Environments and Survival

@Home Lesson 5
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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Find the Chapter 1 @Home Science Wall

pages. This resource will help us keep track
of what we learn.

Review the key concepts we

have figured out so far and
the vocabulary we can use
to talk and write about our
ideas.
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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Remember, we are trying to

help the engineering firm
figure out what is
happening with the grove
snail population.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Let’s look at the graphs

again and compare the
snails with yellow shells to
the snails with
banded shells.

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 Grove Snail Population Data

Snails with Snails with Snails with Snails with

yellow shells banded shells yellow shells banded shells

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Type of snail Type of snail
Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

In the bar graphs, we can see that the snails with yellow shells are less likely
to survive in their environment than the snails with banded shells.

What do we know about what makes organisms

less likely to survive that could help us understand
why the snails with yellow shells aren’t surviving
as well?

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

You probably thought about how organisms

are less likely to survive if it’s harder for
them to meet their needs.

Maybe you thought that it

might be harder for the
snails with yellow shells to
meet their needs in their
environment.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Now we’ll find out more about grove

snails’ needs for survival.

These cards include data

about the food, water, and
predators in the grove
snails’ environment.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

You will use the data on these cards to make

inferences about how easy or hard it is for snails
with yellow shells to meet each of their needs in
their environment.
You will use the information on the cards and
what you already know about what organisms
need to survive.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Find the Making Inferences About Grove

Snails page.

First, you will use the

Food Data card and the
Water Data card pictured
here in the @Home slides.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Read the information on the Food Data card:

Food Data
Grove snails eat mostly dead or dying plants. There are many dead and
dying plants in the study area. There is enough food in this environment
for the snail population.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Read the information on the Water Data card:

Water Data
The study area gets a lot of rain. As long as the area gets enough rain each
year, there is enough water for the snail population.

Amount of rain the study Amount of rain the study

area usually gets each year area usually got this year

1,111 millimeters 1,250 millimeters

(43.7 inches) (49 inches)

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Use the Food Data card and

Water Data card to make
inferences about if the
snails can meet these needs
easily.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Now, read the Predator Data card:

Predator Data
A bird called the song thrush is a predator of grove snails. Song thrushes
live in this environment. Cracked snail shells have also been found in this
environment.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

What does the Predator

Data card say about
cracked snail shells?

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

We need some more information

about how song thrushes eat grove
snails.

We will watch a video from

the engineering firm of a
song thrush eating a snail.
Observe the song thrush,
just like scientists would.

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© The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Using the print version? Find the video at tinyurl.com/AMPEAS-04
Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

How did the song

thrush eat the grove
snail?
What happened to the
snail’s shell?

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Now, read the Shell Data card:

Shell Data
This data shows the broken snail shells found by a rock near the study
area.

Number of
Color of shells cracked shells
Banded shells 5
Yellow shells 20

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Based on the video,

the Predator Data card, and
the Shell Data card, make
an inference about the
snails avoiding predators.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Record your ideas about

why the snails with yellow
shells are not surviving
well.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Now, we’ll write a scientific explanation to help

explain to the engineering firm what is happening
with the grove snails.
A scientific explanation is a description
of how something works or why
something happens.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

These are the guidelines of a scientific explanation that will help us make sure
our explanations communicate ideas clearly:

What Is a Scientific Explanation?

1. It answers a question about how or why something happens.
2. It describes things that are not easy to observe.
3. It is based on ideas you have learned from investigations and text.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

In our case, we will explain why the snails with yellow shells are less likely to
survive than the snails with banded shells.

What Is a Scientific Explanation?

1. It answers a question about how or why something happens.
2. It describes things that are not easy to observe.
3. It is based on ideas you have learned from investigations and text.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

It is not easy to observe what is happening to the grove snail population over
time. One person can’t observe every snail, all day long, for 10 years.

What Is a Scientific Explanation?

1. It answers a question about how or why something happens.
2. It describes things that are not easy to observe.
3. It is based on ideas you have learned from investigations and text.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

We have been learning what makes organisms more likely to survive or less
likely to survive by investigating and reading.

What Is a Scientific Explanation?

1. It answers a question about how or why something happens.
2. It describes things that are not easy to observe.
3. It is based on ideas you have learned from investigations and text.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

In science, explanations are always based on evidence. Our key concepts are
also based on evidence.

How did we get evidence for our key concepts?

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Some students said they got evidence for our key concepts from reading
Earthworms Underground and parts of Biomimicry Handbook. Other students
said they investigated by doing the
Needs for Survival activity and by working with the Survival Model.

In order to write a complete scientific explanation

that is based on evidence, we will need to be sure
to include ideas we’ve learned from the books
and our investigations.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

Find the Scientific Explanation of Grove

Snail Survival page.

Think about the cracked

shell data.
Complete your scientific
explanation.

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

We have just written a scientific explanation.

explanation

a description of how something works

or why something happens

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Environments and Survival @Home Lesson 5

End of @Home Lesson

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