Week 5: Extinction Events

Day 1: Phenomenon Five mass extinction events have occurred on Earth since life began. The video quickly details these changes over Earth's lifespan. While watching the video, come up with 3-4 observations and 2 questions 3-4 Observations 2 Questions Predict (hypothesize) what you think is going to be the cause of the next Mass Extinction Event? Make a list of (up to 10) species you believe to be extinct of endangered. You must be specific, "dinosaur(s)" is NOT a species. For example: T. rex, Triceratops, and Brontosaurus are species of dinosaurs that are extinct. Day 2: Timeline Use the graphs and chart below to discover data regarding prior mass extinctions on Earth. Create a timeline of extinctions that includes the past five mass extinctions, giving details about each mass extinction. Write a list of possible current factors that may contribute to species extinction and sort the factors into two categories: 1) natural and 2) human influences. Day 3: Human Influences on Extinction Watch the first 5 minutes of the following video. Compare natural extinction rates with the elevated extinction rates of today. Over the next 100 years, how many of our species could we lose? Describe five kinds of human activities that result in species extinctions. Day 4: Case Study Complete the boxes in the chart below “Possible actions that may have prevented the extinction” for each organism. Select 1 of the 4 of given species that has gone extinct in modern times using the chart below. Create a model (e.g. concept map) to describe the causes and consequences of the extinction.Include the following key data: species names, dates of discovery and extinction, causes of extinction, and possible actions that may have prevented the extinction. Day 5 Develop an argumentative statement (1-2 sentences) that supports the claim that humans may be responsible for the sixth extinction event. If possible, provide at least 2 pieces of evidence. For example:“I believe that humans (May/ May NOT) be responsible for the sixth extinction event because _. (Evidence 1) supports this claim because _ , and (Evidence 2) supports this claim because _ . “