On(line)SC
Forces of Nature
Fire
Notes and Facilitation Points
What are some other things humans have used fire for?
What do we rely on fire for?
Notes and Facilitation Points
Crosscutting Concepts within this lesson
Slide #6 System and System Models: When eliciting information about the components and interactions of systems and system models, ask students: What are the key parts of the [natural object, designed object, or organism described in the scenario]? EX: What are the three key parts of a fire? Answer: fuel (wood), oxygen, and heat.
Slide #7 System and System Models: when eliciting information about the components and interactions of systems and system models, ask students: How do the parts of [a natural object, designed object, or organism described in the scenario] work together? EX: How do these key parts work together to make a fire? Answer: A traditional fuel used for fire is wood. Wood provides stored energy released through heat and light. Oxygen found in the air is required for a fire's chemical reaction. The heat from a spark or flame is required to start a fire. Generally heat does not need to be continually added to the fire.
Slide #15 System and System Models: When eliciting information about the flow and cycling of energy, matter, and information, ask students: What matter cycles out of the system? EX: what matter cycles out of the fire? Answer: ASH.
Slide #21 Cause and Effect: When seeking to elicit whether students understand the underlying mechanism involving something that is not part of the surface situation presented in the scenario, ask students: What would you predict in [present new situation involving same mechanism] would happen? How is the situation similar to or different from the [presented scenario]?
EX: What would you predict in the ___ picture would happen if a fire started? Would certain spots burn more easily? How is this scenario similar to or different from the field pictured on the right? Answer: the picture on the left would burn more easily because there is more fuel load due to the down trees and branches. They are different because the picture on the right has a huge river surrounded by rocks with no down trees. Water is a great fire boundary, not allowing the fire to move across it.
On(line)SC
Forces of Nature
Fire
Hello Naturalist!
Today we will be exploring another force of nature that has a great deal of power to change the natural world: FIRE.
Everyone is familiar with fire.
Most people have seen
one burning before,
but what is fire?
What are the three key
parts of a fire?
Fuel
Oxygen
Heat
Fuel, oxygen, and heat are the three key parts
needed to make a fire.
How do these key parts work together
to make a fire?
A traditional fuel used for fire is wood. Wood provides stored energy released through heat and light.
Oxygen found in the air is required for a fire's chemical reaction.
The heat from a spark or flame is
required to start a fire.
Generally heat does not need to be continually added to the fire.
Write down some of the things you like to do or would like to do around a fire.
Then answer this question.
Activity
Humans use fire to provide warmth, cook food,
water purification, and
prescribed burns.
Fun Fact
Smoke from a fire can help keep mosquitoes away.
Join Us
Create a fire with Teacher Naturalist
Ms. Lauren and watch how we make
a fire at Ozark Natural Science Center!
Activity
When you think of natural fires, do you think of fire as being a positive or negative natural force?
When forest fires are reported on the news, are they shown as positive or negative?
While the short term effects of fire are
often damaging and destructive on habitats, the long term effects of fire can be positive.
Prescribed burns are human-created fires conducted to encourage habitat improvement
and help prevent forest fires.
What matter cycles out of the fire?
What is left over after a fire burns?
After a fire burns through the wood, it leaves behind
a lot of ash.
Why is ash important?
Where does ash go?
You guessed it; ash goes into the soil.
Fire ash is rich in phosphorus, nitrogen, and calcium.
These nutrients help plants to grow.
Have you noticed fallen trees, branches, and leaves while walking through the forest?
Trees, branches, and leaves are used as fuel for fires.
Fires Prevent Fires?
The amount of fuel available for a fire to burn up
is called Fuel Load.
less fuel load = small fires = less overall damage
more fuel load = large fires = more overall damage
Fun Fact
Many trees have thick bark that allows them to survive ground-level fires.
When fire reaches the top branches it becomes a Crown Fire and is dangerous for trees.
