Week 1 Content
Grade 8 Science | Rosche
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Week 1 Content
Grade 8 Science | Rosche
Complete the "DAY 2 EXIT TICKET" and "SCIENCE CIRCLE" sections:
Bonus: +5 points for Day 2 Exit Ticket, +3 points for Science Circle!
Optional content if you finish early or want to go deeper.
Systems Thinking Reflection
Big changes start small. Use these questions to see how energy flow connects to everything else.
Cause → Effect Chain
Follow the chain: Sun → Grass (10,000 kcal) → Zebra (1,000 kcal) → Lion (100 kcal)
Your turn: What happens if grass production decreases by 50%?
Trade-Off Thinking
Eating meat vs. plants has different resource requirements due to the 10% rule.
Your turn: Why might communities choose plant-based diets?
Feedback Loop
When apex predators disappear, herbivore populations explode...
Your turn: How might removing lions create a chain reaction?
Scientist Spotlight: Dr. James Estes
Dr. James Estes is an ecologist who revolutionized our understanding of trophic cascades—how changes at the top of the food chain affect entire ecosystems. His groundbreaking research on sea otters, urchins, and kelp forests showed that when apex predators disappear, ecosystems collapse in predictable ways based on the energy pyramid.
When sea otters were hunted almost to extinction, sea urchin populations exploded (no predators!), destroying kelp forests and the habitat for thousands of species. When otters recovered, the kelp forests returned. His research proved that apex predators control the entire food web below them.
His message to students: "Understanding energy flow helps you understand why every species matters—especially the ones at the top."
Environmental Justice: Who Gets to Eat?
The 10% rule has big implications for food justice. Meat production requires 10× more land, water, and energy than plant-based food production. Wealthy nations eat high-meat diets, using disproportionate global resources. Meanwhile, 2.3 billion people worldwide face food insecurity.
In St. Louis, food deserts exist in North City where residents can't access affordable, nutritious food. Meanwhile, industrial cattle feedlots in rural Missouri need huge amounts of corn and water—and often pollute nearby waterways. Understanding energy pyramids helps explain why our food system choices affect communities unequally.
Environmental justice requires asking: Who has access to food? Whose communities bear the environmental costs of our choices?
Week 1 Complete!
Next Week: How do invasive species disrupt energy flow?