News Stories
Posted on March 14th 2019
Counting Organisms in the School Hall
Not even the stormy weather this week can prevent Year 11 carrying out their sampling investigation - one of the practicals that students are expected to carry out as part of their GCSE. Today, Year 11 were sampling the abundance of organisms on a field (or in this case counters in our school hall!).
Students first had to measure the area, then use a random number generator to provide coordinates. Students then had to place a quadrat (a frame used in ecology and geography to isolate a standard unit of area) within the coordinate and count the number of organisms. Once 20+ quadrats were completed, students multiplied the mean number of organisms per metre squared by the area of the field. This provided the estimated number of organisms in the whole area.
Harry, Year 11, said: "It was helpful to actually carry out the practical to really understand how to do it, especially as we are expected to write a six-mark method for this type of investigation and also analyse results."
Ms Holland
A quadrat is a frame used in ecology and geography to isolate a standard unit of area.
