Luke Einstein
St. Luke’s School
January 17, 2014
Science 6
Lab Report
Project Title
The Effect of Temperature on a Cricket’s Chirps per Minute
Research Question
What is the relationship between the number of chirps a cricket will chirp per minute and the
surrounding temperature?
Research Summary
Crickets are a unique species of insects that prefer warm, moist areas. Most crickets are brown,
but some are black and some tree crickets are green with whitish wings. They have rounded
heads, antennae that are long and thin, and their wings bend down on the sides of their body.
They have chewing mouthparts, and their back legs are larger and stronger than the other two
pair. Crickets produce their chirping noise by rubbing their two forelegs quickly together,
producing a high pitched sound. Male crickets often choose particular locations to call from so
they can make the best sound possible. Like all insects, crickets are affected by the temperature
of their environment. They usually are more active and chirp faster and louder on a warm night
than on a cold one.
Hypothesis
If an experiment is conducted to see how temperature affects the number of cricket chirps per
minute, then a cricket will chirp more frequently in warmer temperatures than in cooler
temperatures because crickets are more active in a warmer environment.
Variables
Manipulated: Temperature of the testing surface
Responding: Number of chirps per minute made by each subject cricket
Controlled: Testing procedures will be the same for all subject crickets. The same species and
sizes of cricket will be tested. Care of crickets will be consistent for all subject crickets.
Exposure to light, sound, and moisture will be constant for all subject crickets and all testing
periods.
Materials
5 live crickets, same species and size
6 cardboard shoe storage boxes with air holes
water and plant materials for food
heating pad with settings/capability for 15 to 25 degrees Celsius
1 Celsius thermometer
1 timer with seconds
notebook and pencil
Procedure
1. Gather all materials.
2. Prepare 5 storage boxes for the crickets and place one cricket in each box.
3. Provide the same amount of water and food for each cricket.
4. Place heating pad under the 6th box and set heat setting to 150 C.
5. Place thermometer in bottom of box and wait until it reaches 150 C.
6. Place first cricket in warmed box, wait until it starts chirping, and then set stopwatch to one
minute.
7. Count the number of cricket chirps during the one-minute period.
8. Record data on data chart.
9. Repeat the count twice more for the 150 C. setting.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 for each of the five (5) crickets.
11. Set the heating pad to 200 C. and wait until thermometer in box reaches 200 C.
12. Repeat steps 6-10 for the 200 C temperature.
13. Set the heating pad to 250 C and wait until thermometer in box reaches 250 C.
14. Repeat steps 6-10 for the 250 C temperature.
15. Calculate the average number of chirps per minute for each cricket at each of the test
temperatures.
16. Calculate the average number of chirps per minute for all crickets combined at each of the
test temperatures.
17. Record and analyze data.
DATA CHARTS
The Relationship of Temperature and Cricket Chirps Per Minute
RAW DATA - NUMBER OF CHIRPS PER MINUTE
Cricket
15 C.
20 C.
25 C.
1 - Trial 1
93
130
1 - Trial 2
88
135
1 - Trial 3
92
139
AVERAGE
91
135
179
178
182
180
2 - Trial 1
2 - Trial 2
2 - Trial 3
AVERAGE
79
84
78
80
122
125
124
124
175
168
165
169
3 - Trial 1
3 - Trial 2
3 - Trial 3
AVERAGE
85
91
91
89
132
131
128
130
175
178
175
176
4 - Trial 1
4 - Trial 2
4 - Trial 3
AVERAGE
73
75
85
78
125
127
123
125
165
158
152
158
5 - Trial 1
5 - Trial 2
5 - Trial 3
AVERAGE
75
81
76
77
124
131
109
121
165
155
152
157
Cricket
1
2
3
4
5
Average
Maximum
Minimum
AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHIRPS PER MINUTE
15 C.
20 C.
91
135
80
124
89
130
78
125
77
121
15 C.
83
91
77
20 C.
127
135
121
25 C.
180
169
176
158
157
25 C.
168
180
157
Number of Chirps Per Minute
Temperature & Cricket Chirps
Per Minute
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Average
Maximum
15 C.
20 C.
25 C.
Average
83
127
168
Maximum
91
135
180
Minimum
77
121
157
Minimum
Testing Temperature
Number of Chirps Per Minute
Temperature &
Cricket Chirps Per Minute
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Average
Maximum
15 C.
20 C.
25 C.
Average
83
127
168
Maximum
91
135
180
Minimum
77
121
157
Testing Temperature
Minimum
Conclusion
The hypothesis that crickets will chirp more frequently at warmer temperatures was
supported by the results of this experiment. On average the crickets chirped 83 times per minute
at 150 C, 127 times per minute at 200 C, and 168 times per minute at 250 C. The increase in
frequency of chirps per minute at the different temperatures remained fairly equal. There was an
average increase of 44 more chirps per minute between 150 C and 200 C and 41 more chirps per
minute between 200 C and 250 C. Both the raw data and the averaged data support a finding of
significance. All crickets increased their number of chirps per minute at each increasing
temperature level. The percentage of the increases was 53% from 150 C to 200 C and 32% from
200 C to 250 C.
The manipulated variable in this experiment was the different temperature settings and
the dependent variable was the number of chirps each cricket made in a timed one-minute period.
Maintaining a constant temperature in the testing box was sometimes difficult so as long as the
temperature stayed within two degrees Celsius of the intended temperature, the test was included
in the results. If the temperature in the testing box changed more than two degrees Celsius
higher or lower, the test was not counted. Also, it usually took some time after a cricket was
moved into the testing box for the cricket to start chirping so the procedure used was to wait until
the cricket started chirping regularly before beginning a trial. These two unexpected variables
resulted in having to do many trials to get complete results. Finally, the experiment was started
with 12 test crickets, several which didn’t chirp at all and were not included in the testing. So,
the results reflect the chirping behavior of only those crickets who were regularly chirping.
This experiment could be improved by using more test crickets, including ones that were
not regular chirpers. This would probably decrease the average recorded numbers of chirps at
different temperatures but it is hypothesized that the number of chirps per minute would still
increase as the test temperature increased. The experiment could also be strengthened by adding
more test temperatures and trials, especially a lower one of 100 C, and one higher at 300 C. It
would be interesting to see at what higher temperature the number of chirps might actually
decrease; although it would be important not to harm the crickets with excessive heat. Finally,
other variables such as light, noise, and moisture could be tested for their possible effects on a
cricket’s number of chirps per minute.
The first and most interesting thing I learned about crickets is that the chirping sound
they make is produced by them rubbing their legs together and not by their mouths. I also
learned that temperature does affect how much a cricket chirps. I know that other factors such as
the amount of light, noise, and moisture may also have an impact on crickets’ chirping rates. It
was very interesting and challenging to do an experiment with a living organism. The crickets
did not always behave the way I expected or needed them to do for the experiment so I had to do
many trials to get data that I could use. I learned how important it is to try to control all the
variables that could affect the results of an experiment. I know that more trials and the testing of
other variables could improve this and other experiments.