You are looking at a terrarium. That's a mini ecosystem inside a glass container. The terrarium is filled with soil, small rocks, and small plants. Yet, not only healthy plants are
inside. There are a few brown and decaying plants, too. You see that one part of the
glass is foggy.
Explain what evidence you see of the cycling of matter inside the terrarium. Think about
the water cycle that you observe at work inside the terrarium. Think about the carbon
and nitrogen cycles, too.
3

The beak shapes of the finches on the Galapagos islands differed in shape and size. Finches arrived on the Galapagos islands approximately 2 millions years ago. Darwin noticed that finches on each of the islands were different, resulting in the discovery of 15 distinct kinds of finches. In some cases the beak shapes differed due to the food available on each island, such as large strong beaks for breaking open nuts, while others ate insects. Other differences included body shape, song, and feeding behaviors.