Microscopes

In this activity, you will find and describe some critters and plants that live in a drop of water from a nearby stream or swamp or pond.

1) Obtain a sample of water and prepare it for observation under the microscope.

2) Search the sample for as many types of organisms as you can find. Describe each type of organism provide the following:
	Name it	Description in words	Picture	Special features
	Make up your own name... try for a descriptive name	Keep descriptions short... think a bulleted list	Sketch it to the best of your ability	Describe any other features... perhaps even the population
Take particular care with your descriptions... the more information you can provide, the better.

3) Make a copy of your data for another research group. Trade descriptions with that group, and obtain a sample of water from their source. Be sure to keep a copy of your descriptions for your group.

4) Answer two questions about the samples: Does the sample from another source contain organisms that are similar to those you found? Do the organisms the other group observed exist in your sample?

5) Report on your findings. Include a summary of the organisms you found and how dispersed those organisms are. Speculate on causes for any differences and similarities you observe across water sources. Assess the quality of the descriptions you provided and those provided by the other research group.

created June 2004

last updated: June 12, 2004