AASA Writing Practice 1

Last updated 11 months ago

2 questions

Ants: A Plant's Best Friend
1
Even though they are tiny insects, ants play a big role in feeding the Earth. They don't know that they're doing such an important job. They think they're feeding their colony and protecting their queen. But along the way, the Earth gets important benefits from the actions of the lowly little ant.
2
There are more than 14,000 types of ants, and all of them live in colonies. Large colonies, or nests, may hold as many as 100,000 ants. Most ants build their nests underground, which helps to aerate the soil and make it easier for plants to grow. Ants dig deep into the Earth's surface. Some ant colonies build their nests as deep as twenty feet underground. As they do so, they loosen the soil and move lots of soil to build the many chambers and tunnels that make up their home. The nest provides them with shelter and a place to store the food that they gather. It is also where the queen ant lays her eggs, up to 20,000 per day. New members of the colony will be hatched from these eggs, so they are fiercely protected.
3
The ant colony is a study in cooperation. Worker ants, who are always female, constantly gather food on the Earth's surface. Once they have located a food source, they carry it back to the nest and place it in a storage room. Then, they head back up to the Earth's surface and gather more. Large-jawed sentries guard the entrances to the mound. Their main job is to keep an eye on the worker ants, making sure that only members of the colony enter the nest. Other worker ants tend to the royal chamber, where the queen lays her eggs. They move the eggs as needed, keep the chambers clean, and keep the males and queen fed.
4
Worker ants can move an amazing amount of food into the nest each day, dragging as much as fifty times their own weight home each day. Many types of ants don't eat the gathered food directly. Some only drink the juices. Others eat a fungus that grows on the food. While the food sits in the colony's storage chambers waiting to be eaten, air that flows through the tunnels causes the food to rot. As the food decomposes, it becomes a part of the soil. Hungry plant roots eat the nutrients from the decayed food and grow strong and healthy. Without ants, important nutrients would sit on the top of the soil and never reach a plant's roots.
5
When the rains come, the tunnels in an ant nest become direct pathways to plant and tree roots. While rainwater usually sits on the surface, because it takes time to filter into the soil, ant nests allow water to reach the roots directly. Without ant nests, many plants and trees would not get enough water to survive. Both the flowers of the field and the towering trees of the forest rely on the ant to till the soil and bring food to their roots.

Who Lives in an Ant Colony?
Queen
The queen is the only female winged ant in the colony.  Her job is to lay eggs to create more ants.  Some ant colonies have more than one queen.  If the queen dies, the colony will die out unless there is another queen to take her place.

Drones
The drones are male ants who mate with the queen.  They are winged ants.

Sentries
Sentries guard the ant colony.  They are female ants, and their job is to make sure that the queen and the colony are protected.  They prevent other insects, spiders, and animals from entering the colony.  They also fight off ants from other colonies that attempt to invade their colony.

Workers
Worker ants are females, and they gather food, maintain the nest, and ensure that the queen and drones are fed.  They also take care of the eggs and newly-hatched larvae.  The worker ants are the most numerous of all the ants in the colony.

Describe the types of ants discussed in the passages and explain how each type helps the colony. Use details from the passages to support your response.

Manage your time carefully so that you can
    • read the passages;
    • plan your response;
    • write your response; and
    • revise and edit your response.
 
Be sure to include
    • an introduction;
    • information from the passages as support; and
    • a conclusion that is related to the information presented.
 
Your response should be in the form of a multi-paragraph essay.

Required

AASA Writing Practice 1

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