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Are there bugs under your feet science project?
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charjboyd
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2012 10:26 am
- Occupation: STUDENT/PARENT
- Project Question: Are there bugs under your feet?
- Project Due Date: Dec 5th 2012
- Project Status: I am conducting my experiment
Are there bugs under your feet science project?
Hello! How are you? I am helping my daughter with her science project and the name of it is Are there bugs under your feet? We have conducted the project according to the instructions and we are confused on whether we are to look for anthropods in the alchohol or in the dirt after the experiment is conducted. I apologize if this is a simple questions because we don't see any thing in the alcohol after the funnel is placed over the mason jar!
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[Added by moderator: URL for project: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p042.shtml]
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HeatherL
- Former Expert
- Posts: 895
- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:59 pm
- Occupation: Professor
- Project Question: How do different animals adapt to their environment?
- Project Due Date: N/A
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: Are there bugs under your feet science project?
Hi there,
Welcome to Science Buddies! It's great that your daughter is interested in learning about microfauna. It is amazing how much life is there that we cannot see with our naked eye.
According to the way in which the Berlese funnel works (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... =156925876), you should expect the organisms to be caught in the alcohol (the "preservative liquid") after the experiment is conducted. If you're not able to see anything, it might help to look through a microscope with a higher magnification (rather than just a magnifying glass). Do you have access to a microscope, possibly at your daughter's school?
You might also just have to wait a bit longer to capture some of the organisms. Depending on the amount of alcohol, you might have a small concentration of organisms relative to the volume of liquid. That would make it hard to see them.
Let me know if this helps, and please post again (in this same thread) if you still have questions.
Heather
Welcome to Science Buddies! It's great that your daughter is interested in learning about microfauna. It is amazing how much life is there that we cannot see with our naked eye.
According to the way in which the Berlese funnel works (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... =156925876), you should expect the organisms to be caught in the alcohol (the "preservative liquid") after the experiment is conducted. If you're not able to see anything, it might help to look through a microscope with a higher magnification (rather than just a magnifying glass). Do you have access to a microscope, possibly at your daughter's school?
You might also just have to wait a bit longer to capture some of the organisms. Depending on the amount of alcohol, you might have a small concentration of organisms relative to the volume of liquid. That would make it hard to see them.
Let me know if this helps, and please post again (in this same thread) if you still have questions.
Heather
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charjboyd
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2012 10:26 am
- Occupation: STUDENT/PARENT
- Project Question: Are there bugs under your feet?
- Project Due Date: Dec 5th 2012
- Project Status: I am conducting my experiment
Re: Are there bugs under your feet science project?
Hello Heather! Thank very much for your response. A friend of mine has a 30 power scope and she is going to let us borrow it. We will try that and see if it works. My husband had suggested last week that we might need a microscope and you just confirmed that. Thanks again have a teriffic day! 