4th Sep '25

Schemes of Work

B2
- B2.5
  - Lesson 01 - What do organisms compete for in an ecosystem? Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - Students should be able to describe different levels of organisation in an ecosystem from individual organisms to the whole ecosystem
    - Students should be able to describe the importance of interdependence and competition in a community.
    - Students should be able to, when provided with appropriate information suggest the factors for which organisms are competing in a given habitat
    - An ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms
      (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment.
    - To survive and reproduce, organisms require a supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there.
    - Plants in a community or habitat often compete with each other for light and space, and for water and mineral ions from the soil.
    - Animals often compete with each other for food, mates and territory.
    - Within a community each species depends on other species for food,
      shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc. If one species is removed it can affect the whole community. This is called interdependence.
      - Suggested Activity:
        Habitats of Hamble:
        Students go to designated spots around the school (give students a stop watch and a time limit), e.g. behind Durban. At each location students are to note down the different organisms living there and what they compete for. How would the removal of one species impact the other species living here?
        
        OR
        Habitats of the World:
        Set up stations around the classroom with a different habitat at each (e.g. arctic, rainforest, savannah, etc.)
        At each station have a large photo of the environment and some example food webs. Students are to note down the different organisms living there and what they compete for. How would the removal of one species impact the other species living here?
        Equipment Required:
        Stopwatches.
        
        OR
        
        Large photos of different habitats (e.g. arctic, rainforest, savannah, etc.)
        and example food webs for each habitat.
    - A stable community is one where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes remain fairly constant.
    - Students should be able to extract and interpret information from charts, graphs and tables relating to the interaction of organisms within a community. Extract and interpret information from charts,
      graphs and tables.(MS)
  - Lesson 02 - What is the difference between abiotic and biotic factors? Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - Students should be able to explain how a change in an abiotic factor would affect a given community given appropriate data or context.
    - Abiotic (non-living) factors which can affect a community are:
      - light intensity
      - temperature
      - moisture levels
      - soil pH and mineral content
      - wind intensity and direction
      - carbon dioxide levels for plants
      - oxygen levels for aquatic animals.
    - Students should be able to extract and interpret information from charts, graphs and tables relating to the effect of abiotic factors on organisms within a community. Extract and interpret information from charts, graphs and tables. (MS)
    - Students should be able to explain how a change in a biotic factor might affect a given community given appropriate data or context.
    - Biotic (living) factors which can affect a community are:
      - availability of food
      - new predators arriving
      - new pathogens
      - one species out-competing another so the numbers are no longer sufficient to breed.
    - Students should be able to extract and interpret information from charts, graphs and tables relating to the effect of biotic factors on organisms within a community.
    - (WS) Extract and interpret information from charts, graphs and tables
    - Students should understand that photosynthetic organisms are the producers of biomass for life on Earth.
    - Feeding relationships within a community can be represented by food chains.
    - All food chains begin with a producer which synthesises
      molecules. This is usually a green plant or alga which makes glucose by photosynthesis.
    - In relation to abundance of organisms students should be able to understand the terms mean, mode and median (MS)
    - In relation to abundance of organisms students should be able to calculate arithmetic means (MS)
    - In relation to abundance of organisms students should be able to plot and draw appropriate graphs selecting appropriate scales for the axes (MS)
    - Producers are eaten by primary consumers, which in turn may be eaten by secondary consumers and then tertiary consumers
    - Consumers that kill and eat other animals are predators, and those eaten are prey.
    - In a stable community the numbers of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles.
    - Interpret graphs used to model predator-prey cycles (WS) (MS)
      - Suggested Activity:
        Students are to describe and explain the predator-prey graph for foxes and rabbits.
        Equipment Required:
        Predator-prey relationship graph.
    - Students should be able to interpret graphs used to model these cycles.
  - Lesson 03 - How are organisms adapted to survive? Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - Students should be able to, when provided with appropriate information suggest how organisms are adapted to the conditions in which they live.
    - Students should be able to explain how organisms are adapted to live in their natural environment, given appropriate information.
    - Organisms have features (adaptations) that enable them to survive in the conditions in which they normally live. These adaptations may be structural, behavioural or functional
    - Some organisms live in environments that are very extreme, such as at high temperature, pressure, or salt concentration. These organisms are called extremophiles.
    - Bacteria living in deep sea vents are extremophiles.
      - Suggested Activity:
        Adaptation research task:
        Students are put in to small groups and each group given an area of adaptations to research (desert animals; desert plants; arctic animals; deterring predators; extremophiles.)
        Students fill in their area of their mindmap during the research.
        Each group feeds back their research to the class. Students complete the rest of the mindmap whilst listening.
        