Low fuel loads keep the fire closer to the ground and help prevent larger fires.
If a fire started, which scenario would burn easier and why?
How is this left scenario similar to or different from
the scenario on the right?
Did you notice anything, natural or human-made, that could act as a barrier, slowing down or stopping a fire from spreading?
If so, why would that slow
or stop a fire?
Let’s Think About It
At ONSC, we have a glade habitat. A glade is an open, shallow, and rocky soil habitat covered with wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs. Without prescribed burns to clear out invasive plants such as cedars, we would lose this habitat.
Some examples of native glade plants are;
Blazing Star Wildflower
Indian Grass
Chinquapin Tree
A variety of animals make glades their habitat, such as;
Hognose Snake
Eastern Collared
Lizard
White-tailed Deer
Glades have degraded over the years due to
fire suppression and
invasive species.
Fire suppression means
the fire is not able to burn.
Humans use water, fire extinguishers, and dirt as
forms of fire suppression.
With fire suppression, Eastern Red Cedars invade glades, preventing the growth of native plants and wildlife.
Fire is a
strong force
that affects the environment in both
good and bad ways.
Be careful how you use it.
THANK YOU FOR LEARNING ABOUT FIRE WITH US!
Works Cited
Slide 5 & 13 | Image #1 | "Blue notes (fire)" by angelocesare is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Slide 6 | Image #1 | "Campfire in NB" by Martin Cathrae is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 7 | Image #1 | "firewood textures" by Zdeno Ceman is licensed under CC BY 2.0 | Image #2 | "008 Oxygen - Periodic Table of Elements" by Science Activism is licensed under CC BY 2.0 | Image #3 | “Fire Lessons” ONSC Archive
Slide 8 | Image #1 | "FIRE" by kjarrett is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 9 | Image #1 | "Tiny fire but effective" by Kirt Edblom is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 10 | Image #1 | "Campfire Sasuage" by tedmurphy is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 14 | Image #1 | "Autumn in birch forest, Siberia" by Tatters ✾ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 15 | Image #1 | "Army Prescribed Burn on Fort Ord" by Presidio of Monterey: DLIFLC & USAG is marked with CC PDM 1.0
Slide 16 | Image #1 | "ash flakes" by Creativity103 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 17 | Image #1 | "Deck plant roots" by C G-K is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 18 | Image #1 | "Banff Prescribed Burn 2009" by Eggs&Beer is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 19 | Image #1 | "Forest in fire" by jucanils is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 20 | Image #1 | “Forest Fire” ONSC Archive
Slide 21 | Image #1 | "Fallen trees" by ♔ Georgie R is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 | Image #2 | "River Seridó" by grungepunk2010 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 22 | Image #1 | "river" by barnyz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Slide 23 | Image #1 | "Green Lake in the rain" by pfly is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 24 | Image #1 | "Blazing Star (Liastris spicata)" by ZoeThePlantographer is licensed under CC BY 2.0 | Image #2 | "Indian Grass" by OakleyOriginals is licensed under CC BY 2.0 | Image #3 | "Spiny seed pod of Bush Chinquapin" by jkirkhart35 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 25 | Image #1 | "Western Hognose Snake" by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region is marked with CC PDM 1.0 | Image #2 | "Male Eastern Collard Lizard 7-25-19" by Larry Smith2010 is licensed under CC BY 2.0 | Image #3 | "White tailed deer fawn in grass Sand Lake NWR" by USFWS Mountain Prairie is marked with CC PDM 1.0
Slide 26 | Image #1 | "407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron conducts fire extinguisher training for Contingency Operating Base Adder Soldiers" by DVIDSHUB is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Slide 27 | Image #1 | "Hall of Japanese cedars leading up to Oku-sha at Togakushi Shrine" by Big Ben in Japan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 28 | Image #1 | "116 Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Biscuit Fire" by Forest Service Pacific NW Region is marked with CC PDM 1.0