Name_________________________

STUDENT INSTRUCTION AND ANSWER SHEET

Activity 1: Exploration- Why Do They Live There?

From our perspective as humans we typically think of ourselves as the dominant form of life on the planet. From an overall perspective that includes all forms of life (from tiny single-celled bacteria to enormous whales) we must consider that we, as humans, are simply one of the players in the larger ecosystem at play on Earth. In the activities that follow we are going to begin by considering familiar life forms in familiar settings from around the world and then move to studying very specific and unfamiliar life forms in very extreme living conditions that exist on Earth.

Consider the two lists shown below containing the names of different types of bears and birds.

The following questions are asked to help you begin to reason about different life forms in terms of their connection to the surroundings they inhabit.

A. Consider each of the "bears" and birds listed in the table above. In general, why do these animals exist only in specific regions on Earth? Are there specific features of their surroundings that strongly influence why they live at these particular locations? If so, what are they?

B. Complete the following tables by filling in the blank next to each characteristic with an approximate numerical value and/or a brief description. Consider how the animal and its environment are interconnected to the survival of the animal.

C. Which of these birds could live in the same environment as which of these "bears"? Explain why these birds and "bears" could live together.

D. Which "bear" lives in an environment that would be the harshest for the parrot to live in? Describe the key characteristics of the bear's environment that would make life difficult for the parrot.

E. When an environment presents characteristics that make it difficult for a particular life form to exist we often use the word extreme to label the environment. Which of the birds' environments would be extreme for the Grizzly bear? Explain your reasoning for each choice that you make.

F. Which animals live in environments that would be considered extreme for human beings? Explain your reasoning with each choice that you make.

G. Describe a set of conditions on Earth that make an environment so extreme as to exclude the possibility for any life form to exist.

H. As a class compare the environments that each group created in response to question G. Create a class list of the characteristics that most strongly influence whether or not life can exist at a particular location on Earth. Try to describe why these characteristics create an extreme environment for living organisms. Record your class list below.