Teacher: Maria Cabeza (Read more about her biography here)
Dates for 4-week course:
Sept 9 – Oct 4, 2024
Times for Live Sessions: Monday through Thursday. Each live session lasts between 50 and 70 minutes. Please note that all times are given in Mountain Time (MT), which is two hours behind ET, and one hour ahead of PT.
- Option #1: Starts at 8am MT
- Option #2: Starts at 11am MT
Course Description
Ecology is the study of organisms and their physical environment. In this 7th grade ecology course, we will begin with the study of organization levels. Starting with cells, then moving onto organs, tissues, individuals, populations, life communities, eco systems, all the way up to the biosphere. We will learn about other spheres such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and ecosphere. We will cover the different layers of the atmosphere. We will learn about living organisms related to the hydrosphere, the ones related to the lithosphere, and the relationship between these organisms and the water and soil. We will also look into the different cycles on our earth such as the carbon cycle, water cycle and nitrogen cycle. These cycles will be explained and drawn with great detail, and we will learn how organisms affect these cycles and how these cycles affect organisms. During the last week, a more detailed explanation of organisms and their environment will be given by letting the students make a detailed description about a habitat in their own environment. We will relate all the biotic and abiotic factors to this.
Topics covered:
- Organization level from cells, to organs, tissues, individuals, populations, life communities, eco systems, all the way up to the biosphere.
- The different spheres: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, ecosphere.
- Organisms that live in or near water
- Organisms that live on the land
- Autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms
- Food chains, food webs, and food cycles
- Nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, and water cycle
- Relationships between organisms and their environment
- Interspecific and intraspecific relationships between different organisms and their environment.
- Population ecology
