Candy Taxonomy

Introduction

Congratulations! You have all just graduated high school/ graduate school and on your way to becoming world renowned scientists! You have all been hired upon graduation at a top secret facility that has a bit of an organization problem. There is a large compilation of “organisms” that thus far have only been categorized as “Candy.” Unlike other organisms that have been placed in their own sorting system in the form of the Tree of Life, Candy has always been lumped into only one category. But as this facility is finally starting to realize, as more time has progressed throughout "Candy's" history, it has become more and more diverse! This has caused a very big problem during experiments because the results of one type of candy are no longer the same as another. grebt

Task

You have been handpicked  from a very selective group of potential scientists to fix this problem by finding what you believe will be the most organized and efficient way to organize the large group of candy that the facility has collected thus far. Examples of how past scientists have organized things like the animal kingdom or the taxonomy of plants will be provided to help aid you in this serious task. Godspeed and good luck! 

Process

For this specific assignment, you will be assigned into groups of three or four people. These will be your coworkers for the remainder of this project. This is a professional work environment, so it is required that you work together as a team to brainstorm and develop the best solution for the problem that has been presented to you. 

Remember, respect your coworkers and they will show you respect in return. 

 

In this top secret facility, your instructor has been temporarily reassigned to help aid in this project as the Head Scientist. As Head Scientist her main responsibilities are to ensure safety of the entire team, supervise the unruly organisms, and keep this branch of the facility on task and productive. Because of this, she will have little time to answer questions. It is also key to note that she was hired only for these tasks, and not to further aid you in developing a proper taxonomy plan. 

 

  1. The Head Scientist will assign each of you to a specific team. Each team will have three to four people. Once in this group, you will go to the specified location in the room to start your project.
  2. At each station, you and your teammates will each be given a special containment unit that will be holding one of every collected organism. You will also be provided with poster board, writing utensils (sharpies, colored pencils, etc.) string, and tape. Other materials cannot be used in order to minimize the risk of contaminating the organisms.
  3. With your team, identify the unique differences and backgrounds of each Candy and develop your own taxonomy or special grouping of the organisms. 
  4. Though this can be done in multiple different ways, several guidelines must be met to ensure accuracy and to aid in future experiments and classifications of the organisms. They are as follows:  *It is known that each Candy has originated from several sources. Your grouping must start with the oldest or the broadest of the Candies, which will then work their way to either the youngest or most specific of Candies.                           *Each team will present their work at the end of this project to the board of the facility. This will include the Head Scientist, the other teams assigned to this project, and also the board which will consist of several of the most important employers in the facility.         *Becasue of the importance of this task, it is crucial that every part of this be professional and neatly done to ensure that the best chances of the board choosing your special technique and thus hiring you to be a world renowned scientist. Words and titles must be clearly seen and read. Do not forget a title for your organizing technique. Every member of the team must participate and this must be shown during the main presentation.                                                                                      
  5. Before the presentation of each team's grouping of the Candies, team memebers will be given evaluation sheets that will be used to evaluate their teammates on their contribution and teamwork. It is crucial that everyone plays their part in this in order to impress the board. These will be given to the Head Scientist before each group’s evaluation.
  6. Once every group has presented their groupings, the board will hold a short meeting and decide which team will be chosen to publish their grouping technique and become well known scientists of the Candy world.

                 

In this professional setting, just like any other, you are about to use outside resources to help aid you with your assigned task. Below are several examples of how one might categorize different things. Though many of these do not apply to organisms, they may be able to help you develop a few ideas of how they might be applied to your Candy organisms.

http://www.charleychartwell.com/pages/shakespearean-image

http://hubpages.com/education/kingdoms-and-domains-of-life-biology

http://www.candyfavorites.com/shop/history-candy.php

It will be up to you to do further research for this project.

                

Evaluation

Each board member and the Head Scientist will be using the following rubric to evaluate your grouping techniques and presentation. Because team work is such an important part of the professional workplace, the team member evaluation sheets will also be used when considering which group will be chosen to be hired fulltime for the facility. Points from the evaluations will be used in your overall score of the project as well.

Category 4 3 2 1

Grouping of Organisms

 Organisms are grouped In an orderly and logical way ranging from oldest/broadest to youngest/ most specific Most organsisms are ordered in the specified way Only few organisms are organised or placed in very broad or not specific groups Organisms are not organised or catergorized in a specific way. The grouping is very chaotic or random
Neatness Posters are neat, organized, easily readable, and all Candy organisms have been categorized   Three of the following qualifications are present  Two or one of the following qualification are present None of the following qualifications are present
Presentaton  All team members participate in the presentation, members speak clearly and are easily heard, members were able to answer all questions about their project Three out of the four qualifications have been met Two or one of the qualifications have been met None of the qualifications have been met
Group Work Student worked exceptionally well with all team members and needed no redirection by adult. Student worked well with all team members and needed little redirection by adult. Student worked with team members, but had disagreements and needed some redirection by adult. Student refused to work with team members and needed constant adult redirection.

 

Conclusion

Categorization is key to being able to identify different organisms and their possible common ancestors. The methodology that you have learned in this project is a process that real scientists must do in the real world with organisms like different species of felines or ants. This is also used outside of just making the taxonomy of organisms. This method is used for some rock identification, the organizing of the Periodic Table of Elements, and now different candies. These categories are made to help organize similar things, and to distinguish their differences. For example, a house cat and a lion are both felines, but one is ferocious and large while the other is small and enjoys playing with a laser light. They are two different species of felines, and as a result each has their own very specific details and are at different places of the taxonomy of felines.

 

Other than these examples, what are some other things that could be organized in categories like the one you made? Why would this be such an important thing in our everyday world?

Teacher Page

This WebQuest is meant for grades 9-11 to help educate students about the importance of categorization and organisation through taxonomy, while also teaching them the importance of profesionalism and teamwork. This webquest is meant to take up at least three days of class time.

Standards:

HS-LS3-3. Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.

HS-LS3-2. Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from: (1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and/or (3) mutations caused by environmental factors.

HS-LS4-1. Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.

SL.11-12.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relev ant ev idence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

ESS2.E: Biogeology - The many dynamic and delicate feedbacks between the biosphere and other Earth systems cause a continual co-evolution of Earth’s surface and the life that exists on it. 

MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.