The sixth project we did in STEM this year was organizing hardware into a cladogram and creating a story for how they evolved. We were looking at the separate pieces of hardware as if they were fossils and now we as the scientists had to classify and organize them. This project was a very new way to look at evolution and it gave our group a better understanding of how these processes work and exactly how scientists classify new organisms.
Content
These terms created a bigger picture for our cladogram. We used the concepts of evolution and natural selection to help us write our story of our "fossils" and identify, categorize, and justify them.
Evolution- the process by which living organisms develop and diversify throughout Earth's history
Taxonomy- the classification of organisms within the 8 categories: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species (in that order)
Cladogram- a branching diagram showing the relationships and connections between a number of species
Natural Selection- the process where organisms that are better adapted to their environment survive and produce more offspring. The less suited organisms will eventually die off.
Resources- something in the environment that an organism requires for growth, maintenance, reproduction, and general survival. Can become unavailable for some organisms causing them to die or have to relocate. Examples include food, water, shelter, and area.
Competition- an interaction between organisms or species in which both parties are harmed. Can be caused by a limited supply of resources.
Charles Darwin- a British naturalist who developed the theory of evolution; wrote the book The Origin of Species
Speciation: the formation of new species through evolution
These terms created a bigger picture for our cladogram. We used the concepts of evolution and natural selection to help us write our story of our "fossils" and identify, categorize, and justify them.
Evolution- the process by which living organisms develop and diversify throughout Earth's history
Taxonomy- the classification of organisms within the 8 categories: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species (in that order)
Cladogram- a branching diagram showing the relationships and connections between a number of species
Natural Selection- the process where organisms that are better adapted to their environment survive and produce more offspring. The less suited organisms will eventually die off.
Resources- something in the environment that an organism requires for growth, maintenance, reproduction, and general survival. Can become unavailable for some organisms causing them to die or have to relocate. Examples include food, water, shelter, and area.
Competition- an interaction between organisms or species in which both parties are harmed. Can be caused by a limited supply of resources.
Charles Darwin- a British naturalist who developed the theory of evolution; wrote the book The Origin of Species
Speciation: the formation of new species through evolution
The story
Using our knowledge about evolution we came up with a story about how each piece of hardware evolved. The story builds on itself and touches on multiple parts of natural selection and adaptations as well as what effects them. This includes climate, terrain, food and other resources, predator to prey ratios, camouflage, and more.
Using our knowledge about evolution we came up with a story about how each piece of hardware evolved. The story builds on itself and touches on multiple parts of natural selection and adaptations as well as what effects them. This includes climate, terrain, food and other resources, predator to prey ratios, camouflage, and more.
Here is the full story:
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Classification
First we classified our hardware organisms based on traits they had. In order to group them together in the very beginning, we had to organize them based on similarities and differences. We looked at the piece's shape, size, and color to determine where it goes. This is very similar to how scientists classify real life organisms because they go through the same processes as we did. After our hardware was organized we started looking at the bigger picture. Proper taxonomy has 8 different categories which are Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. Domain is the broadest category while species is the most specific, usually only one type of organism. We began creating different names for our pieces using characteristics of each grouping and translating them to Latin. We did this for all the pieces, with a total of 6 different groupings.
First we classified our hardware organisms based on traits they had. In order to group them together in the very beginning, we had to organize them based on similarities and differences. We looked at the piece's shape, size, and color to determine where it goes. This is very similar to how scientists classify real life organisms because they go through the same processes as we did. After our hardware was organized we started looking at the bigger picture. Proper taxonomy has 8 different categories which are Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. Domain is the broadest category while species is the most specific, usually only one type of organism. We began creating different names for our pieces using characteristics of each grouping and translating them to Latin. We did this for all the pieces, with a total of 6 different groupings.
Here is our final list of classifications:
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Reflection
For this project most of our cladograms looked very similar. This was very different from most of the projects we have done in STEM because it was a lot more structured in terms of the final product. My group's (Eliza Roesler, Jeffrey Suter, and Augi Soto) project ended up pretty decent and we were all proud of our final product and story. With all projects there are many ups and downs. To start, my group worked really well together and our ideas blended well. We could always figure out what we were all saying and combine our ideas easily. Another thing we did well was working under pressure. Even though we were every close to not finishing the project, we worked extremely hard right down to the last minute and this let us finish on time. One thing we could improve on is our productivity. Sometimes I found myself getting a little off topic, but in the end this didn't stop us from showing our best work. Another thing we could improve on is time management. We had a small hiccup in the very beginning which set us behind many of the other groups. This caused us to have to pick up the pace in the end but we ended up finishing everything on time. Overall, this project was a little different than the rest we have done this year but I am proud of how it came together and that we detailed and grouped the "fossils" together well.
For this project most of our cladograms looked very similar. This was very different from most of the projects we have done in STEM because it was a lot more structured in terms of the final product. My group's (Eliza Roesler, Jeffrey Suter, and Augi Soto) project ended up pretty decent and we were all proud of our final product and story. With all projects there are many ups and downs. To start, my group worked really well together and our ideas blended well. We could always figure out what we were all saying and combine our ideas easily. Another thing we did well was working under pressure. Even though we were every close to not finishing the project, we worked extremely hard right down to the last minute and this let us finish on time. One thing we could improve on is our productivity. Sometimes I found myself getting a little off topic, but in the end this didn't stop us from showing our best work. Another thing we could improve on is time management. We had a small hiccup in the very beginning which set us behind many of the other groups. This caused us to have to pick up the pace in the end but we ended up finishing everything on time. Overall, this project was a little different than the rest we have done this year but I am proud of how it came together and that we detailed and grouped the "fossils" together well.
Here is a picture of our final cladogram: