ACTIVITY 74:
OBSERVING ORGANISMS
Challenge: What can you discover about an
organism in a laboratory investigation?
Vocabulary:
Ecology
Observation
Inference
Anthropocentrism
Anthropomorphism
Read page E- 15 and write down the
definition of ECOLOGY in your
journals.
GETTING STARTED
Guidelines for Studying Animals
 What do we need to think about when
dealing with live animals?
 Be Nice!
 Be Careful!
 Don’t hurt them
 Don’t throw them
 Don’t play around
Warning!
 Blackworms reproduce
ASEXUALLY. If you see a
lighter color on one end, they
are regenerating… so be
GENTLE!!
Observations vs. Inferences
Observations
Inferences
(What you notice with senses)
(Guess based on information)
Things to Think About!
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Where is the head? Tail?
How/ What do they eat?
How do they move?
How do they act with each other?
How do they reproduce?
Do they only live in water?
What eats them?
How do they respond to touch?
How do they breath?
Do they have a nervous system? Circulatory?
Procedure # 7-9
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Moisten a filter paper.
Place it in the empty petri dish.
Use your dropper to suction 1 worm.
Please the worm on the filter paper.
Observe how it moves alone and on
filter paper.
Blackworms under a Microscope!
 Use a dropper to place ONE
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blackworm on a slide.
Begin with x10 magnification.
Move up in magnification and focus
using the fine focus each time.
Record observations about the
blackworm.
*Think about its circulatory system!
Group Work Analysis #3(E-18)
 You are a group of professional
ecologists.
 Write an entry for the encyclopedia
describing blackworms.
 Entry must include at least 8 facts.
 Include both physical
observations and
behavioral observations.
Homework- Analysis #2(E-18)
 Based on what you know about
blackworms, in what type of
environment do you think blackworms
live? Explain your reasoning.
 Temperature?
 With other Worms?
 Location?
 Surroundings?
 Predators?
 Prey?
 Water Type?