NAME:
Crickets and Temperature
Have you ever walked outside in a quiet evening to hear a tiny chorus of crickets’ chirping? You are most likely hearing the common field cricket. Male crickets have organs that produce sound on their front wings. Male crickets rub their wings together to produce that chirp you hear at night. But they are not just chirping to make the quiet night go by. Male crickets are trying to attract females.
Scientists have noticed a very unusual relationship between crickets’ chirpings and temperature. On very cold days, there are large intervals between cricket chirps. That means the space between each cricket chirp is long, and so the chirps are not very frequent. Why do you think it is like this on colder days? On warmer days, the interval between each cricket chirp is smaller and so the chirps are heard frequently.
Scientists can relate the chirping of crickets and temperature of their environment mathematically. The amount of cricket chirps heard (in fifteen seconds) plus 48 is the approximate temperature of the cricket’s environment in degrees Fahrenheit!
That means you can go outside in the evening and get an approximate estimate of the temperature without using a thermometer or flipping to the Weather Channel! Just listen to the crickets.
Materials:
Stopwatch
Scratch piece of paper
Thermometer (if you’d like to check your estimate)
Activity: Estimate the temperature by listening to cricket chirps!
Procedure:
Find an area outside during the evening (as crickets usually chirp at night) where you can easily hear cricket chirps. Your backyard might be a great place…this is also a good activity when you go camping.
Record the amount of cricket chirps you hear in 15 seconds by using your stopwatch. Add this number to 48.
This is the temperature in Fahrenheit. Check your estimate with the thermometer. How close are you? (Or actually, how close is the cricket?)
You can make an equation to represent a cricket’s chirps. If “C” is the amount of chirps you hear in 15 seconds then…
C + 48 = temperature in F
You could use this equation to calculate a good evening to wear shorts or the right time to wear a jacket.
Exploration Beyond: If you didn’t get the same temperature as your thermometer when you were doing this experiment, what factors could be involved? Is it possible that the location where the cricket is chirping is warmer or cooler than where you are standing?
Write up your lab report using the laboratory Report Format. The template is attached to the end of this lab. All sections and headings are required for this lab.
Laboratory Report Format
Title Page
Give the activity title (as written in the laboratory manual or on the lab sheet), your name, the date, the name of the course, and the instructor’s name.
Purpose
Give a brief statement of the reason for doing the activity, the problem, purpose, etc. of the lab. This may be written as a question or as a statement. If the activity has different sections, give the purpose for each section.
Background
Use the introduction in the lab manual to get on the right track. Do NOT just copy the information. You need to give enough information so that an uneducated person reading the report would have enough background to understand what was going on. This section should be referenced – give credit where credit is due.
Hypothesis
Write a declarative statement of expected results for each section of the lab.
Materials
List all equipment and supplies used.
Procedure
The steps followed in the activity should be written in concise, numbered statements. This may also include a labeled drawing of the apparatus and/or a flow chart. If the lab has different sections, write separate procedures for each section.
Data/Observations
This section should include data tables and graphs, as well as written statements about what happened while running the experiment. Cover different sections of the experiment separately. Remember to number your tables and graphs and refer to the numbers in your writing. Use the table-making tools in your word processing program or use a straight edge when making tables, and make sure they are large enough to fit all of the data. Always title and label tables and graphs correctly and use proper units of measurement. Graphs from the lab manual may be copied onto new graph paper, drawn electronically, or photocopied and added into this section of the lab report.
Analysis/Discussion
This is the heart and soul of your report. No report will receive a passing grade without an analysis. This should be written as paragraphs. If there are questions in the lab manual or on the instruction sheet, use those as guides as to what to include in the analysis section. This is the place to identify the independent and dependent variables, controls, and constants. You should explain what the observations mean and analyze any possible sources of error. If the data point to an illogical conclusion, discuss the factors that contributed to the outcome. If you have any ideas for ways to improve the experiment, mention them here.
Conclusion
This is a brief statement that reflects the purpose and hypothesis. It should answer the question in the purpose and state whether the hypothesis is accepted or rejected.
References