Developed by Jordan Martin and Nicole Trame
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In the Bottle Biology kit, students will develop of working knowledge of:
- The concepts and basic vocabulary of biological, physical, and environmental sciences and their application to life and work in contemporary technological society.
- The social and environmental implications and limitations of technological development.
- The principles of scientific research and their application in simple research projects.
- The processes, techniques, methods, equipment, and available technology of science.
This kit was designed to provide basic materials, equipment, and ideas to supplement the book Bottle Biology, which is available from Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 4050 Westmark Drive, Dubuque, Iowa 52002.
| Day 1 Intro - vocabulary - material prep. Intro Activity | Day 2 Decomposition column activities | Day 3 Kimchee Activity | Day 4 Soil meditations activities | Day 5 Continue soil meditations |
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Day 6 Predator/Prey activities | Day 7 Continue Predator/Prey | Day 8 Terraqua column activities | Day 9 Ecocolumn activities | Day 10 Science in a film can activities |
| Day 11 Continue Science in a film can | Day 12 Gardening systems activities | Day 13 Continue gardening systems | Day 14 Bottle instruments and devices activities | Day 15 Continue Bottle instruments and devices |
Brief Description of Activities
Day 1 - General class discussion of Bottle Biology activities. Introduction to vocabulary and material preparations.
Day 2 - Students use 2-liter bottles, kitchen scraps, leaves, and newspapers to construct a decomposition column. The decomposition column is like a miniature compost pile, landfill, or forest floor. Through the sides of the column, students can observe different substances decompose and explore how moisture, air, temperature, and light affect the process. Approximate time: 2-3 months to see dramatic decomposition. (See Bottle Biology pp. 11-21)
Day 3 - Students use 2-liter bottles, Chinese cabbage, chili peppers, garlic cloves, salt, and red cabbage juice to construct a Kimchee column. This column is a fermentation chamber in which bacteria and fungi will break down sugars and produce by-products such as alcohol and carbon dioxide. The chamber can be used to pickle food. Approximate time: 4 days - 2 weeks. (See Bottle Biology pp. 23-31)
Day 4 - This three-part activity involves constructing sedimentation bottles and soil columns, and also a "film can mystery" activity. For the sedimentation bottles, students use 1-liter bottles, soil, and water to observe the density of particles found in ordinary soil. By mixing the soil with water and agitating, the soil will settle in layers that the students can study. (Approximate time: 7 days with drying the soil) For the soil columns, students use the same components to measure the water holding capacity of soil. In the "film can mystery" activity, students explore the densities of different kinds of soil. They receive serveral types of soil in different film cans (which they don't open) and determine which is the heaviest by weighing the cans. They can also listen to the sounds of the cans, and use a can of water to predict the actual weights of the different cans. (See Bottle Biology pp. 33-45)
Day 5 - Continue soil meditations activities from Day 4.
Day 6 - In the first part of this activity, students use 2-liter bottles, film cans, plastic lids, and small amount of fruit to construct fruit fly traps. (Approximate time: 14-18 days) In the second part of the activity, students use 2-liter bottles, film cans, water feeders, soil, distilled water, prey (fruit flies from part 1), and predators (preying mantises, spiders, or carnivorous plants) to construct predator/prey columns. They can observe the appearance, behavior, and interactions of insects, spiders, and insect-eating plants. Approximate time: 2-6 weeks for preying mantises to hatch if ordered, otherwise 2 weeks. (See Bottle Biology pp. 47-59)
Day 7 - Continue predator/prey activities from Day 6.
Day 8 - Students use 2-liter bottles, wicking material, pond water, soil, plants, salt, and seeds to construct a terraqua column. This model shows the link between land and water using plants. By altering components students can see how the land, water, or plants are affected. It can also be used for discussing the water cycle. (See Bottle Biology pp. 61-73)
Day 9 - Students use 2-liter bottles, soil, water, plants, compost, fruit flies, spiders, snails, and other life from small habitats to construct an ecocolumn. These columns design bottle habitats for animals, plants, fungi, and all sorts of microscopic organisms. It incorporates many of the previous ideas from this series. (See Bottle Biology pp. 75-87)
Day 10 - This set of activities focuses on seed germination and initial stages of plant growth and development. Students can observe the effects of gravity, temperature, light, and water on seedlings. Students explore film can germination by using film cans, seeds of a small, fast-germinating plants, water, paper towels, and tweezers or toothpicks. In addition, students can model gravitropism with film cans, seedlings, water paper towels, and scissors. To explore phototropism, students create models from film cans, seeds, hole punches, cellophane tape, colored transparent plastic squares, and paper towel wicks. In the final activity, students perform a bioassay to determine the impact of certain substances on living organisms. This activity involves using film cans, water, test solution, seed, and paper towel wicks. (See Bottle Biology pp. 89-95)
Day 11 - Continue science in a film can activities from Day 10.
Day 12 - These activities demonstrate several ways in which throw-away materials can be used as containers to grow plants. Film can wick pots can be constructed from film cans, cotton string, nail pokes, seeds, soil, and distilled water. Bottle base reservoirs can be made from 2-liter bottles, plastic lids, wick strips, and wick pads. Similar types of materials can be used to construct terraqua bottles, bottle cap gardens, film can gardens, and grow buckets. (See Bottle Biology pp. 97-107)
Day 13 - Continue gardening systems activities from Day 12.
Day 14 - These activities provide ways in which everyday objects can be used as tools for investigation and exploration. These tools, made primarily of soda bottles and film cans, can be used to help observe, measure, weigh, time, and compare the results of Bottle Biology explorations. Instructions are included for making film can hand lenses, terrariums, aquariums, bottle microscopes, film can micoscopes, bottle balances, bottle timers, and more treasures from trash. (See Bottle Biology pp. 109-118)
Day 15 - Continue bottle instruments and devices activities from Day 14.
RELATED WEB-SITES
Science Museum of Minnesota - Habitats page
The Mysterious Plastic Bottle Experiment
UIUC Howard Hughes Program | Prairie Flowers | Science Kits
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last updated 1.16.01