Spring has Sprung in a Deciduous Forest

After our first observation of spring life. We went out for our second about three weeks later at the same locations as last time. Everything that we did the first time either produced more or died. We saw that the cones on the end of the pine tree branches had gotten bigger. There was more butterflies than last time, flowers had already bloomed, their was bugs flying around, and the grass was really green unlike last time when it was brown. I could hear birds chirping and a little wind that made the leaves blow back and forth. As I was listening I could feel the light wind blow through my hair and I could feel the warmth of the sun as it beamed down.

We left the edge of the field to go down the hill, through the trails, and down to the pond. As we got to the pond it was all open so the sun was beaming down more than in the field but this time there was a medium wind that rocked the branches back and forth. When I got done feeling how the nature was I stopped to see what i would hear on this beautiful day. I heard the wind whistling as it went through the trees and the water as the wind blow it up on shore. This time though there was a lot things I could see other than last time. I saw the pond in front of me with trees all around the pond except in one spot. But in that one stop is were I could see a bus garage with a lot of buses and other vehicles in that area. The trees around the pond were blooming and their was a dock that went out in the pond. Plus their were female cones and pine cones growing around the pond that were dying.

When we left the pond we went down the trails until we found a good spot on the creek. As I walked down the trails you could hear the water rolling down the stream, then you could hear the scuffling of leaves as people walked down the trail, and the sound of branches cracking as they rock back and forth from the wind. This sight was very different than the last it was cooler because the trees provided shade and it was a light wind because the trees were taking all the impact of the wind. But I saw a couple little frogs. Someone tried to catch the but they would always get away. We also seen a crawfish, trees blooming, leaves, and a water strider gliding across the creek

Animal Ears Lab

1. Our lab on April 4, 2011 was on if you have big ears does it help you hear farther away. For example animals in the wild that have bigger ears so they can can hear if any predators are around. Some animals have bigger ears so they can find there food. So for our lab we are going to see how far you can hear a pen click with a regular ear and a enhanced ear.

2. So we are going to stand in front of some one that has a pen that clicks. Every time you hear it click you take one step back. You do that tell you can not hear the clicking anymore with a regular ear. Then when you are finished with that you measure how far you are away from where you started. After that you take a paper plate and cut a triangle in it then slide it behind your ear. Do the same process again and see if you get farther or shorter than you got with your regular ear.

3.

Students	Distance with Normal Ear	Distance with Enhanced Ear
Jessie	27.9	52.9
Albert	55	50
Reese	45	60
Tangie	68.6	58.6
Brandon W.	58.6	78.6
Kasey	25.3	15.3
David	40.6	55.6
Emily P.	30.6	25.6
Sierra	53.8	55.6
Stephanie	34.4	47.8
Raeshar	57	63.7
Rayshawn	47.6	41.6
Montez	45.6	30.6
Devon	51.6	87.9
TJ	40.6	63.3
Travis	50.6	55.6
Conner	89.7	128.9
Brandon H.	58.6	87.2
Emily S.	64.7	76.3
Total	945.8	1135.1
Average	49.8%	59.7%

4. Did the addition of the larger ear make a difference in the distance at which you were able to hear the pen click? Explain

Yes it did but it depends on what is around you when you are doing this lab. Like for example the wind could be blowing really hard in your ears, the direction the wind is blowing, what is in front of you (column), people talking, and other noises that affect how far you can hear.

5. Animals with big ears

 Kangaroo

Fennec Fox



Jerboa

Kudu

Elephant

Animals without big ears

Ear less seals- because it helps them dive better

Polar bear- Because they don't have the capacity to hear far away

Hippopotamus- Because they are mostly in the water and they don't need to hear far away

Ecotower Obseration #3 4/8/11

1. Betta fish ( we have one that is alive)
Crickets ( We put six crickets in at first and now all are dead)
Snails ( Two snails in the ecotower are dead now)
Worms ( The three that we put in their are buried in the soil and don't know if they are dead or alive)

2. We think that the algae is still good and keeping the fish alive. We think the animals up at the top died because they weren't getting enough oxygen and the plants were beginning to die. But the worms are still unknown because we can't see anything to tell if they are dead or alive. Then the snails died and the snails shells were floating at the bottom of the bottle.

3. Bean plants (The three bean plants grew tall but are starting to die)
Algae ( Stayed alive but are turning brown)
Other plants ( The plant that was alive in our first observation is starting to die)

4. We think that the bean plants and other plants are starting to die because they are not getting any carbon dioxide. We also think the algae is turning brown because it isn't getting enough oxygen.

5. The water is getting a little darker yellow tint with particles floating around in the water. Plus some of the algae is turning brown and sinking to the bottom.

6.

7. I predict that most likely the fish will die next since the algae is beginning to die. The fish might live but eventually it will die. I think the plants up top will die since their not getting into carbon dioxide.