Sean Quinn

Honors Biology

Mrs. Pietrangelo

Hypothesis

• Problem- What would the ants reaction be if it was exposed to music or vibrations.

• Hypothesis- If the rate of the beat of the metronome is varied, then the ants ability to obtain food will vary.

Basic Concepts

• Harvester ants- Common ants found throughout the world. They can be red, brown, black, and even pink.

• Ants behave in colonies, or large groups of ants that work together to survive.

• Scouts go search for food then go back to report to worker ants that gather the food.

• Ants can lift objects up to 10 times their own weight.• A metronome is an instrument that sets a beat, mainly

used for musical purposes. The rates vary from 40 bpm (beats per minute), to 240 bpm.

Final Design DiagramTITLE: The effect of the speed of a metronome on the feeding of ants.HYPOTHESIS: If the speed of the metronome while feeding the ants is varied, then the ant ability to obtain food will vary.

IV: MetronomeDV: The time it takes for the ant to reach the foodCONSTANTS: Plastic containers, ants, music speakers, food, metronome Materials:• Liquid nails• Plexiglas• Wooden dowels• Speaker•Computer• Ants (at antsalive.com)

Levels 40 BPM 120 BPM 200 BPM No Beat

Trials 10 10 10 10

Procedure

• Cut four 6x12 inch Plexiglas sheets and two 6x6 sheets

• Cut two holes in one sheet for dual speakers• Cut small hole in one side and big hole in other side

of a bigger piece of Plexiglas• Glue all sides together using liquid nails to make a

container• Attack speaker to holes and plug into computer

Procedure continued (experiment)…

• Go to www.onlinemetronome.com• Turn speaker on to desired beats (40 BPM, 120 BPM,

and 200 BPM)• Do 10 trials for each rate (IV)• Record data

Data TableTrials 40 BPM 120 BPM 200 BPM No Beat

1. N/A N/A N/A N/A

2. N/A N/A N/A N/A

3. N/A N/A N/A N/A

4. N/A N/A N/A N/A

5. N/A N/A N/A N/A

6. N/A N/A N/A N/A

7. N/A N/A N/A N/A

8. N/A N/A N/A N/A

9. N/A N/A N/A N/A

10. N/A N/A N/A N/A

Statistical Analysis

• Would have used Anova- analysis of variance, a statistical method in which the variation in a set of observations is divided into distinct components.

Chart

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Series 1Series 2

First Experiment

• December 8• First experiment on ants

Close-up of Ant Container

• December 8

Before 2nd Experiment

Second Experiment (during)•December 15• During experiment, and tries to escape rather than reaching the food

40 BPM

After 2nd Experiment

Conclusion

• My hypothesis was refuted, ants not effected by metronome

• Because ants could see through container, they were more focused on escaping

Sources of Error • The wooden dowels were too big of obstacles for the

ants to move through• Walls were see through• Using the wrong food

Changes for the future• Cover sides with paper so ants can’t see through• I would use smaller dowels, or maybe none at all