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From: Resilient Planet Mission 4: Paradise Found (pp: 77)
Adaptation Lab

In this activity, students will compare and contrast the way various shapes move through water. From their observations, they will construct a better understanding of body shape as a survival adaptation.
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Adaptations

The sharks studied by Enric are well adapted for their role as apex predators. Potential prey can be detected at great distances by sharks’ keen sense of smell. These animals also have special pressure sensors that can pick up movements in nearby water. Their teeth are highly specialized for cutting and ripping into prey. Even their bodies’ long, thin shape is an adaptation for survival.

The torpedo-like shape of a shark is adapted for fast and sudden movements. Unlike a less streamlined form, the shark’s body offers reduced resistance in the water. As the shark moves, water does not pile up ahead of it. Instead, the water slides easily around the shark. This reduces friction, allowing the animal to move more quickly and with less effort.

In this activity, you will compare and contrast the way various shapes move through water. From your observations, you will construct a better understanding of body shape as a survival adaptation.

Materials
  • paper clips
  • large plastic underbed storage container (or stream table)

Lab Prep
  1. Compose a list of adaptations that are common to aquatic or marine organisms. How do these adaptations help the organism survive? Group the adaptations on the list into categories of survival strategies. Select various aquatic or marine organisms from this curriculum and assign each to one or more of the categories you have identified.
  2. What effect does streamlining have on an organism’s motion?

Make Observations
  1. Position the plastic storage container on the desktop so that it is flush with the table's edge. Fill the container with water.
  2. Obtain a length of fishing line several centimeters longer than the container.
  3. Each team will obtain an equal number of paper clips from their teacher. Tie a paper clip to each end of the fishing line.
  4. Obtain 10 grams of clay and shape this clay into the form of a shark.
  5. Press one paper clip from step 3 into the head end of the shark model so it is anchored in the clay.
  6. Submerge the shark model at one end of the container. Hang the free paper clip over the edge of the opposite end of the container.
  7. Add several paper clips to the hanging clip to form a short, linked chain.
  8. Release the weight. Use a stopwatch to determine how long it takes for the shark to travel across the pan. Record the time. You can calculate the speed of your shark by measuring the length of the container with the ruler and dividing it by the time it took your shark to cross the distance.
  9. Reshape your clay into a less-streamlined form. Follow the same procedures as above and calculate the speed of the less-streamlined mass. Compare the speed of the two models.

Extension

Use what you have learned about design and shape of the model sharks to improve your design. Set up races between various designs.

Journal Question

Journal Question
Look at the adaptations of plants and animals in terrestrial ecosystems. Why do they have those adaptations? How do those adaptations help them to survive? Explain.

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