Ecosystem Science Fair Projects, Using the Scientific Method

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Part of the Biology Science Projects Using the Scientific Method Series, this book will appeal to naturalists who need to do science fair projects The authors show how observational science is important and quantifiable. For example, one of their projects asks the question Does plant diversity affect animal diversity in an ecosystem? After stating their hypothesis that animals and plant diversity are related, the authors challenge the experimenter to build a plot in three different ecosystems and catalogue the plants and animals found inside the defined area. The book addresses the topic of ecosystems as a whole, nonliving factors in ecosystems, living factors, and human factors. While each project is complete and discussed within the book, the authors provide additional questions at the end of most of the experiments. Unlike the projects in the book, the answers to these questions are not yet known, so students will be exploring new ground. Well organized and easily understood, this book will work for third grade and older. Backmatter includes an appendix of supply companies, a glossary, list of further readings, and an index., Children's Literature