Front cover of Natural Inquirer Student Scientist edition with a photo of an owl's face and smaller pictures of fungi, an emerald ash borer, and a garlic mustard plant beneath

Student Scientist – Vol. 10 No. 1

The Natural Inquirer Student Scientist edition was developed as part of the Forest Service's More Kids in the Woods Initiative. Using Natural Inquirer in two high school classrooms, the journals were first used to teach students at the Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, Michigan to read and write actual scientific papers. The students then developed, conducted, and wrote up their own research. Their research was conducted on a natural area near the school's campus. This area is known as the Oxbow (or Oxbow Island) because it contains an oxbow lake which is connected on one end to the Rouge River.

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Highlights

5 articles
8 activities
1 lesson plan
Glossary
Students completed the research & wrote the papers!

Glossary

View All Glossary

abundant
(ə bən dənt): Existing or occurring in large amounts.
acidity
(ə si də tē): The quality, state, or degree of being acid. An acid has a pH of less than 7.
adversely
(ad vərs lē): In a way that is bad, harmful, or negative.
agricultural chemical
(a gri kəl ch(ə) rəl ke mi kəl): A chemical used in agriculture. These chemicals can come from a variety of sources such as pesticides, fertilizers, and veterinary medicines.
alkalinity
(al kə li nə tē): Of, relating to, containing, or having the properties of an alkali or alkali metal; basic. An alkali has a pH of more than 7.
average
(av (ǝ) rij): A value that is computed by dividing the sum of a set of terms by the number of terms.
chemical property
(ke mi kəl prä pər tē): A property of a substance relating to its chemical reactivity (such as the explosive property of nitroglycerin or the formation of rust).
cultivate
(kəl tə vāt): To prepare and use for the raising of crops; also, to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants).
density
(den(t) sə tē): (1) The quantity per unit of volume, unit of area, or unit of length; (2) the average number of individuals or units per unit of space.
distilled water
(di stild wȯ tər): Water that has been freed of dissolved or suspended solids and from organisms by distillation (as for medical or chemical purposes).
domesticated
(də me sti kā təd): Adapted over time (as by selective breeding) from a wild or natural state to life in close association with and to the benefit of humans.
ecological
(ē kə lä ji kəl): Of or relating to the environments of living things or to the relationships between living things and their environments.
economic
(ek ǝ nä mik): Of, relating to, or based on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
economy
(i kä nǝ mē): A system relating to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in a country, area, or period.
entomologist
(en tə mä lə jist): A scientist who studies insects.
germination
(jǝr mǝ nā shǝn): The process of beginning to grow, sprout, or develop.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
(glō bəl pə zi sh(ə-)niŋ si stəm): A navigation system that uses satellite signals to find the location of a radio receiver on or above the Earth’s surface.
habitat
(ha bә tat): The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.
herbivore
((h)ər bə vȯr): A plant-eating animal.
industrial waste
(in də strē əl wāst): An unwanted by-product of a manufacturing process.
infestation
(in fǝ stā shǝn): The presence of organisms that spread or swarm in or over an area in a troublesome manner.
invasive species
(in vā siv spē sēz): An organism that is not native to the place where it is found and tends to grow and spread easily usually to the detriment (harm) of native species and ecosystems.
larva
(lär ve): (plural “larvae”) The immature, wingless, and often wormlike feeding form that hatches from the egg of many insects.
median
(mē dē ən): A value in a series arranged from smallest to largest below and above which there are an equal number of values or which is the average of the two middle values if there is no one middle value.
mode
(mōd): The most frequent value of a set of values.
monoculture
(mä nə kəl chər): Growth or population consisting of a single crop, plant, or organism.
native
(nā tiv): Living or growing naturally in a particular region.
nitrogen
(nī trə jən): A colorless tasteless odorless element that occurs as a gas which makes up 78 percent of the atmosphere and that forms a part of all living tissues.
nocturnal
(näk tər nəl): Active at night.
nonnative
(nän nā tiv): Not naturally occurring in an area.
overabundance
(ō vər ə bən dən(t)s): A large surplus; excess.
oxbow
(äks bō): Something (such as a bend in a river) resembling an oxbow, which is a U-shaped frame forming a collar about an ox’s neck and holding the yoke in place.
parasitic
(per ə si tik): Of or relating to parasites or their way of life; being a parasite, which is an organism living in, on, or with another organism in order to obtain nutrients, grow, or multiply often in a state that directly or indirectly harms the host.
pH
(pē āch): A number used in expressing acidity or alkalinity on a scale whose values run from 0 to 14 with 7 representing neutrality, numbers less than 7 increasing acidity, and numbers greater than 7 increasing alkalinity.
phosphorus
(fäs f(ə) rəs): A nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family with atomic number 15 that occurs widely in combination especially as phosphates, that is essential for life in all known organisms, and that is used especially in fertilizers and organophosphorus compounds.
physical property
(fi zi kəl prä pər tē): A property (such as color, hardness, boiling point) of matter not involving in a chemical change.
pipette
(pī pet): A device for measuring and transferring small volumes of liquid that typically consists of a narrow glass tube into which the liquid is drawn by suction and kept by blocking the upper end.
potassium
(pə ta sē əm): A silver-white, soft, light metallic element that has a low melting point and occurs abundantly in nature, especially combined in minerals.
prey
(prā): An animal taken by a predator as food.
resistance
(ri zis tǝn(t)s): The ability to withstand the force or effect of something (like a disease).
sigma
(sig mə): A Greek letter (Σ) used to symbolize “summation” in general mathematics.
sufficient
(sə fi shənt): Enough to achieve a goal or fill a need.
understory
(ǝn dǝr stȯr ē): The plant layer, especially the trees and shrubs, between the forest canopy and the ground cover.
vole
(vōl): Any of various small rodents (Microtus and related genera) that typically have a stout body, rather blunt nose, and short ears, inhabit both moist meadows and dry uplands and do much damage to crops, and are closely related to muskrats and lemmings.

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

Natural Inquirer bee sitting at a desk with paper and pencil

Meet the Scientists

Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
Thinking About Science

Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
Thinking About the Environment

Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
Introduction

Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
Method

Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
Findings & Discussion

Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
Reflection Section

Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
Number Crunches

Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
Glossary

Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
Citation

Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
FACTivity

Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.

Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.

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Contact

Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program
Email

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Lessons

This lesson plan introduces students to scientific abstracts. Students will analyze existing abstracts and then write their own. The lesson plan includes graphic organizers and a word search. (This lesson...
Lesson Plan – Scientific Abstracts
This lesson plan introduces students to scientific abstracts. Students will analyze existing abstracts and then write their own. The lesson plan includes graphic organizers and a word search. (This lesson...
Explore Lesson Plan Download Lesson Plan (PDF)
Explore Lesson Plan Download Lesson Plan (PDF)

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Student Scientist - Vol. 10 No. 1

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Student Scientist – Vol. 10 No. 1

Highlights