Pea Patch Pollination Game - PDF Free Download

Pea Patch Pollination Game Classroom Activity: 5-8 Time: One 45-60-minute class period Overview: In this activity, students play a simulation game modeling changes in a plant population (a Pea Patch) caused by patterns of pollination. The game shows that variation in flower color can lead to greater pollination and therefore greater seed production of one flower type, changing the population of pea plants over time. Integration with Project BudBurst: Students participating in Project BudBurst study changes in plants using a protocol to make careful observations of the timing of leafing, flowering, and fruiting of a selected plant. Timing of these events can be very important to a plant s survival and/or reproductive success for example, flowering too early may cause a mismatch in timing between the plant and its pollinators resulting in little or no pollination. To help students understand this concept, the Pea Patch Pollination Game demonstrates the effect variation (i.e., flower color) can have on a population of plants due to pollinator preference for one color over another. Discussion questions help students transfer this concept to other scenarios of changing environmental conditions. The Pea Patch Pollination Game activity may be used at any time during the Project BudBurst study to help students understand interactions of organisms with each other and with the environment, how populations can change over time, and the importance of the study of phenology. NOTE: The Plant and Pollinator Adaptations lesson in which students understand the process of pollination and the variety of pollinators works well as an introduction to this lesson. Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to: Follow simple instructions to simulate plant pollination and reproduction to generate changes in a plant population over time. Graph the percentage of each color type in a plant population over time http:///educators/pdf/pbb_peapatchgame.pdf Page 1 of 7

Describe how variation in a plant can lead to changes in the population of that plant over time. Describe how change in the environment can lead to change in a plant population Materials: Six copies of Pea Patch Pollination Game Directions Six copies of Pea Patch Field Handout Six copies of Pea Patch Pollination Game Data Table Approximately 300 white beads (buttons, poker chips, or plastic or paper circles may be used) Approximately 300 red beads (or other materials) 12 cups or bowls Education Standards: Available at: http://www./educators/peapatchpollination_sg.php Preparation 1) Make six copies of each of the handouts for this activity. 2) Count out 50 red and 50 white beads for each team and place them into separate cups or bowls. Activity 1) Explain to the students that pollinators play a role in natural selection. When a bee visits a pea patch and pollinates more of a certain color flower, natural selection will change the color of the pea plant population over time. 2) Divide the class into groups of five. Give each group a Pea Patch Pollination Game Directions handout, a Pea Patch Field Handout, a Pea Patch Pollination Game Data Table handout, and two containers of beads (one red, one white). 3) Review the Pea Patch Pollination Game Directions with the students. Explain that they will be modeling how a plant responds to changes as it responds to pollination patterns over several growing seasons. Guide students through Years 1 and 2 of the game, showing them how to arrive at the answers in Years 1 and 2 on the data table. 4) Have students play the game from Years 3 to 10. When students have recorded 10 years of data, ask them to visualize the changes in flower populations over time by http:///educators/pdf/pbb_peapatchgame.pdf Page 2 of 7

graphing the percentages of white and red flowers for each year. During Year 1 the white flowers made up 50 percent of the pea patch population. How did that percentage change during the following years? (57% white flowers, 43% red flowers in year two). 5) Discuss the characteristics that might help a plant survive the following environmental changes: a) Complete loss of honeybee population (ability to be pollinated by other organisms like butterflies) b) Freezing weather early each fall (setting seed early) c) Freezing weather late each spring (flowering later in spring) d) Visitors picking all the prettiest flowers (having less pretty flowers too that attract pollinators) Suggested Activity Extension: Students could develop another simulation game around another scenario such as the ones discussed in step 5. Background Information The Difference Between Individuals and Populations: In his book The Diversity of Life, famous ant researcher and biologist E. O. Wilson makes the distinction between individuals changing and populations evolving. Evolution occurs over time. To illustrate evolution, Wilson uses the example of a population of butterflies with two inherited color phases. If, over time, the population goes from 40 percent blue individuals to 60 percent blue butterflies, it is due to evolution. This happens because individual blue butterflies for some reason either have a better chance to survive, or go on to reproduce more blue offspring, or both. Over time, the entire population of butterflies becomes more and more blue until blue butterflies will be the dominant members. Survival Characteristics: Examples of inherited traits or characteristics that allow plants to survive weather extremes long enough to successfully reproduce include: leaves with tiny hairs that trap heat or water, thick cuticles to prevent water loss, flowers that bloom after the last chance of a freeze, or the ability to produce lots of heat prior to blooming. http:///educators/pdf/pbb_peapatchgame.pdf Page 3 of 7

