Adapted from Termite Trails Activity created by J. Cohen, 8/29/13 M. Rice Biology 621

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Name ______________________________Date __________ Block ____ Lab Partners: ___________________________________________

Termite Trail Lab

Background: Termites, ants, some bees and wasps are social insects. These insects nest in colonies of thousands or millions of individuals all working cooperatively together to meet the same ultimate goal: to produce a new generation of reproductive individuals who will leave the nest, mate and start a new colony. This cooperation requires excellent communication skills among the nestmates. Lab Objectives: In today’s lab you will:

Observe the behavior of termites and draw conclusions about their behavior. Generate a hypothesis to explain the termite behavior Design an experiment that will test your hypothesis.

Materials:

Petri dish Circular filter paper colored pens, pencils, or markers of your choice 10-15 termites (try to get at least one soldier if possible) soft bristle paint brush

Procedure (part 1):

1. Obtain a petri dish and filter paper. 2. Choose 5 pens, pencils or markers and draw a

wiggly line with each as shown in the diagram to the right. (Try to use at least one writing utensil of each type.)

3. Label each wiggly line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

4. In the data table below, record what type of writing utensil you used, the color and the

brand. Type of writing utensil Color Brand 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Adapted from Termite Trails Activity created by J. Cohen, 8/29/13 M. Rice Biology 621

5. Place your filter paper in the Petri dish. 6. GENTLY, place termites in the center of the Petri dish, cover the dish and observe for 5

minutes.

7. Record ALL activity of termites here: Now that you have made your observations, think about what is going on and try to come up with a hypothesis for the termite behavior. Hypothesis: Design an experiment to test your hypothesis. Write a detailed procedure for your experiment below or on a separate sheet of paper. (Don’t forget to number your steps!) Once your group is done, show your procedure to your teacher to get the your experiment approved.

Adapted from Termite Trails Activity created by J. Cohen, 8/29/13 M. Rice Biology 621

Termite Trails Lab- Part 2: Look at your procedure and identify the following: The control The variable(s) Perform your experiment and record observations (EVIDENCE) here: Did your experiment support or refute your hypothesis? Explain. After performing your experiment, do you have any additional questions? How could you modify/change your procedure to answer these questions?