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Unit 18: Biology Part 1 Page 44 of 60

Build them:
1. Blow up two balloons of your choice but instead of tying it, twist the

ends of the balloons around a small paper clip to keep the air from
escaping until the race begins.

2. Tape a short piece of drinking-straw to the top of the balloons. This
will be how you attach the squids to the racetrack.
3. Decorate! Tape body features you want your squid to have onto the

balloons (fins, stabilizers, tentacles, etc). Keep in mind that the open
end of the balloon will be the rear of the squid!

4. Create the race-track! Stretch two strings or fishing lines across the
room so that they are taunt. These are going to be the tracks the
squids race on. For example, you could use two chairs to stretch the
string across the room.

5. Attach each squid to the racetrack by running a string through the
drinking straw and under the track. Tie the string with a knot so the
balloon doesn’t fly away.

5. When ready, release the paper clips and let the squids travel down
the string. Time the travel, then use a ruler and record the total
distance travelled.

Discussion:

A. What is the propulsion system on a squid?
B. What caused the squid balloon to move forward?

C. Consider the balloon that won the race. What body modifications
gave this squid the winning edge?

D. Draw a diagram of a squid and label its body parts.

E. How do the actual squid body features compare to those of the
winning balloon?

Extension:

F. Calculate the speed of each squid using the time and distance.
(Speed = distance/time)

G. Make a bar graph comparing the speed of each squid in the class.

E. What can we learn from this graph?

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