Name ___________________________ Name __________________________
Name ___________________________ Name __________________________
Operation: Populations (The Itsy-Neetsas)
Today, your desktop will be the valley of the Itsy-Neetsas. Make sure you have everything you need. In this valley, there are only three types of living organisms:
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The Widgits, which have the unfortunate distinction to look like elbow macaroni,
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The Gambits, which closely resemble dried beans, and
- The Frakes, which happen to look like rice.
I won’t tell you much about this valley, except that you need a minimum of five Frakes to keep a Gambit alive, and that Widgits eat gambits. There can be one Widgit for every four Gambits.
You are an explorer in this valley. You need to document the following:
1. What is the population of Frakes? ____________________________________________
2. What is the population of Gambits? ___________________________________________
3. Are there enough Frakes to keep all your Gambits alive? _________________________
4. What is your population of Widgits? _________________________________________
5. Are there enough Gambits to keep your Widgits alive? ____________________________
6. What is the maximum number of Widgits your valley can support? __________________
Part 2
Something horrible has happened!!! Organisms called Snips were accidentally introduced into the valley of the Itsy-Neetsas. These organisms resemble popcorn. Snips compete with Frakes for energy. For every Snip in your valley, lose four Frakes. (Place them back in the bag.)
7. What is your population of Snips? ____________________________________________
8. How many Frakes did you lose? ______________________________________________
9. How many Gambits did you lose? (Gambits can’t eat Snips) ________________________
10. How many Widgits did you lose? ____________________________________________
Think About It:
Which organisms would most likely match the following:
11. Producer(s) _____________________________________________________________
12. Herbivore(s) ____________________________________________________________
13. Carnivore(s) ____________________________________________________________
14. What kind of catastrophies would be the biggest problems in this valley?
(2 for 2 points)
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15. What would happen if the Widgits disappeared? _________________________________
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16. Would you say that this valley is likely to survive a large environmental change? ________
Why or why not? _________________________________________________________
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17. What could make these populations have a better chance of long-term survival? _________
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18. If these populations were endangered and you had to protect them, how would you do it?
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19. Suppose humans like Snips but hate Frakes. How could this present problems in the valley of
the Itsy-Neetsas?
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