Isopods, or what are often called pill bugs, are crustaceans. Isopods live in damp environments. They can be found under rocks, logs and in soil. In this lab, 10 isopods were given a choice between salt water or regular water chambers to test their preference. The results were recorded every 30 seconds over a period of 10 minutes.
Problem:
It is known that isopods have a preference for moisture.This lab will specifically test whether or not an additive will affect a pill bug's preference.
Hypothesis:
If isopods are given a choice between a salt water or regular water environment, isopods will prefer salt water.
Materials:
10 isopods
1 choice chamber and 2 clear plastic lids
10 ml of water (x2)
5 ml of salt
Pads (x2)
Procedure:
Place one pad on each side of the choice chamber.
Mix 10 ml of water and 5 ml of salt together (The dependent variable,what’s being tested)
Pour this mixture onto one of the pads.
Pour the other 10 ml of water onto the other pad (This …show more content…
It was assumed that isopods would prefer the salt water environment due to the similarity of minerals found in natural soil. However, the results showed that more isopods prefer regular water. This was concluded by calculating the average. The average number of isopods found in the salt water chamber was 4.52, or 5 isopods. The average number of isopods found in the regular water chamber was 5.47, or approximately 6 isopods.
Error Analysis:
There may have been some human interference with the lab - the isopods would sometimes try to escape the chambers, therefore, it’s possible that an isopod was placed back into a different chamber than it was originally