Name ______Team # ______Date ______
Team Members ______
Goldfish Respiration
Question/Problem: Does water temperature affect goldfish respiration?
Purpose: In this lab you will slowly change the water temperature of a goldfish and determine how changing the temperature affects the fish's respiration rate.
.
Dependent Variable: ______Independent Variable: ______
Formal Hypothesis:______0 1 2 3 4 5
Procedure:
1. Place a goldfish in a beaker with enough water to keep the fish alive.
2. Place a thermometer in the water.
3. Give the goldfish 2 minutes to get used to the water. Use your stopwatch. After 2 minutes read the thermometer and record the temperature of the water in the table for “0 ice cubes” and under “water temperature in Celcius”. Remove thermometer.
4. Count the respirations of the goldfish by counting the number of times the gills open and close in 15 seconds. One team member should watch the stopwatch while the others count silently.
5. Multiply the number of gill movements in step 3 by four to get the respirations per minute.
6. Record the number of respirations per minute on the table for “0 ice cubes” and under “respirations per minute”.
7. Add one ice cube to the water. Place a thermometer in the beaker.
8. Use a stirring rod – not the thermometer- to GENTLY mix the water.
9. Once the ice has melted read the thermometer and record the temperature in the table for (1 ice cube).
10. Again, count the number of respirations for 15 seconds, multiply this number by 4 and record the answer on the table.
11. Repeat these steps using two ice cubes and then 3 ice cubes. The ice cubes will not harm the fish.
12. Finally, record your respirations on the board for the class data collection. Once all students have added their information to the class data, record the class data on table #2 below.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Collect Data:
Table 1 Data
# of ice cubes / Goldfish respirationsper minute / Water temperature
(degrees Celcius)
0
1
2
3
0 1 2 3 4