DATE: 01/22/15
Virtual Lab #0: Mealworm Behavior
Worksheet
1. Open the Virtual Lab: Mealworm Behavior
2. The lab simulation will be on the right side of the screen, the “Question” column will be on the left side of the screen.
3. Click the play button on the video controller in the lab simulation to watch an introductory video about mealworms.
4. Read the background information and instructions in the “Question” column.
5. Yellow mealworms are the larva stage of what animal? (highlight your answer)
a. Monarch Butterflies
b. Darkling Beetles
c. Water Beetles
d. Dung Beetles
6. What is the definition of a “stimulus?”
A stimulus is an environmental change that directly influences the activity of a living organism or one of its parts.
7. Click a file tab to select a stimulus to examine. Read the stimulus question on the file card. Predict how the mealworm will respond to the stimulus. Note: Your predictions will not be evaluated—this is called making a HYPOTHESIS (an educated guess). Proving or disproving hypotheses is how important scientific discoveries are made. For this assignment, IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO BE HONEST THAN CORRECT FOR YOUR PREDICTED BEHAVIOR.
8. Drag one of the three responses to the Predicted Behavior area, and record your prediction in the table on the next page.
9. Click the play button on the video controller.
10. Watch the video to see how the mealworm reacts to the stimulus.
11. Drag the response that corresponds to the mealworm’s actual behavior to the Actual Behavior area. Record the Actual Behavior in the table on the next page.
12. When you have finished the first set of four stimuli, click the “Reset” button in the top right of the screen to obtain four NEW stimuli. Repeat until you have completed at least 8 of the 14 available stimuli. NOTE: You may need to “reset” multiple times to access all the stimuli. DO NOT test the bran flakes stimulus – this will be used later.
Table 1: Record