Slight variations in a plant s genetic makeup often produce characteristics that help it survive during periods of environmental change. For example, a plant species that is pollinated by honeybees could face extinction if the honeybee population is completely wiped out. However, if the plant species can also be pollinated by butterflies, the plant species will continue to survive in spite of the loss of honeybees. Modeling: Botanists will often set up a theoretical test situation to determine what happens to plants living under different conditions (e.g., temperature, soil type or composition, water availability, light). They will manipulate these variables to see how the plants react. These models often provide botanists with information on how to make the seeds germinate, what kinds of pollinators work best with a particular species of plant, and how to work with threatened and endangered species. Student Assessment Suggestions: Teachers may have students describe one or two different scenarios of environmental change and how they predict the change may affect their Project BudBurst study plant. For example, they may describe a scenario where their plant is flowering 1 month earlier and how this affects the plant population over time. Another example may be a scenario of extreme weather conditions such as drought, and how this may affect their plant. Challenge students to think about how the plant population may change but not go extinct. Source: Adapted from Exploring the Native Plant World, developed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. This teacher resource was made possible, in part, by support from the National Geographic Education Foundation. http:///educators/pdf/pbb_peapatchgame.pdf Page 4 of 7

Pea Patch Pollination Game Directions Adaptation and Plant Populations A bee visits your field of flowers, looking for food. The flower s pollen sticks to the bee s knees and travels on the bee to the next flower it visits. In this fashion, the bee pollinates flowers as part of the process that makes seeds and future plants. Step 1- Getting started: Place ten red pea plant beads on the pea patch field. Place ten white pea plant beads on the pea patch field. Record the number of plants in the first two columns. Step 2- Pollination: The bee notices the white flowers first and visits most of them. The bee also visits the red flowers but does not see them as well and visits them less often. In the first spring, the bee pollinates eight white flowers. Two white flowered plants go unpollinated. Twice as many red flowers are missed, so the bee misses 4 red flowers but does pollinate 6 red flowers. Record the number of pollinated pea flowers in the third and fourth column. (Year 1: 8 white and 6 red pollinated) Step 3 Seed Production: Pollinated flowers produce seeds. Every pollinated plant produces two offspring (Year 1: 16 white and 12 red seeds). Record this in the last two columns for the year. Step 5 Spring Seedlings: In the spring, the seeds from the previous year grow into plants. Record the number of seeds from the previous year in the first two columns on the following year. Step 6 Repeat steps 2-5 (Pollination, Seed Production, Winter Die Off, Spring Seedlings). Remember, the bees once again miss some of the white flowers and miss twice as many red flowers. So in year 2, the bees pollinate 12 white flowers, missing 4 white flowers, and they miss 8 red flowers, pollinating only 4 red flowers. Then, for seeds, the 12 white pollinated flowers produce 24 seeds, and the 4 red pollinated flowers produce 8 seeds. Continue playing the game through 10 years of bee pollination, deciding on how many white flowers are pollinated each season. Record the number of red and white flowers each season, the number of flowers pollinated, and the number of offspring (i.e., seeds) produced on the data table. Extension: Some seasons may have a surplus of bees because a winter is unusually warm or a farmer brings in a beehive, and some seasons may have fewer bees to do the pollination because of an increase of bee predators or increased severe weather. Discuss with your team how a change in the number of bees could affect the plant population. Step 4 Winter Die Off: After plants produce their seed, they die. Remove all the beads from the field during the winter season. http:///educators/pdf/pbb_peapatchgame.pdf 2013 NEON Inc. All rights reserved. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Addressing Educational Standards: Grades 5-8 Pea Patch Pollination Game Data Table Year White Flowers Red Flowers Pollinated White Flowers Pollinated Red Flowers White Offspring (Seeds) Red Offspring (Seeds) 1 10 10 8 6 16 12 2 16 12 12 4 24 8 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 http:///educators/pdf/pbb_peapatchgame.pdf 2013 NEON Inc. All rights reserved. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation.