McGraw-Hill Mathematics: Grade 4, Chapter 5

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How Does a Forest Grow?

Habitats: The Growth of a Forest
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/habitats/index2.html

Enjoy a "hike" through a forest in West Virginia!

• Read the page, then click join us.
• On the right side of the window, click 2-Year Stand.
• Point your cursor to the highlighted areas in the photo. Read the text that appears below the photo.
• Click the right arrow and point your cursor to highlighted areas that appear in the next photo.
• Read all of the information that is given in the three photos for the 2-year stand.
• Repeat the process for 12-Year Stand, 41-Year Stand, and 86-Year Stand.

1. In the 2-year stand, there are about 80,000 trees per acre. Write a math sentence describing how many trees would be found in the 2-year stand if it covered 5 acres.
   
   
   
   
2. Now write a math sentence that tells whether a 2-year stand that is 7 acres holds more than or less than half a million trees.
   
   
   
   
3. Find the number of trees per acre in the 12-year stand. Write a math sentence telling how many trees would be found in a 12-year stand that was 8 acres.
   
   
   
   
4. Now write a math sentence that tells whether a 12-year stand that is 3 acres holds more than or less than 10,000 trees.
   
   
   
   
5. The tallest trees in the 12-year stand are 35 feet high. Write a math sentence telling how tall a 3-foot-tall tree would be if it grew 3 feet per year for 10 years. Would such a tree be as tall as the tallest trees found in the 12-year stand?
   
   
   
   
6. Find the number of sizable trees per acre in the 41-year stand. How many trees would you find in the 41-year stand if it were 4 acres? Show your work.
   
   
   
   
7. The trees in the 41-year stand are as tall as 90 feet. The 41-year stand is 39 years older than the 2-year stand. How tall would a 2-foot tree in the 2-year stand be if it grew 2 feet per year for 39 years? Would such a tree be taller or shorter than the tallest tree in the 41-year stand? Show your work.
   
   
   
   
8. Find the number of trees per acre in the 86-year stand. Write a math sentence telling the number of trees you would find if the stand was 9 acres.
   
   
   
   
9. Write two math sentences telling how tall a 30-foot tree in the 41-year stand would be at 86 years if it grew 2 feet per year.
   
   
   
   

Math at Home

Today I explored a Web site that showed a forest in West Virginia where scientists study the growth of trees over a period of years. The forest was divided by age into sections 2-years-, 12-years-, 41-years-, and 86-years-old. I learned that as the time passed, the number of trees per acre grew           . I also figured out that, if the 86-year old forest were 9 acres, it would have            trees.

Ask your teacher or parents to show you other fun and interesting Web pages about forests and other habitats.