Energy Transfer in Agricultural Ecosystems - Oxford AQA A Level Biology

Energy and Ecosystems - Oxford AQA A Level Biology

This bundle provides all the teaching resources required for the delivery of the Energy and Ecosystems topic (Chapter 21) of the Oxford AQA International A Level course. Having also taught AQA and Pearson Edexcel for a number of years I can confirm that these resources are also suitable for the delivery of these courses. Through this series of 8 fully resourced lessons students will acquire knowledge and skills in the following areas: Lesson 1: how energy is transferred within food chains and webs. Students will start by recalling their GCSE knowledge of food chains and webs. They will describe how energy is transferred between organisms in the ecosystem and apply their knowledge to past paper questions. Lesson 2: how energy is lost along a food chain. Students will start by identifying how how energy is lost along a food chain, they will then calculate energy transfers including a description of the terms net primary production and gross primary production. Students will finish the lesson by applying their knowledge acquired to past paper questions on this topic. Lesson 3: will reflect upon their knowledge and understanding of populations, photosynthesis and respiration. They will identify their strengths and areas for development and they will respond to the feedback they were given by their teacher. They will then prepare for RP9, investigating the effect of competition on seedling growth, as this needs to be completed over a number of lessons. In this resourse package I have included the week 6 assessment, mark scheme, RP9 student and teacher sheet from Oxford AQA and an accompanying PowerPoint to guide students and teachers through the lesson. Lesson 4: will differentiate between pyramids of number, biomass and energy. They will first recall their GCSE knowledge of pyramaids of biomass and number, they will then observe their germinating seeds for RP9 in continuation from the previous lesson where they prepared their seeds in petri dishes and construct a suitable results table to collect their data over the next 5 lessons. Students will then be introduced to pyramids of energy and compare them to pyramids of number and biomass. Lesson 5: how productivity is increased in agricultural ecosystems. They will start by compare natural and agricultural ecosystems. They will then observe their germinating seeds in continuation of RP9 before exploring the concept of productivity including calculations and studying how agricultural ecosystems are manipulated to improve productivity through creating a a leaflet or presentation to educate young farmers about how to increase the productivity of their crops. Lesson 6: how the biological control of pests can increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. They will start by being given time to observe their germinating seeds in continuation of RP9 before exploring the features of an effective pesticide and debating whether chemical pesticides, biological control or a system that incorporates a range of techniques is best for controlling pests and thus increasing agricultural productivity. Students will finish the lesson by completing a mathematical problem solving question. Lesson 7: explore features of intensive rearing of livestock. They will start by being given time to observe their germinating seeds in continuation of RP9 before exploring the transfer of energy through livestock including the equation, P = I - (F + R + U), for this and explaining how rearing animals intensively increases the efficiency of energy conversion. Students will also evaluate data considering economic, environmental and ethical issues involved with increasing productivity in the final part of this lesson. Lesson 8: consolidate their understanding of energy and ecosystems through applying their understanding to unfamiliar scenarios and diagrams. They will start by being given time to observe their germinating seeds in continuation of RP9 for the last time. In this lesson they will also take measurements of the length of the root and shoot of their germinated seeds and carry out a Spearman’s rank calculation in order to see if there is a significant difference in germination and initial growth in the seedlings at different densities of sowing. The PowerPoint resource guides students through this process. Students will then attempt a number of past paper questions and reflect upon reflect upon their understanding of Chapter 21 - Energy and Ecosystems and their progress this academic year so far.