OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS
3D Sea
main ideas
• The ocean provides a number
of different environments for
animal life.
• Each animal in the ocean has
adapted to its specific
environment.
background
information
Just as Earth’s continents provide a variety of environments for
animals, its oceans also provide a
variety of environments. Animal
life in the ocean varies depending
on water depth, water temperature, and water conditions: shallow or deep, warm or icy cold,
crystal clear or dark and murky.
Along the shore, animals have
adapted to being exposed to air at
low tide, then covered with water
as the tide rises. Many animals in
this area are encased in hard shells
or tough skins to protect them
from wave action.
To a depth of about 500 feet,
the sun penetrates the water and
green plants grow. From 500 to
1,500 feet deep, there’s only grayish light. And below 1,500 feet, the
only light comes from glowing
body parts of some underwater
creatures.
Salinity and oxygen/carbon dioxide content also divide the ocean
into environments. For example,
near coastlines, surface water that
mixes with fresh river water is less
dense than the saltier water it
floats on.
PROGRAM
SYNOPSIS
SCENE 4 Cold Critters
4:30
In Antarctica, Debra visits marine biologists
Ron Gilmer and Greg Dietzman who study
SCENE 1 On the Surface
1:00 jellyfish to find out how they survive in such
Cast member Z explains that even a cold, icy environment.
though oceans may look the same on
1:00
top, underneath they are all very diff- SCENE 5 Separate Quarters
Z
demonstrates
that
not
all
fish
live
at
the
erent.
same depth. How? He puts two undersea
SCENE 2 Ocean Motion
:46 species into water and watches them swim
This musical interlude features a cast of to separate quarters--one near the top and
spectacular swimming and swaying one at the bottom.
sea-dwelling creatures that show there’s
2:00
always something going on underwater! SCENE 6 Life Down Under
What’s on the ocean floor? One extremely
SCENE 3 Ship-Shape Condo 4:00 weird inhabitant is a 6-foot-long tubeworm
Off Florida’s coast, biologist Jill Yeager that looks like a plant. This fascinating animal
shows cast members Todd and Debra lives under great pressure, in total darkness,
where coral have been building reefs for and survives and thrives on bacteria that
thousands of years. Then the kids see live on sulphur from undersea volcanic
how some marine biologists speed up vents!
the reef building process by sinking old
ships for coral to build on and other
marine life to live in.
vocabulary:
26
salinity, reef, sulphur, brackish, density
LES
S ON ONE
LESS
3-2-1 CL A S SROOM CONT
ACT
CONTACT
BEFORE-VIEWING
DIS CUS SION
Ask students how the ocean differs from a lake, river, or
pond. (ocean water salty, pond water muddy, ocean deeper,
etc.) If kids left land and headed down under the surface of the
ocean, what would change? (plant and animal life, temperature,
light, pressure, etc.) Point out that there are different environments in the ocean, as there are on land. Just as kids wouldn’t
expect cactus to grow in the ice of Antarctica, they shouldn’t
expect to find green plants below 1,500 feet of water.
TUNING IN
Ask kids why they think animals
live in different ocean environments. Then have kids watch the
video to learn about some underwater creatures.
AFTER-VIEWING
ACTIVITY
MATERIALS:
• 2 bottles of
soda pop
• 2 balloons
The amount of gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide) in water
affects the nature of life in that water. For example, some
animals live in very cold water that holds more gas than
warm water does. This demonstration helps to prove that
cold liquids hold more gas than warm ones do.
WHA
WHATT TO DO
DO::
1. Use bottles of soda that are the same size and kind. Refrigerate
one for 24 hours–keep it in a cooler until you do the experiment.
Keep the other bottle at room temperature.
2. Place 2 labels–Warm and Cold–on a table. Put each bottle on
the proper one. Which do kids think will release more gas when
opened?
3. Remove the caps and quickly place a balloon over the mouth of
each bottle. Ask why the balloon on the room– temperature
bottle inflated. (Gas from the soda went inside the balloon.)
