This prac demonstrates a similar idea to the giraffe prac, though in a slightly different evolutionary context. The students create a hummingbird out of clay, feathers and wire- they are given the body size of a species of hummingbird so that there is at least some parameter for the beak, which is the most important part for this prac. The beak will have some absorbant material (cotton wool, cloth etc) on the end. Once they have constructed the beak, they are exposed to the flowers- made from hollow material such as pens, plastic tubing etc of varying internal width and length. At the bottom of each piece of tubing is some red food dye. If a student dips the bill into the tube and collects the dye on the cotton, then the hummingbird will have collected the nectar, and will have enough energy to fly an extremely long distance over the ocean to escape the cold weather. If, after three attempts at varying tubes (limited to three attempts to simulate competition between hummingbirds and predatory presence) no dye has been collected- if the bill is too short, too fat or both- then the hummingbird is dropped into a bucked of icy water, having drowned at sea due to lack of energy. This mimicks the reality for hummingbirds travelling from the North to South America, and shows how quickly the evolutionary edaptations of bill length can be formed, providing of course that the birds death was prior to it breeding. Similar to the giraffe prac, a punnet square will be created, but this time as a whole class, not individual students.
Assessment: Prac write-up and research task Students are expected to write up their prac, and then complete a short research assignment about migrating animals, and the evolutionary adaptations developed by them to cope with travel over long distances.
CURRICULUM MAP (Links to VCE Biology Study Design)
Learning Activity
Skills
Assessment
Hummingbird Beak
'Apply biological understandings.
Investigate and enquire.
Communicate information and understanding'
see above
Area of Study
Key Knowledge
Learning Outcomes
2 - Change Over Time
'Change in populations: gene pool, allele frequencies; selection pressures, genetic drift'
'Students investigate changes to species and examine the process of natural selection as a mechanism for evolution'
Hummingbird Beak
This prac demonstrates a similar idea to the giraffe prac, though in a slightly different evolutionary context. The students create a hummingbird out of clay, feathers and wire- they are given the body size of a species of hummingbird so that there is at least some parameter for the beak, which is the most important part for this prac. The beak will have some absorbant material (cotton wool, cloth etc) on the end.Once they have constructed the beak, they are exposed to the flowers- made from hollow material such as pens, plastic tubing etc of varying internal width and length. At the bottom of each piece of tubing is some red food dye. If a student dips the bill into the tube and collects the dye on the cotton, then the hummingbird will have collected the nectar, and will have enough energy to fly an extremely long distance over the ocean to escape the cold weather. If, after three attempts at varying tubes (limited to three attempts to simulate competition between hummingbirds and predatory presence) no dye has been collected- if the bill is too short, too fat or both- then the hummingbird is dropped into a bucked of icy water, having drowned at sea due to lack of energy. This mimicks the reality for hummingbirds travelling from the North to South America, and shows how quickly the evolutionary edaptations of bill length can be formed, providing of course that the birds death was prior to it breeding. Similar to the giraffe prac, a punnet square will be created, but this time as a whole class, not individual students.
Assessment: Prac write-up and research task
Students are expected to write up their prac, and then complete a short research assignment about migrating animals, and the evolutionary adaptations developed by them to cope with travel over long distances.
CURRICULUM MAP (Links to VCE Biology Study Design)
Investigate and enquire.
Communicate information and understanding'