Project: Body Temperature and Reaction Time

Neurospora crassa Circadian Rhythm Visualization

Virtual Transgenic Fly Lab

Easily customizable activities:

Insect Attraction
Are night insects attracted to lamps because of heat or light? Design an experiment to test this. Of what benefit might attraction to light and/or heat be to the insect? From an evolution point of view, how might have this characteristic developed?

Monitor Physiology

• Measure heart rate, temperature, perceived hunger, breathing rate, or perceived alertness at regular intervals throughout the day.
• Investigate the mechanisms involved with animal hibernation, animal migration, or the change of leaf color in the fall.

California State Standards (Grades 9-12)

Biology/Life Sciences

Physiology

9. As a result of the coordinated structures and functions of organ systems, the internal environment of the human body remains relatively stable (homeostatic) despite changes in the outside environment. As a basis for understanding this concept:

b. Students know how the nervous system mediates communication between different parts of the body and the body's interactions with the environment.

c. Students know how feedback loops in the nervous and endocrine systems regulate conditions in the body.


Investigation and Experimentation


1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (such as computer-linked probes, spreadsheets, and graphing calculators) to perform tests, collect data, analyze relationships, and display data.

b. Identify and communicate sources of unavoidable experimental error.

c. Identify possible reasons for inconsistent results, such as sources of error or uncontrolled conditions.

d. Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence.

e. Solve scientific problems by using quadratic equations and simple trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions.

i. Analyze the locations, sequences, or time intervals that are characteristic of natural phenomena (e.g., relative ages of rocks, locations of planets over time, and succession of species in an ecosystem).

j. Recognize the issues of statistical variability and the need for controlled tests.

k. Recognize the cumulative nature of scientific evidence.

l. Analyze situations and solve problems that require combining and applying concepts from more than one area of science.

m. Investigate a science-based societal issue by researching the literature, analyzing data, and communicating the findings. Examples of issues include irradiation of food, cloning of animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer, choice of energy sources, and land and water use decisions in California.


National Research Council Standards


Content Standard A — Science As Inquiry


1. Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

2. Understandings about scientific inquiry


Content Standard C — Life Science


1. The cell: 3 (genetic information), 4 (regulation)

6. Behavior of organisms: 1 (sense organs), 2 (stimuli response), 3 (evolutionary adaptive logic), 4 (implications for humans)


Content Standard F — Science in Personal and Social Perspectives


1. Personal and community health: 3 (personal health choices),


Content Standard G — History and Nature of Science


1. Science as a human endeavor: 1 (individual and team contributions), 2 (scientific norms),

2. Nature of scientific knowledge: 1 (explanation of nature), 2 (evidentiary criteria), 3 (scientific knowledge can be incomplete or fragmentary)