Where is the gas from the cold bottle? (still in the liquid) What
does this suggest about animals that live in very cold water?
(They live in water that contains more gas for them to breathe.)
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LES
S ON TWO
LESS
3-2-1 CL
A S SROOM CONT
ACT
CLA
CONTACT
WHA
WHATT TO DO
DO::
PURPOSES
1. Divide kids into groups of 4, and distribute the
activity sheet, “Salt of the Earth,” to each student, plus one extra for the group to share. Distribute all other materials except water.
2. Have each group label its bottle as shown on
page 29, then fill the bottle and cups 3/4 full of
water.
3. Have kids place 3 cups in the circles on their
group’s extra activity sheet, then stir 2 tsps. of
salt into Cup B and 6 tsps. of salt into Cup C.
4. Ask each group to cut its spinach leaf into 3 even
pieces and put I piece in each cup. Let the leaves
soak while kids do Part 2 of the experiment.
5. Have groups add 3 drops of red food coloring to
their 4th cup of water, stir in 4 tsps. of salt, slowly
pour the salty water into their bottle of fresh water, then color Trial 1 (Part 2) on the activity sheet
to show where the red went.
6. Let kids empty, rinse, and refill the bottles with
fresh water, repeat the experiment with 8 tsps. of
salt in the red water, then color in Trial 2 to show
where the red went this time.
7. Let groups compare spinach leaves after 20 minutes and describe them in Part 1 of the activity
sheet.
To let kids discover that saline
water is denser than fresh water
and that living organisms react to
different levels of salinity in
water.
MATERIALS:
(per 4 students)
• 1 fresh spinach leaf
• 4 10-oz. clear
plastic cups
• 2-liter clear plastic
soda bottle with label
removed and top cut
off to make it 20 cm tall
• 1 plastic teaspoon
• 1 pair scissors
• 4 red crayons
• 1 metric ruler
(per group–from a central
source)
• 2-3 drops red food coloring
• 12-tsps. table salt
• cool tap water
Discuss results. Why did the salty water sink in the fresh
water? (salty water denser than fresh) What happened to the
spinach after 20 minutes in water? (stayed firm in fresh water;
got mushy in salt water) What does this suggest about saltiness and ocean life? (Different living things inhabit salt and
fresh water environments because of the physical effects each
environment has on them.)
CURRICULUM
CONNECTIONS
The Marianas Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean, is
10,924 meters deep. How many nautical miles is that? How
many kilometers? Is it more than 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea? Give kids math problems utilizing nautical miles, leagues,
and kilometers. Write data at right on board:
Have kids use calculators to find: 1. depth of the Marianas
Trench in nautical miles; 2. depth in leagues; 3. how many
football-fields deep the trench is; 4. how many Statues of Liberty could be stacked in the trench; 5. how many statue fingers
deep the trench is; 6. how many football fields fit in 1 league.
(Answers: 1. 5.9 nautical miles; 2. 2.3 leagues 3. 119.4 fields;
4. 241.1 statues; 5. 4551.7 fingers; 6. 52.8 fields.)
28
MATH
Marianas Trench depth =
10,924 m
Nautical mile =
1.852 km
League =
4.83 km
Football-field length =
91.5 m
Statue of Liberty height =
45.3 m
Length of statue’s finger =
2.4 m
Name:
Date:
Part 1
Place cups on circles for 20 minutes.
Fresh Water
(no salt)
Brakish Water
(2 tsp. salt)
Salty Water
(6tsp. salt)
Describe spinach in each cup after 20 minutes.
A.
B.
C.
Part 2
Color to show where the
red-colored water is in
the 2-liter bottle.
20 cm
..........
20 cm
..........
15 cm
..........
15 cm
..........
10 cm
..........
10 cm
..........
5 cm
..........
5 cm
..........
0 cm
..........
0 cm
..........
3-2-1 CLASSROOM CONTACT TM
© 1993 Children’s Television Workshop
Trial 1
Trial 2
Moderately Salty
(4 tsp. salt)
Very Salty
(8 tsp. salt)
29