Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
• Click Reset
• Select the FOREST tab.
Trees
Question: What role do trees play in the forest?
1. Form hypothesis: Where do you think trees get the nutrients they need to grow?
2. Predict: Based on your hypothesis, how will the tree population change if ALL other organisms (deer,
bears, and mushrooms) are removed from the forest?
3. Analyze: Remove ALL organisms except trees. Click Advance year a few times and select the DATA
tab. Was your prediction correct? Explain what you found.
4. Draw conclusions: Substances that contain carbon and are produced by living things are called
organic. Examples of organic materials are sugar, blood, protein, and fat. Other materials, like water.

Form hypothesis: Where do you think trees get the nutrients they need to grow?

I think the trees get the nutrients from the soil and sunlight

Predict: Based on your hypothesis, how will the tree population change if ALL other organisms (deer, bears, and mushrooms) are removed from the forest?

I think they will increase dramatically because there is nothing affecting them badly.

Analyze: Remove ALL organisms except trees. Click Advance year a few times and select the DATA tab. Was your prediction correct? Explain what you found.

Yes my hypothesis was correct without the other organisms affecting the trees growth the tree population increased.

Draw conclusions: Substances that contain carbon and are produced by living things are called organic. Examples of organic materials are sugar, blood, protein, and fat. Other materials, like water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and ammonia, are called inorganic.Some living things, called producers, can produce the organic materials they need (like food) from inorganic matter. All other organisms are consumers; they consume organic matter since they cannot make it themselves.

Do your results show you that trees are producers or consumers? Explain.

Trees are producers because they make it by using the sun's light.

Analyze: Click the FOREST tab. Click the plus (+) button for mushrooms several times. Click Advance year a few times. Select the DATA tab. How did adding mushrooms affect trees?

adding the mushrooms didn’t affect the trees.

Extend: The mushrooms thrived without hurting trees. How could this happen? Try for two possible explanations. Write your ideas in the space below.

The mushrooms are decomposers; they thrive off of dead things including the trees so they  do not harm the trees at all.

Explanation: