Central Idea: Systems maintain efficiency through interdependent relationships.

Students experimented with creating their own systems by working together to design and build bird feeders from recycled materials. They had to decide as a group how each individual component would contribute to the efficiency of the entire system. We have started looking at animal and plant cells. They are beginning to see that all of a cell’s organelles play integral roles in ensuring the cell operates.

After reviewing the scientific method, students used a precision scale to measure the empty weights of their bird feeders, the empty weight of the glass jar used to fill the feeders, and the weight of the seed. Moving forward, they will measure the difference between the initial full feeders and the feeders after a set amount of time. This will allow us to compare which bird feeder is more efficient and effective. We have talked about uncontrollable variables that have to be taken into consideration when making comparisons.