| Teaching Unit |
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| Part One – Research: The students will work in groups to complete a short internet research project in which they will be required to find various pieces of information and put that information together into a Power Point or podcast. The topics they must research are as follows: human eye structure bird eye structure insect eye structure spectrometers/spectrographs visible light spectrum IR light spectrum UV light spectrum human visible range bird visible range insect visible range insect and bird food acquisition methods insect and bird mating methods |
| Part Two – Develop and Carry Out an Experiment: The students will develop a controlled experiment in which they discuss in their groups how to change the color and/or chemical composition of sugar water to attract birds/insects. They will support their hypothesis using the information learned when they completed Part One. The students will then conduct the experiment, prepare and deliver a presentation of their findings. |
| Part Three – Inventors Hour: The students will create and draw a design for an instrument that they think would help humans live better by seeing a larger range of wavelengths. The design will be accompanied by a written explanation and justification. Designs will be presented in class. |
| Spec
Project Main Page |
The Eye as Spectrometer |
Avian and
Insectoid Ocular Adaptations |
Improving
the Human Visible Range |
Teaching
Unit |