I.

Title: Grassland

II. Purpose: To create a balanced ecosystem that could sustain itself for ½ weeks.

Hypothesis: That the ecosystem should go on fine and that one or more of the crickets may die.

III. Materials needed will include:

• 2; 2 liter bottles
• 1/5 piece of cloth
• A small bag of soil
• Grass seeds
• Water
• Scissors/Box cutters
• Tape
• 3 Crickets
• A measuring cup
• Gatorade Bottle

IV.

1. Put all materials out on your desk.

2. Get the box cutter and cut a hole big enough to fit scissors, near where it curves. Then cut
along until the top falls off. Repeat with this with Bottle #2.

3. With the box cutter poke two holes that are enough to slide cloth through (but also make
sure it’s not too small because the sol could seep out).

4. Fit the clothe through the holes, going through in an arched position to where the clothes
legs are pointed downwards.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for bottle #2.

 6. Fill up the measuring cup half full with soil and poor the soil in bottle #1 and repeat this
for bottle #2.

7. With the extra two bottles cut right though the middle with the box cutter. After doing so
cut in a circle with the scissors until the tops off. Do this with bottle #4 as well.

8. Fill both ends of the bottles of Bottles # 3 and Bottles #4 to the center with water.

9. Fit Bottles #1 over either of bottles #3 or 4 and tape them together. Do the same with
bottle number #2 with your left over bottle.

10. Cut a circle in the center of both models with the box cutters, big enough to fit the ends of
a gadorade bottle to.

11. Connect the Gatorade to each bottle, from each of the Gatorades sides. Then tape them
together so that it forms a tunnel.

12. Put the grass seeds at least an inch down in each bottles soil, along with adding the
crickets and leaves.

13. Finally tape the lids back on the two bottles and watch as your ecosystem grows.

V. Data/Observations
Date Observations

9/30
10/1 *The crickets were added. *Water is at half way point

*The grass grew about an inch. *Before we added holes the environment seemed moist.

*The soil looks wet

10/2 *As we added bottle #2 yesterday we seem to have no grass.

*Grass in bottle #1 has grown quite a bit. *The crickets are roaming around.

*There are little nibbles on grass and leaves.

10/5 *The grass in the containers seems to have progressed over the weekend.

*One of our grasshoppers is dead.

*There are more nibbles in the grass and leaves.

*The Plants are now a yellowish color on the tips, as well as the grass.
10/6 *Our cricket seems to enjoy eating from one side of bottle #2. You can tell because it
looks as if it’s deepened and a bit more hunched over then the other sides.

*Once again the plants seem yellower.

10/7 *One of the crickets has gotten stuck in tape.

10/8 *Our Final cricket is dead. We think it’s because it got stuck in tape yesterday.

VI. Analysis: Our hypothesis was pretty near good. There were a few things we could’ve
improved so that the environment could live on for another week, but besides those reasons our
hypothesis was close.

Conclusion: The ending conclusion of this essay is that we should’ve done the whole ecosystem
at the same time, instead on waiting a whole weekend to start the other half. There was also the
problem with adding the animals in later along with putting the grass seeds in too deep.
Otherwise, I think our final conclusion that it is possible for a bottled ecosystem to last more than
a week and a half.

Bezique Castillo 5th Period