Unit 4 Lab Assignments: Virtual Frog Dissection and Animal Behavior
Perform the following labs. Lab #6 is a virtual lab and the questions are provided in the assignment resources below. Lab #7 will require a lab write up. A lab report template is provided in Microsoft Word for you to download and use, if you don’t have Microsoft Word you can recreate the worksheet in an application of your choice, a PDF version of the worksheet is also provided, see the assignment resources below. A lab report will include the following elements. Most units have two labs (each worth 50 pts), but some units have only a single lab and the score for each element below will be doubled).
Title of the Lab (5 pts)
Problem (5 pts)
Hypothesis (5 pts)
Experimental Design (step by step instructions or a brief summary of the steps) (5 pts)
Results/Data (10 pts)
Discussion and Analysis Questions (10 pts)
Conclusion (10 pts)
Lab #6: Virtual Frog Dissection
From the assignment resources below, download either the Microsoft Word worksheet for Lab #6 or the PDF version of it, if you don’t have Word. You will watch a movie on a Frog dissection, you’ll do some research on frogs and amphibian and you’ll use an interactive dictionary. You will then complete the worksheet.
Lab #7: Animal Behavior
Problem: Develop your own problem question. You may do some background research if needed on your animal. Write down three questions about your animal(s). The questions should be ones that you could potentially answer by conducting observations of animals. The questions should be interesting to you, objective, and measurable. For example, “How much time do the giraffes spend eating and how much time do they spend sleeping?” as opposed to “Do giraffes like eating better than they like sleeping?” While we cannot tell whether an animal “likes” a ball, we can observe and measure that it spends 50% of its time playing with the ball. Pick one of your questions to focus on.
Hypothesis: write in an if…then…format
Method:
Choose an animal to make observations on. This can be an animal you have at home, something you see in your backyard, or you can use an animal cam from a zoo. You could also choose different animals if you wanted.
Observations will occur for three minutes. Every fifteen seconds for three minutes, you will observe and record the focal animal’s behavior at that moment.
You will make observations at three different times.
Results:
Primary Animal(s):
Location:
Time (3 different times, maybe use different colors or shapes to identify each time frame):
Number of Other Animals Present:
Description of Animal(s):
Description of Habitat:
Behavior Chart
Using the following list of behaviors, write one behavior at the top of each of the eight columns in the data table: resting/sleeping, eating/drinking, grooming, traveling, aggression, social interaction, play, or not visible.
Choose one individual (focal animal) to watch for several minutes. After each 15 second interval, put a mark under the behavior you observe the focal animal doing at that moment.
If you see any other behaviors you think are interesting or noteworthy, describe them in the “Behavior Notes” section.
Minutes: Seconds
Rest/Sleep
Food/Drink
Grooming
Traveling
Aggression
Social Interaction
Play
Not Visible
0:15
0:30
0:45
1:00
1:15
1:30
1:45
2:00
2:15
2:30
2:45
3:00
8. Behavior Notes:
Discussion/Analysis:
What patterns did you notice in the behavior of your animal?
Think about the 5 types of behavior (orientation, agnostic, mating, communication, and territorial). Categorize the behaviors you noticed into each of these five areas.
Which behaviors were learned? Which were instinctual (innate)?
