Biological Clock: Nature Experiment
Our biological clocks are what tell us to wake up, eat, and sleep. Although we are active during the day, the same is not true for all species; different plants and animals have different biological clocks. So, there must be differences between day and night that would attract different animals to be active during varying parts of the day. Let’s find out!
DATA:Over the next 5 days, pick an area outside of your house to make observations. In the morning before school and again in the evening, spend about 5 minutes writing down your observations about nature in that area. Also, if you have a class pet or pet at home, ask your teacher or parents if you can observe the animal for your experiment, too. Just record those results in the animal section of the worksheet.If you have the time to spend doing this experiment during your Winter Break off from school instead, you can make even more observations throughout the day like in the afternoon.
Observations to make:
SUN: Where is the sun? Is it behind your house, in front of your house, to the side, or directly above you?
ANIMALS: What animals do you see or hear? List insects, birds, and/or mammals. What are the animals doing?
PLANTS: What plants do you see? Do they have flowers blooms? Are their leaves or flowers opened or closed? Which direction are they facing, towards the sun or away from the sun? Do they change how they face the sun throughout the day?
DAY 1
Morning Time: ______/ Afternoon Time: ______/ Evening Time: ______SUN
ANIMALS
PLANTS
Additional Observations:
DAY 2
Morning Time: ______/ Afternoon Time: ______/ Evening Time: ______SUN
ANIMALS
PLANTS
Additional Observations:
DAY 3
Morning Time: ______/ Afternoon Time: ______/ Evening Time: ______SUN
ANIMALS
PLANTS
Additional Observations:
DAY 4
Morning Time: ______/ Afternoon Time: ______/ Evening Time: ______SUN
ANIMALS
PLANTS
Additional Observations:
DAY 5
Morning Time: ______/ Afternoon Time: ______/ Evening Time: ______SUN
ANIMALS
PLANTS
Additional Observations:
CONCLUSIONS: Answer the following questions related to your data and make your own observations in the lines at the bottom of the page.
1. What were the major differences between day and night?
2. Did you find a plant or animal that came out at night more than the day?
3. How might your data help to explain what you have learned about biological clocks?
4. Why do you think the human biological clock includes being active during the day?
Other observations: ______
Experiment Write-up: Use your data results and observations to write an experiment write-up about your findings. Your write-up should be between 200-300 words and include purpose of the experiment, area of observation, the procedure,data and observations, and conclusion. Below are ideas of what to include in each section of your write-up.
- Purpose – What were you experimenting? What did you want to find out?
- Area of observation – List or describe the area where you made your observationsand any pets you observed (your backyard, your dog, etc.)
- Procedure – A step-by-step explanation of what you did in your experiment. Explain what you did and when you did it.
- Data and Observations – Use the previous pages of data and observations to write about what you came up with for results. What were the differences between day and night? Did you pick out a particular plant or animal and determine when it is most active?
- Conclusion – Write about what you finally concluded about the experiment. How did this experiment help you understand biological clocks?