BATTLE OF THE BEAKSA natural selection lab

Battle of the Beaks /27 Name:

Group Members: Date:

Objective: Understand that animals that are better adapted to take advantage of available foods will fare better than those who are less adapted, and thus live to pass on their genes to the next generation.

Materials:Beak types: knives, spoon, tweezers, binder clipsFood types: pinto beans, mini marshmallows, rubber bands, toothpicksExtra: cups, stopwatch Part 1 Procedures:

1. Within your group of 4, select your beak type (knives, spoon, tweezer, or binder clip)2. Each student also needs a cup, which represents the bird’s stomach. The cup must remain upright at all times. You must hold the beak in one hand and the stomach in the other. You can only place food in your stomach with your beak. You may only grab ONE piece of food at a time. Cheaters will be eliminated!3. A certain type of food will be placed within your feeding area. You will have 1 minute to collect as much food as you can.4. Once the teacher says stop, you need to empty out your stomach, count the contents, and record it in table 1. No have eaten food, if it’s in your beak when the timer goes, it doesn’t count.5. We will repeat the activity with multiple food types. Copy your group member’s data down as well, and then answer the questions.

Table 1: /1

Pinto Beans Macaroni Rubber Bands Toothpicks

Knife

Spoon

Tweezers

Binder Clip

Part 1 Questions: /31. What did you notice about your feeding abilities? (What were you good at?) (1)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What would happen if there was a drought and all the rubber bands died off? What would happen to the bird population? (1)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What did you notice about your behavior and the behavior of others? (1) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part 2 Procedures:1. Most habitats have more than one kind of food available. This round you will have different types of food to choose from.2. Spread all of the materials into the feeding circle. You will have 1 minute to feed. Once the teacher says stop, you need to empty out your stomach, count the contents, and record it in table 2. Remember, only one piece of food at a time!3. Copy your group member’s data down as well, and then answer the questions.

Table 2: /1

Pinto Beans Macaroni Rubber Bands Toothpicks

Knife

Spoon

Tweezers

Binder Clip

Part 2 Questions: /81. What was your strategy for collecting food this round? (1)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Was there another beak type that was competing for the same food source as you? If so, who? (1)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Which beak collected the most food? Which beak collected the least food? We can assume the birds that collected the most food will survive and reproduce, and the birds that collected the least amount of food will die. What will the next generation of birds look like? (2)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What would happen if all the bird types we have been working with flew to an island where no birds had been before, and the only type of food available was toothpicks? Which bird beak type would me the most successful? Which bird beak type would be the least successful? Explain your answer. (3)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class Data: (Part 2) /1

Pinto Beans Macaroni Rubber Bands Toothpicks

Knife

Spoon

Tweezers

Binder Clip

Model Creation: /5

Claim Evidence Reasoning /9Based on the lab, as a group come up with a claim, the evidence to support that claim and the reasoning why the experiment resulted the way it did.

Claim:

Evidence:

Reasoning:

CER Rubric:

3 2 1 0

Claim Makes an accurate and complete claim.

Makes an accurate but vague or incomplete claim.

Does not make an accurate claim.

Does not make any claim.

Evidence Provides complete and specific data to support the claim.

Provides specific data to support the claim.

Makes a general statement but does not include specific data.

Provides inappropriate or vague evidence, or no evidence at all.

Reasoning Links all evidence to the claim through the inclusion of scientific principles.

Links some of the evidence to the claim through the inclusion of scientific evidence.

Repeats evidence and links to the claim, but does not include scientific principles.

Does not provide reasoning or only provides inappropriate reasoning.