Ecosystems Curriculum

This section addresses students' tendency to miss effects that involve time delays. It helps students to realize that decay occurs even if we aren't likely to notice it on a regular basis because we don't typically observe what happens to matter over a long time span.

Section 4: Understanding Goals

Subject Matter

• Decomposition or decay is a process that happens over time.
• Variables such as temperature and moisture affect rate of decay.

Causality

• It can be hard to detect the cause of something when there is a time delay between the cause and noticeable effects.
• It can be hard to see certain events as connected in systems when it takes a long time for the effects to become noticeable, or when there is a time delay between causes and effects.
• Decay is characterized by cyclic causality. It is hard to see the cyclic pattern because of time delays and causes that you can't see.