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This Unit's

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History Lecture

Science Lecture

Lab

Parents' Notes

For 2026: Please note that units are considered "under revision" until two weeks before the class date, and page content, web assignments, and exercises may change before that deadline.

Natural Science Unit 12 Laboratory Activity:
Field Lab Survey #2B

Goal: Observing Invertebrate Organisms in the Study Area

This week you should concentrate on the invertebrate organisms you can find. The fall is a good time especially for certain kinds of insects: check under logs and in piles of decaying vegetation.

Materials and Equipment:

See last week's lab

Procedures:

Continue your survey and observations. If at all possible, capture or obtain one or more of the following, and provide it with appropriate environment and shelter. An excellent reference on acquiring, maintaining, and observing wild animals of all kinds is Animals Alive! by Dennis Holley.

• Arthropod (non-stinging, non-poisonous--be careful)
• Segmented Worm (earthworm)
• Mollusk (clam, mussel)
• A vertebrate specimen (dog, cat, bird, hamster....)

1. Observe your specimen closely several times a day for at least five days.
2. Identify what, when, and how it eats.
3. Locate and identify sense organs. Describe them.
4. Devise an experiment to determine whether your specimen is sensitive to
   1. light or heat
   2. touch
   3. gravity
   4. water presence

Do not harm your specimen in doing this experiment. Be prepared to release your specimen back into the wild if you caught it there.

Report:

Upload your report to the assigned location, including any pictures you may take or draw. Your lab report should address the following questions:

2. What is your specimen? (Note how you identified it -- website? Guide?)
3. Where, when, and how was it captured (if caught in the wild)?
4. What are its eating habits? sleeping habits? Other notable behavior?
5. What was the goal or hypothesis for your experiment (what are you testing)?
6. What materials or equipment were required for the experiment.
7. What procedural steps did you following in preparing your specimen, arranging your materials, or setting up your equipment for your experiment? (Describe these in sufficient detail that another student could repeat your experiment if provided with similar equipment and specimens).
8. What data did you collect? (be sure to include units)
9. If you made any calculations, show at least one example calculation.
10. What can you conclude from your data?

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