Lab #3: Graphing Lab – Chirping Crickets

Introduction: Male crickets often make loud chirping noises (called stridulation) using an organ on their forewings. These chirps are used to produce “songs” which attract female crickets and keep other male crickets away. By organizing data into tables and graphs, we can better understand what affects the speed at which crickets chirp and make predictions about the environment based on the rates of cricket chirping that we hear.

Scientific Question: What factors affect the vocalization of crickets?

Part A: How does ELEVATION affect the rate at which crickets chirp?

Hypothesis A: ______

Data Set A: Crickets chirping at different elevations

Elevation above Sea Level / # of chirps in 15 seconds / # of chirps per minute
0 feet
2,000 feet
4,500 feet

Analyze your data: ______

Part B: How does the TIME OF YEAR affect the rate at which crickets chirp?

Hypothesis B: ______

Data Set B: Crickets chirping at different times of year

Time of Year / # of chirps in 15 seconds / # of chirps per minute
October
September
July

Analyze your data: ______

Part C: How does TEMPERATURE affect the rate at which crickets chirp?

Hypothesis C: ______

Data Set C: Crickets chirping at different temperatures

Temperature / # of chirps in 15 seconds / # of chirps per minute
65 degrees Fahrenheit
72 degrees Fahrenheit
79 degrees Fahrenheit

Analyze your data: ______

Part D: Which factor do you think has the most DIRECT effect on chirping rates? Explain.

______

Part E: Choose data from any of the previous three parts (A-C). Create a bar graph AND a line graph to organize that data. (Make sure to graph # of chirps per MINUTE!). Remember to label your axes and to give your graph a title.

*Based on your answers to parts D-E, which type of graph do you think would help us better analyze our data in this lab? Explain your answer.______

Part F: Collect the appropriate data to fill out the table below. Then graph your data on a separate sheet (we are graphing # of chirps per minute!). Remember to label your axes and to give your graph a title.

Temperature / # of chirps in 15 seconds / # of chirps per minute
54 degrees Fahrenheit
65 degrees Fahrenheit
68 degrees Fahrenheit
79 degrees Fahrenheit
82 degrees Fahrenheit
89 degrees Fahrenheit
Unknown #1
Unknown #2
Unknown #3

Using your graph, determine the likely temperature that produced the chirping for:

Unknown #1: ______

Unknown #2: ______

Unknown #3: ______