Cricket Chirp Rate Lab
The Effects of Atmospheric Pressure
By
Abigail Charpentier E Block
Date
October 2, 2013
Objective
The objective of this study is to determine which environmental factors influence the rate of how fast a cricket chirps, to review and practice the steps of the scientific method, to learn how to use an online computer simulation https://www.gc.maricopa.edu/biology/glacier/scientific_method/ to review and practice constructing data charts and graphs, and to review how to write a formal lab report.
Hypothesis
Cricket chirps are affected by atmospheric pressure.
Results
Results of this experiment are shown on the attached page.
Conclusion
A controlled experiment is one in which all the variables except one are held constant. The single variable that is manipulated (the independent variable) is done so in a controlled way, in order to observe and measure the effects on the dependent variable. In this experiment, the rate of chirping increased with temperature. The other variables (wind speed, number of crickets, humidity and atmospheric pressure) did not impact the number of cricket chirps. The rate stayed at 148 beats per minute in these tests. We met our purpose, but our hypothesis was not supported. We needed at least six data points in order to make a reasonable conclusion. If you only pick larger values, you don’t have information about what happens on the other side you need to support your conclusion. …show more content…
Effect of Variables on Cricket Chirp Rate
Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Table 1
Wind Speed (m/sec) Chirp Rate (chirps/min)
0 148
1 148
2 148
4 148
5 148
6
148
7 148
Table 2
Number of Nearby Crickets Chirp Rate (chirps/min)
1 148
5 148
6 148
10 148
16 148
17 148
19 148
20 148
Table 3
Atmospheric Pressure (mm Hg) Chirp Rate (chirps/min)
740 148
750 148
760 148
770 148
780 148
790 148
Table 4
Humidity (%) Chirp Rate (chirps/min)
11 148
15 148
30 148
40 148
70 148
79 148
Table 5
Temperature (C°) Chirp Rate (chirps/min)
5 4
10 40
15 76
20 112
25 148
30 184
35 220