Stage 5

SC5-14LW – analyses interactions between components and processes with biological systems.

Content

LW2: Conserving and maintaining the quality and sustainability of the environment requires scientific understanding of interactions within, the cycling of matter and the flow of energy through ecosystems.

Students:

· recall that ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment.

· describe how energy flows through ecosystems, including input and output through food webs.

· evaluate some examples in ecosystems, of strategies used to balance conserving, protecting and maintaining the quality and sustainability of the environment with human activities and needs.

Will the ecosystem within Scheyville National Park support bandicoot populations?

Students will:

· assess two different sites, collecting data on soil and vegetation.

· conduct a macroinvertebrate survey.

· create a food web based on the bandicoot.

· investigate land use and management of Scheyville National Park.

· identify a range of human activities and their impact.

GE5-2 – explains processes and influences that form and transform places and environments.

GE5-3 – analyses the effect of interactions and connections between people, places and environments.

GE5-5 – assesses management strategies for places and environments for their sustainability.

GE5-7 – acquires and processes geographical information by selecting and using appropriate and relevant geographical tools for inquiry.

How do environments function?

What are the causes and consequences of change in environments and how can this change be managed?

Students will:

· assess three different plant communities.

· assess water quality including collecting and identifying macroinvertebrates.

· investigate land use and management of Scheyville National Park.

· identify a range of human activities and their impact.