Give an example for when you intentionally competed against another person?
Overview
In this lesson, students are introduced to a participatory computer simulation where each student takes the role of an individual consumer (a bug) in an ecosystem. Students make predictions about various model runs and compare their predictions to the outcomes they observe. In one exploration they control the direction of movement of a bug, trying to gather as much food (grass) as possible in a variety of conditions. In another exploration they observe the outcome when many bugs move randomly and blindly around an ecosystem consuming food without any intentional control. Students recreate a physical representation of a histogram graph (of energy levels of bugs) from NetLogo and analyze characteristics of the population in the graph to draw comparisons between populations and individuals. Through discussion, the teacher helps build consensus about what they discovered: Competition is an emergent outcome that results from 1) limited resources necessary for survival, 2) and unequal distribution of those resources throughout the ecosystem, 3) and from interactions (intentional or unintentional) that always are occurring between each individual and their environment. In their homework students address the difference between intentional and unintentional competition further. They critique the modeling assumptions used in the computer simulation. They describe the variation in local resource availability for individuals in the computer model. They calculate how changes in the amount of grass or amount of bugs in would change the average amount of grass per bug in the ecosystem and they identify that ecosystems with lower average grass per bug would have higher levels of competition than those with higher average amounts of grass per bug.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
Computational Thinking in STEM
- Data Practices
- Analyzing Data
- Manipulating Data
- Visualizing Data
- Modeling and Simulation Practices
- Using Computational Models to Find and Test Solutions
- Using Computational Models to Understand a Concept
- Computational Problem Solving Practices
- Troubleshooting and Debugging
- Systems Thinking Practices
- Investigating a Complex System as a Whole
- Thinking in Levels
- Understanding the Relationships within a System
Credits
Unit designed/developed by Dabholkar, S., Hall K., Woods P., & Bain C.
Acknowledgement
CODAP is developed and built by The Concord Consortium at https://codap.concord.org/
Lesson 7 is based on the lesson Evolution in Action: The Galápagos Finches Authored by Paul Strode for Howard Hughes Medical Institute based on data collected by Peter and Rosemary Grant, Princeton University.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (grants CNS-1138461, CNS-1441041 and DRL-1020101) and the Spencer Foundation (grant 201600069). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations.
Activities
- 1. Competition Between Individuals
- 2. Exploration 1
- 3. Build a class histogram
- 4. Exploration 2
- 5. Making Sense of Your Data
- 6. Discoveries
Student Directions and Resources
Students will develop an understanding of how populations interact with each other within a community, discussing ideas concerning carrying capacity, competition, and interdependence. From there students will use models to explain the connection between genetic drift, natural selection, and speciation.
1. Competition Between Individuals
Purpose
What causes competition between individuals in an ecosystem?
Overview
In class today, you will participate in a competition against your classmates. Understanding ways in which competition occurs between individuals in a population is necessary to understand how complex interactions lead to changes in populations over time.
Question 1.1
Question 1.2
In general it probably isn't difficult for you to come up with examples of intentional competition, but what might unintentional competition look like? This would be competition against another person that is not done on purpose.
2. Exploration 1
First, open up the HubNet Client 6.0.2 application. A window will pop up asking for you to enter a username (you can just use your name) and a "Server" which which is a string of numbers and decimal points (called an IP address) that your teacher will give you. Once you've entered both of those, go ahead and click enter.
Model Rules
Let's make sure you're familiar with how the model works. In this model, each student controls a single bug. By clicking on the view, you can change the direction your bug travels. The goal is to get your bug to eat as much grass as possible. In addition to student-controlled bugs, there can be "bot" bugs that just randomly wander and eat grass around the world.
This model uses a software package in NetLogo called HubNet. This allows many different students on many different computers to control a single NetLogo model. Your view focuses only on your bug. Only the teacher can see the whole model. After everyone has answered the questions below, your teacher will start the simulation.
Question 2.1
When a spot of green grass is eaten by your bug, what do you think you'll see happen in that spot?
Question 2.2
Where will the energy amount of your bug show up?
Question 2.3
Will everyone be able to get an equal amount of food in this environment? Explain your answer.
3. Build a class histogram
Record the energy of your bug at the end of the competition. Write this value on a post-it note. Then add your post-it note to the correct spot on the class histogram of all the bugs' energy levels.
Question 3.1
Sketch a general shape of the histogram. Mark where on the histogram your bug's energy value was located.
Note: Draw your sketch in the sketchpad below
Question 3.2
Were all bugs in the ecosystem equally successful at finding food? Use data to support your claim.
4. Exploration 2
Question
If the bugs move randomly and blindly through the ecosystem (instead of being controlled by you), how do you predict the outcome of the competition will compare to the previous exploration?
Make a prediction
Question 4.1
How successful with the randomly controlled bugs be compared to your previous activity?
You may click the images below to view a larger version
A.
B.
C.
Question 4.2
How much variation will there be among the randomly controlled bugs compared to your previous activity?
You may click the images below to view a larger version
A.
B.
C.
Question 4.3
Explain the reasoning for your answer to the previous questions. Be sure to address both the average level of success and the amount of variation.
5. Making Sense of Your Data
Now the teacher will repeat the previous activity, but instead of the bugs being controlled by you and your fellow students, they will move randomly.
Choose one or two bugs to follow, and pay attention to how they affect and are affected by the bugs around them.
Question 5.1
Was your prediction about the histogram correct?
Yes
No
No
Question 5.2
How did the outcome of this competition compare to the previous ones?
Question 5.3
In the last exploration, bugs were not being controlled by you or anyone intentionally, but were moving about randomly. While viewing the interactions of the bugs what evidence did you notice suggesting that a competition still occurred?
6. Discoveries
The original purpose of this activity was to answer: "What causes competition between individuals in an ecosystem?"
Question 6.1
Based on the model, what do you believe is the answer to this question?
Question 6.2
Think back to Isle Royale, where we looked at how populations can affect the resources available to other populations. How is what you did today similar or different?
