TITLE of PROJECT : Give It a Thumb S Up!

GIVE IT A

THUMB’S UP!

Mrs. Koulias #1

Room 110

TITLE OF PROJECT: “Give It a Thumb’s Up!”

PURPOSE: How important is your thumb in trying to do everyday activities?

HYPOTHESIS: I think, when doing everyday activities, your thumb is very important. Without the use of my thumb, I think it will take longer to complete everyday activities or actually make it impossible.

RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

If you examine your hand, you will observe that the human hand is made up of four fingers and one thumb. Fingers and thumbs are called digits. If you move your fingers and your thumb you will see that your fingers move in a different direction than your thumb. Human thumbs are called opposable thumbs. They are called opposable because the thumb can be moved around to touch the other fingers, which give people the ability to grasp things.

Most primates (humans, apes, and Old World monkeys) and some other animals have opposable thumbs or digits. Humans can move their thumbs farther across their hand than any other primate. Having opposable thumbs helps grasping things more easily, picking up small objects and eating with one hand.

An opposable thumb is a physical adaptation. An adaptation is a feature that helps plants or animalssurvive in its habitat. It is a successful characteristic that is passed to subsequent generations. Adaptations can either be physical (a part of the body) or a behavior an organism has developed. Swimming in a school is a behavioral adaptation for a fish that protects it from being eaten by larger fish or other animals. Opposable thumbs are a physical adaptation for primates. Opposable thumbs help monkeys and apes climb trees and gather and eat food. Opposable thumbs in humans operate tools to make use of resources in our environment. Some primates also have opposable toes that help to grip branches and climb. Opossums have toes on their hind feet that help them grip branches and climb, but they do not have opposable thumbs.

WORKS CITED

Damonte, Kathleen. “Thumbs are Handy Digits”. Science and Children.

February 2004: 57 - 58.

Shepley, Beth-Ann. “The Opposable Thumb”. Access Excellence. Online.

Available: opposable .html. April 12, 2006.

“Thumb”. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Online. Available:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb. April 12, 2006.

MATERIALS

• masking tape

• pencil

• penny

• pencil case

• shoe with shoelaces

• zippered pencil case

• Doc-it file folder

• scissors

PROCEDURES

1. Using masking tape, have a helper tape down each thumb to the side of each hand. (Make sure to tape thumbs tightly, but not so tightly that it interferes with circulation of thumb or hand).

2.With thumbs taped down, try each of the activities listed below. Make sure not to use thumbs in any of the activities.

3.Decide if the activity took longer or was more difficult to do without your thumbs; took about the same without your thumbs; or it couldn’t be done without your thumbs. Ask the helper to record the activity under your choice on the chart below.

Activities to try without the use of your thumbs:

Write you name with a pencil

Tie your shoelace into a bow

Pick up a penny from the floor and put it in a plastic baggie and seal it

Zip your pencil case open and close

Get out a sheet of paper from your doc-it

Use scissors to cut circles from paper

Roll a piece of paper into a very small ball.

RESULTS

50% of the activities took longer or were more difficult to do when my thumbs were taped down.

37.5% of the activities took about the same time without thumbs.

12.5% of the activities couldn’t be done without thumbs.

Other Observations:

When I wrote my name on the paper, it was difficult to read. I think my hand would hurt if I had a lot of writing to do.

When I took paper from my doc-it, I had to use my body to hold the doc-it against the desk.

Picking up a penny was hard and took a few tries.

When I rolled a piece of paper up, I had to crush it against my desk.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, my hypothesis that said thumbs are important in doing everyday activities was correct. When thumbs were taped down, over half (62.5%)of the activities that were completed either took longer, were more difficult, or impossible.

Based on research, opposable thumbs are an adaptation that has allowed humans to operate tools to make use of resources in our environment. Without opposable thumbs life would be very difficult, and human beings would not have accomplished as much as we have!

1