A lesson I did for a 6th grade science class. Please excuse the lack of citations for pictures and content. Contact me with questions.

1. How do resources affect
population density?

2. What is a population?

3. What is a population?

4. What is the density of a
population?

5. What is the density of a
population?

6. What causes population
density to change?

7. What causes population
density to change?
Density
Births Deaths Migration
Resources
Space Food
Other
necessities
Enemies
Predators Disease

8. Resources
Populationdensity
Hypothesis

9. Resources
Populationdensity
Null Hypothesis

10. Experiment design
What I’ve Done
1. Cut leaves into three
sizes
2. Place leaves in test
tubes
3. Add 10 aphids to each
tube
What You’ll Do
1. Count the number of
adult aphids
2. Count the number of
baby aphids
3. Switch to a tube with
a different leaf size
and repeat 1 and 2

11. What’s an aphid??

12. What’s an aphid??

13. What’s an aphid??

14. What’s an aphid??

15. What’s an aphid??

16. Experiment design
What You’ll Do
1. Count and record the number of adult aphids
2. Count and record the number of baby aphids
3. Add these together for the population density
(What is the unit for area?)
4. Calculate the number of births and deaths
5. Switch to a tube with a different leaf size and
repeat 1 and 2

17. Resources
Populationdensity
3 cm 6 cm 9 cm

18. Review
• What is a population?
• What is population density?
• What factors affect population density?
• How does food affect aphid population
density?