 45 minutes

Sampling with quadrats

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.HS-LS2-1CCSS NGSS.HS-LS2-2England: KS4 Combined Science: Ecosystems

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Sampling with quadrats.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Food webs and interdependence

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Food web cards, Arrows to build chains, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Food webs and interdependence). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Pond food web: algae are eaten by tadpoles and water fleas. Tadpoles and water fleas are eaten by small fish. Small fish are eaten by herons. If the small fish died, what would happen to the herons? (They would increase / Nothing / They would decrease or move away / They would eat algae) → They would decrease or move awayPrompt: What do herons eat in this web?
  2. Bees are declining. Why could this affect fruit farmers? (Bees make the rain / Fewer flowers would be pollinated, so less fruit forms / Bees eat fruit / Fruit trees need honey to grow) → Fewer flowers would be pollinated, so less fruit formsPrompt: What do bees carry between flowers?
  3. Food webs: which statement is NOT true? (Removing one species can affect many others in a food web. / Plants compete for light, water and minerals. / Predator and prey populations often rise and fall in cycles. / A food web contains only one food chain.) → A food web contains only one food chain.Prompt: Think about what happens when one population changes.

Hook · 5 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: Sampling with quadrats. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Five 1 m² quadrats contained these numbers of daisies: 7, 4, 11, 4, 10. What is the mean number of daisies per quadrat?
  • Step 1: (7 + 4 + 11 + 4 + 10) ÷ 5 = 7.2
  • Step 2: So the answer is: 7.2
  • Answer: 7.2
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Five 1 m² quadrats contained these numbers of daisies: 9, 5, 4, 11, 1. What is the mean number of daisies per quadrat? → 6Prompt: Add up all the counts.
  2. The mean number of buttercups in a 0.25 m² quadrat is 6. The field is 1000 m². Estimate the number of buttercups in the field. → 24000Prompt: How many quadrats would fit in the field?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Five 1 m² quadrats contained these numbers of daisies: 2, 7, 0, 12, 1. What is the mean number of daisies per quadrat? → 4.4Prompt: Add up all the counts.
  2. The mean number of buttercups in a 0.25 m² quadrat is 7. The field is 100 m². Estimate the number of buttercups in the field. → 2800Prompt: How many quadrats would fit in the field?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Food webs and interdependence.
  • Use concrete materials: food web cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-10.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Sampling with quadrats

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Five 1 m² quadrats contained these numbers of daisies: 6, 11, 0, 12, 9. What is the mean number of daisies per quadrat?

    Answer

  2. Question 2

    Why should quadrats be placed at random?

    • A. To find the most plants
    • B. To avoid bias, so the sample represents the whole area
    • C. Because it is quicker
    • D. So the results are always the same

  3. Question 3

    The mean number of buttercups in a 0.25 m² quadrat is 12. The field is 250 m². Estimate the number of buttercups in the field.

    Answer

  4. Question 4

    Five 1 m² quadrats contained these numbers of daisies: 7, 0, 9, 0, 4. What is the mean number of daisies per quadrat?

    Answer

  5. Question 5

    How can you see how plant species change from a hedge to the middle of a field?

    • A. Count only the tallest plants
    • B. Place quadrats at regular intervals along a transect line
    • C. Place one quadrat by the hedge only
    • D. Sample at night

  6. Question 6

    The mean number of buttercups in a 1 m² quadrat is 5. The field is 1000 m². Estimate the number of buttercups in the field.

    Answer

  7. Question 7

    Five 1 m² quadrats contained these numbers of daisies: 5, 12, 9, 9, 3. What is the mean number of daisies per quadrat?

    Answer

  8. Question 8

    Which is a biotic factor?

    • A. temperature
    • B. soil pH
    • C. a new predator arriving
    • D. carbon dioxide level

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Answer key: Sampling with quadrats

  1. 1. 7.6

  2. 2. B. To avoid bias, so the sample represents the whole area

  3. 3. 12000

  4. 4. 4

  5. 5. B. Place quadrats at regular intervals along a transect line

  6. 6. 5000

  7. 7. 7.6

  8. 8. C. a new predator arriving