        Plenary:
        exam question on adaptations.
        Equipment Required:
        Adaptations research mindmap.
        
        Biology textbooks, computers, students' phones.
  - Lesson 04 - Required Practical - Sampling Techniques Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - A range of experimental methods using transects and quadrats are used by ecologists to determine the distribution and abundance of species in an ecosystem. Required Practical 9 - Sampling Techniques (AT skills 1,3,4,6,8)
      - Suggested Activity:
        Required practical - sampling.
        
        Random sampling - random placing of quadrats to calculate average population of a species in a field.
        
        Transect - lay measuring tape and place quadrat regularly to investigate growth of a species across a habitat.
        Equipment Required:
        • a 25cm x 25cm quadrat
        • 2 x 30 m tape measure
        • a clipboard
        • a pen
        • paper.
  - Lesson 05 - How is material recycled by the living world? Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - Students should recall that many different materials cycle through the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem
    - Students should be able to explain the importance of the carbon and water cycles to living organisms
    - All materials in the living world are recycled to provide the building blocks for future organisms. Students are not expected to study the nitrogen cycle.
    - (WS) Students should be able to interpret and explain the processes in diagrams of the carbon cycle, the water cycle.
    - The carbon cycle returns carbon from organisms to the atmosphere as
      carbon dioxide to be used by plants in photosynthesis.
      - Suggested Activity:
        Possible practical: storing carbon dioxide in the sea (see ppt on shared area.)
        Equipment Required:
        Per group (see ppt for set up):
        two conical flasks with bungs with two holes for delivery tubes;
        syringes; baking soda; phenol red indicator; measuring cylinders; beakers, vinegar, spatulas
    - Students should be able to explain the role of microorganisms in cycling materials through an ecosystem by returning carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and mineral ions to the soil.
    - The water cycle provides fresh water for plants and animals on land
      before draining into the seas.
    - Water is continuously evaporated and
      precipitated.
  - Lesson 06 - What factors affect the rate of decay? Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - Students should be able to explain how temperature, water and availability of oxygen affect the rate of decay of biological material.
    - Students should be able to calculate rate changes in the decay of biological material (MS)
    - Students should be able to translate information between numerical and graphical form (MS)
    - Students should be able to plot and draw appropriate graphs selecting appropriate scales for the axes. (MS)
    - Gardeners and farmers try to provide optimum conditions for rapid decay of waste biological material.
    - The compost produced is used as a natural fertiliser for growing garden plants or crops.
    - Anaerobic decay produces methane gas. Biogas generators can be used to produce methane gas as a fuel.
    - Required Practical 10 - Rate of Decay (AT skills 1,3,4,5)
      - Suggested Activity:
        Required practical - decay (separates only.)
        Equipment Required:
        Full fat milk
        0.05M sodium carb. soln
        5% lipase soln
        250ml beakers
        test tubes
        ohp pens
        Pipettes
        thermometers
        stopclocks
        Cresol red
        kettles
        Ice
  - Lesson 07 - How do environmental changes impact the distribution of a species? Lesson Plan Lesson Title
    - Students should be able to evaluate the impact of environmental changes on the distribution of species in an ecosystem given appropriate information.
    - Environmental changes affect the distribution of species in an ecosystem.
    - These changes include:
      - temperature
      - availability of water
      - composition of atmospheric gases.
      - Suggested Activity:
        Transect to investigate the affect of light on growth of e.g. daisies, measure abundance going from tree line to open field.
        Equipment Required:
        Measuring tapes, quadrats.
    - The changes may be seasonal, geographic or caused by human interaction.