Science Lab

Today in Science Lab we measured how much pollution bears could withstand before going extinct. For each combination of bears and pollutants, we measured five generations. To measure, we put plastic bears in a bucket. The red bears were healthy bears, and the blue bears were pollutants. If we drew two healthy bears, they survived, and had a baby bear added into the next generation. If we drew a bear and a pollutant, the bear died, and the pollutant went back into the bucket. If we drew two pollutants, the amount of pollution in the enviroment increased and the next generation had one more pollutant. Each generation we drew pairs until the bucket was empty. First, with ten bears and two pollutants, the number of bears increased. Then, with ten bears and three pollutants, and ten bears and four pollutants, the number stayed the same. Finally, with ten bears and five pollutants, the bear population miraculously started going up! Our science teacher, Mrs. Martinez, said that that was very unusual, and most times the bears went extinct in the final round.