From Catoctin to Classroom: Lagoon Water Meets 7th Grade Science Lab

During their trip to Catoctin this year, the 7th graders brought back more than just lifelong memories…Catoctin lagoon water made it back to FCS! Why? 7/8 science teacher Angela Rohan planned to use it as a sample in an upcoming lab on microscopes and the characteristics of life.

Leading up to the lab, the 7th graders began learning about life science and the five characteristics of living things. They also worked to familiarize themselves with various pieces of lab equipment, including microscopes. Using their new knowledge and skills, they practiced making scientific observations, both written and drawn, of microstructures they saw through the microscope. To determine whether what they saw were microorganisms or not, they compared their observations against their list of the five characteristics of living things:

Diving into the lab, the 7th graders examined three samples under a microscope: Catoctin lagoon water, bottled water, and their own personally-collected sample from anywhere outdoors at FCS. Using their microscopes, they carefully analyzed each sample to figure out whether the microstructures were living or not living, based on the characteristics they could (or couldn’t) identify.

With their experiments complete, students will spend the next week writing lab reports detailing their process, findings, and conclusions.