Topics Related to Life Science

Phenomenon Description: A large mass of fire ants floating on top of floodwaters.
Location: Columbus County
Grade Level or Course: 4th grade
Question: How do fire ants create floating rafts during floods? 
Crosscutting Concept: Structure and Function 
Science Domain: Life Science 

Phenomenon Description:  Sea turtles come to North Carolina beaches in the summer (May to August) to lay their eggs. 
Location:  Dare County, Outer Banks
Grade Level or Course: Grade 4  
Question:  Why do sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach instead of in the ocean?
Other related questions about the phenomenon:
How do the eggs stay safe from predators?
How do humans help sea turtles survive?
Do all sea turtles in the world nest on beaches?

Phenomenon Description: The shells of Eastern box turtles exhibit a wide variety of color and pattern variations within the same species. The Eastern box turtle is our state reptile and is found throughout the state. 
Location: Eno River State Park, Durham, NC
Grade Level or Course: Grade 7
Question: Why do Eastern Box Turtles have so many variations in shell patterns?

Phenomenon Description: The Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) has specialized leaves that snap shut to capture and digest insects, which the plant uses for nutrients. 
Location: Found in the subtropical wetlands of NC and SC, Carolina Beach State Park, Wilmington, NC 
Grade Level or Course: Grade 6
Question: If Venus flytraps photosynthesize like other plants, why have they also evolved to get nutrients by trapping and digesting insects?

Phenomenon Description: A large swarm of dragonflies (a mix of common green darners and wandering gliders) flying over a grassland at an environmental education center in Raleigh.
Location:  Wake County, Prairie Ridge Ecostation 
Grade Level or Course: Grade 5  
Question:  Why did this swarm of dragonflies form in this location? 
Other related Questions:
Why does this behavior matter to our environment?

Phenomenon Description: Blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata) emit their unique nighttime glow 
Location: Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
Grade Level or Course: Biology 
Question: Why do ghost fireflies glow continuously instead of blinking like other species? 
Other related questions: 
How do ghost firefly males “know” to ignore other glowing insects and hone in only on their own species' faint signal?

Phenomenon Description: Leaves with different sizes, shapes and colors.  
Location: Wake County, Wake Forest  
Grade Level or Course: Kindergarten
Question: Are all leaves the same?  
Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function 
Other related questions:
Why are some leaves smooth and others are bumpy or jagged? 
Why do leaves fall to the ground? 
Science Domain:  Life Science 

Phenomenon Description: A chicken with speckled (“checkered”) black and white plumage
Location: Harnett County, Angier 
Grade Level or Course: Biology
Question: Why do some chickens look like they’re wearing a checkerboard while others are solid black or white? 
Other related questions about the phenomenon:
How would you describe the phenotype of an organism that inherits codominant alleles?

Phenomenon Description: Kudzu growing along the road
Location: Wake County
Grade Level or Course: Biology
Question: How can a single plant grow up to a foot per day and what powers that kind of speed?
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect: Mechanism & Exploration 
Provide other related questions you considered about the phenomenon:
What makes kudzu so unstoppable in the U.S., but not in its native environment?

Phenomenon Description: Jockey's Ridge State Park is home to the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic Coast. 
Location: Jockey's Ridge State Park, Nags Head
Grade Level or Course: Grade 4
Question: How did the Sand Dunes get to Jockey's Ridge State Park? 
Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change
Science Domain: Earth and Space Science