What Can You Learn From A Mealworm?

Jessie Rucker                  Curie High School
                               4959 S. Archer Avenue
                               Chicago, Il. 60632
                               312-535-2141

Objective:                                       

To practice collecting metric data using mealworms.

Materials needed:

A Balance, 5x7 index card, mealworms, 2 rulers and graph paper.

Strategy: 

Begin the lesson by discussing the metric system.  It is a decimal system scaled 
on the powers of 10.  Pick up a metric ruler and look carefully at the scale.  
You will see many little lines and every so often a much longer line marked with 
a number.  The longer lines are centimeter (cm) marks and the shorter lines are 
one tenth of a centimeter (0.1) or millimeter marks. 

Answer the following questions:
1. Using your metric ruler, draw a line that is 8 centimeters long.  Put a small 
   mark on the line for each centimeter length. 
2. Draw a line that is 8 millimeters long. 
3. What do you notice about the relationship between the lengths of these lines?
4. Measure the length of the following line: ___________. 
       length = _______mm and length = ________cm.
After the students understand how to determine metric units, have them measure 
the length of the mealworm (anterior to posterior) in cm.  Using a balance, 
weigh the worm.  Record the data in table form on the blackboard. 

Example: Name   Length    Weight    Race I    Race II    Race III   Avg.

Set up a racing card in the following manner:
A. Construct a track 1 cm. wide and 10 cm. long in the center of the 5x7 card.
B. Place two rulers on either side of the track to restrict movement of the 
   mealworm.
C. Record the time it takes the worm to reach the finish line at the end of the 
   track.  Race the worms three times and then determine the average time.  
   RECORD THE TIME IN SECONDS!
D. Record your results on the blackboard.
E. Using the data collected, graph the weight of the mealworms and the timings 
   of the mealworms.

Questions:

A. What are mealworms?  Where are they found?
B. Which worm was the fastest?  Slowest?
C. Was there a relationship between weight or length and speed?
D. What is the difference between a spider and an insect?