Biology  by Bradford
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Free · Biology · Unit 7

Ecology escape room

The Flooded Canopy Camp

Three days of rain have turned the river below your rainforest research camp into a roaring flood. The camp sits on platforms high in the trees, and the warden's security system has locked every gate and hatch until someone proves they understand how this forest works. Five locks stand between your team and the riverboat, the only way out. Each lock poses four questions, and your answers decode into its combination. The water is still rising, and the boat leaves the dock at dusk, with or without you. Keep your eyes open: the forest itself holds the clues.

Play it onlineTeacher pack (PDF)
  • 5 locksfour multiple-choice questions at each, 20 in all
  • About 45 minutesfor a team of three or four
  • Online or on papera link to play, or the pack to print
  • Forgrade 9 and 10 biology and pre-AP classes
  • Play linkbiologybybradford.com/escape/gb7

The five locks

Each lock’s four answers are decoded with its puzzle into a four-digit combination, so one wrong answer keeps it shut. The questions climb from recall to evaluating evidence.
  1. Lock 1 · Recall

    Base Camp Gate

    Symbol sums Easy

    One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.

  2. Lock 2 · Understand

    Seed Bank Locker

    Petri dishes Easy

    Each letter is a petri dish. Count the colonies growing in it.

  3. Lock 3 · Apply

    Rope Bridge Lock

    Overlay Medium

    Only segments lit on BOTH panels count. Read the number they make.

  4. Lock 4 · Analyse data

    River Survey Hut

    Number pyramid Medium

    Each brick is the sum of the two bricks directly below it. Fewer bricks are filled in, so plan your route.

  5. Lock 5 · Evaluate

    Riverboat Dock

    Lock dials Hard

    0 is each dial's pink notch, and the notch moves. Count ticks to the needle in the direction shown.

Lock 1, as a team sees it

The first four questions and their decoder. The answers, and the reason for each, are in the teacher pack.

  1. What do we call all the members of one species that live in the same area at the same time?

    1. A A community
    2. B A population
    3. C An ecosystem
    4. D A biome

  2. Which of these rainforest organisms is a producer?

    1. A A mushroom growing on a log
    2. B A beetle chewing on fresh leaves
    3. C A tree frog eating small insects
    4. D A fern growing on a tree trunk

  3. Which process, carried out by bacteria in the soil, returns nitrogen gas (N₂) to the atmosphere?

    1. A Denitrification
    2. B Nitrogen fixation
    3. C Photosynthesis
    4. D Transpiration

  4. Which biome is hot and wet all year and has more species of plants and animals than any other land biome?

    1. A Desert
    2. B Tundra
    3. C Tropical rainforest
    4. D Temperate grassland

Symbol sums

Easy

One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.

= 3
+= 9
+= 10
+= 9
A = B = C = D =

Running it

  1. Online: send teams the play link. They answer a lock’s four questions, decode the letters and enter the combination; after lock 5 they get a completion code to show you. Nobody needs an account.
  2. On paper: sign in (free) and print the teacher pack: question cards, the five decoders, a guide and the answer key with a reason for every answer.
  3. Your version: Edit a copy from the library to change any question, then play and print it by its own code, or build a room from the topics your class has covered.

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