By:
Carrie Bidwell (Clay High School)
& Emily Zablocki (Adams High School)
Created by NeoSCI and CAPSI
 www.neosci.com
 $369.95
 Includes 20 different “investigations”
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Presented as a high school lab kit, however, it
is actually more middle school level (the
manual included middle school in the title)
Includes materials for all labs, however, most
of the supplies are found in common labs
Suggest to order the manual by itself or the
CD-ROM
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2.
Upon completion of this lab, students
will be able to:
Design and build a structure that maximizes
strength and height, while minimizing
weight.
Relate this type of structure to bones.
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Bones are not solid, rather, more of a
compromise between strength and weight.
Bones criss-cross calcium fibers for support
and strength, with empty spaces between
these fibers to reduce the overall weight of
the bone.
With bones, the important characteristics to
remember are lower weight, greater strength,
and longer length.
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6.
Suggested Time Requirement is 2 or 3 class
periods.
Materials needed for each team:
50 straws
1 roll of invisible tape
1 meter stick
2 textbooks
1 index card, 3” x 5”
Triple-Beam Balance
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6.
Your team has 5 minutes to discuss your plans and
look over the rubric. Sketch ideas for your structure.
After you are told to begin, you will have 25 minutes
to build your structure. Remember, you do NOT
need to use all of the materials that you are given.
When time is up, stop working. Write your team
name and the name of your structure on the index
card.
Use the meter stick to measure the structure’s
height. Measure up vertically from the base to its
highest point. Record this value on the index card.
Use the balance to measure the structure’s mass.
Record this on the index card.
Tape the card to your structure.
3
2
1
HEIGHT
(more is better)
The structure is 40 cm or
higher.
The structure is 20
cm or higher.
The structure is less
that 20 cm high.
WEIGHT
(less is better)
The weight is less than
25 grams.
The weight is less
than 30 grams.
The weight is more
than 30 grams.
STRENGTH
(more is better)
The structure can support
at least two books for at
least ten seconds.
The structure can
support at least one
book for at least ten
seconds.
The structure
cannon support one
book for ten
seconds.
CREATIVITY
The structure’s design,
decoration, and/or name
are creative and unique in
at least two ways.
The structure’s
design, decoration,
and/or name are
creative and unique
in one way.
No unique ideas or
innovations were
presented.
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Why is each of the three characteristics
(height, weight, and strength) important for
your bones and your body?
Explain in your own words how the structures
your class built are like the bones in your
body.
Upon completion of this lab, students
will be able to:
1. Prepare on observation chamber to observe
Daphnia.
2. Find the baseline heart rate of a Daphnia.
3. Identify the effect of caffeine on the
Daphnia heart rate.
4. Identify the effect of alcohol on the Daphnia
heart rate.
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Students have a solid understanding of the
detrimental effects of chemicals and drugs.
This activity examines the physiological effect of
two of those common chemicals, caffeine and
alcohol.
Daphnia are used for this activity because they
are small and have a heart that is easily visible
through their exoskeleton.
Environmental scientists use Daphnia to test the
levels of chemicals in the water. If the water in a
sample is too toxic, many Daphnia will die.
Scientists can also judge how the water affects
living systems by the Daphnia’s heartbeat.
1. Make an observation chamber
A. Squeeze some petroleum jelly out of the
tube in a circle in the center of the glass
slide.
B. Use the dropper to pick of a single
Daphnia.
C. When the Daphnia swims close to the
bottom of the dropper, squeeze it out onto
the observation chamber so that only a little
bit of the solution comes out.
2. Lay a cover slip over the top of the
petroleum jelly circle to prevent evaporation
of the liquid. Be sure not to press too hard or
you will crush the Daphnia!
3. Place the slide under the microscope.
Using the lowest power setting, locate and
observe the Daphnia.
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Work with a partner and count the number of
Daphnia’s heartbeats in ten seconds. The
suggested method is to have one person keep
track of time while the other person looks in the
microscope and makes a tick mark on a piece of
paper every time the heart beats.
Repeat this process two more times. Use
observations to calculate the heart rate of a
Daphnia in beats per minute by multiplying each
observed number of beats by six. Record all
information in the data table provided.
When you are finished, find the average of your
results.
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Remove the cover slip from the observation
chamber.
Add a single drop of alcohol to the chamber.
Quickly replace the cover slip.
Use the same method from the previous
experiment to count the Daphnia’s heart rate
over ten seconds.
Repeat two more times, multiply each number
by six, and find the average.
Record this information on the data table.
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Dispose of the Daphnia used with the alcohol and
wash the microscope slide.
Create a new observation chamber and obtain a
new Daphnia.
Add a drop of caffeine to the observation
chamber and replace the cover slip.
Use the same method from the previous
experiment to count the Daphnia’s heart rate
over ten seconds.
Repeat two more times, multiply each number by
six, and find the average.
Record this information on the data table.
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Summarize the effect of alcohol on the heart
rate and behavior of a Daphnia as compared
to the baseline heart rate and behavior.
Summarize the effect of caffeine on the heart
rate and behavior of a Daphnia as compared
to the baseline heart rate and behavior.