Vernier Probe Activity: Measuring Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen in Fishbowls Purpose After performing this experiment,

students will understand the correlation between changes in the environment and animal behavior and also how this can be applied to identifying characteristics for that animals taxonomical grouping. Prior Knowledge In order to perform a testing experiment, students will need to know the steps involved in the scientific method: make observations, come up with a hypothesis, test the hypothesis with an experiment, analyze data, and then conclude if the results match the hypothesis. Students should also know about taxonomy, more specifically about the characteristics of Kingdom Animalia and Phylum Chordata. Objectives (Students will be able to): Make observations, hypotheses, and predictions based on the experiment Demonstrate capability in handling the Vernier probes and using the Lab Pro to collect data Find any patterns or relationships in the graphs Determine whether or not the results of the experiment matched their predictions Decide if the patterns in the graphs support their hypotheses or not Analyze the data and taxonomically characterize the organism being used as the test subject

Materials Vernier probes for measuring water temperature and dissolved oxygen Three fish bowls (each with one goldfish inside) Ice cubes in a Ziploc bag Hot plate 2 Laptops or computers with the Lab Pro program installed on both of them

Accommodations For students who feel uncomfortable handling animals, then they will be placed each be placed into a group where the other lab group members can perform the parts of the experiment that may involve being in contact with the fish. When students need to use the hot plate to heat up their water, I will go around to each lab group to supervise the heating as a safety precaution. Procedure For the experimental setup, each lab group will have three fishbowls placed in front of them filled with freshwater and a goldfish placed in each bowl. 1. Come up with a hypothesis relating temperature to the breathing rate of the goldfish. 2. Predict what will happen to each fish if the water temperature increases or decreases.

3. Set up the Lab Pro program on each computer so that water temperature can be measured with one probe and then another probe is measuring the dissolved oxygen. 4. Measure the temperature of one fish bowl (the control group) and record that temperature as the room temperature. 5. For 5 minutes, observe the goldfish and record your observations (how it swims, its breathing rate, etc.). 6. Simultaneously, place the two probes into the fish bowl and start up the Lab Pro program to record the temperature and dissolved oxygen amount for the five-minute period 7. For another 5 minutes, repeat Steps 5 and 6 but instead of room temperature water, place a few ice cubes into a Ziploc bag, seal it, and then place it into the fish bowl. The students should use the probe again as a thermometer to measure the new temperature once it had dropped 10C below the original temperature. Start recording the measurements. 8. For the last set of five minutes (perhaps on the third class period), repeat Steps 5 and 6 except for the third fish bowl, heat up water on a hot plate until it is 10C above room water temperature. (The fish should be kept in a separate container while boiling the fishbowl water). Once the water is done heating up, you can place the fish back into the fish bowl and start recording the measurements. 9. Print out all six graphs (three for water temperature and three for dissolved oxygen). 10. Discuss with your lab group about the graphs and any patterns that you see. Include this analysis in the lab report. Accommodations For students who feel uncomfortable handling animals, then they will be placed each be placed into a group where the other lab group members can perform the parts of the experiment that may involve being in contact with the fish. Timing Due to the time it will take to setup the experiment, this activity will happen over the course of three 45-minute class periods. The first class will introduce students to lab equipment and teach them how to use and how to setup the Lab Pro. The second and third class periods are for the actual lab activity where they use the lab equipment. If the students finish all of the parts to the experiment early, they can work with their lab group to start on the lab report assignment. Assessment- Lab Report Must include: Title Page Introduction Materials Hypothesis/ Predictions Procedure Results (Data Tables and Graphs) Discussion Conclusion