Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

Vegetative Communities and Climate Change

Image: Adam Zolyak - licensed under the CC Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license

Grade Level: 9-12

Performance Expectation Connections: 

HS-LS2-2 Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.

HS-LS4-5: Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.

Science and Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument From Evidence; Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and Effect

Disciplinary Core Ideas: Adaptation; Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems; Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience; Biodiversity and Humans; Weather and Climate; Global Climate Change

Possible Guiding Questions: Why does treeeline exist on mountains? How does temperature, precipitation, and elevation affect vegetative communities? Why do certain communities of plants grow in certain locations and under certain conditions? How might climate change impact the presence of treeline on mountains? What impacts would a loss of alpine environment have on humans? How might climate change affect the plant communities that we live near?

Possible Instructional Uses: This phenomenon provides an entrance point into discussing how various environmental conditions, such as temperature and precipitation, impact the communities of plants that grow in certain areas. There is also an opportunity to explore how climate change will impact plant communities, including how threats to alpine environments would affect humans. 

Link to Lesson Resources 

Contributors: Martha Inouye, Clare Gunshanen, Sienna Wessel, Matthew Bisk
Date Uploaded: 11/11/21