Moth Lab by Chelsea Tramel

Moth Lab

Population and Environmental Changes During 17 and 1800’s a group of entomologist in England were assigned to study insect populations. They formed a problem wondering if the industrial revolution played an effect on speckled moth populations. • Problem: Did the Industrial Revolution affect the peppered moth population • Research: Moths tend to live in trees. Moths tend to be white or black in color. Burning of fuels released soot into the atmosphere covering the trees and homes during the Industrial Revolution. • Hypothesis: During the Industrial Revolution, soot covered the white trees and houses increasing the dark moth population • IV: color of the trees and houses • DV: moth population • The color of the trees and houses (Independent Variable) should change the moth population (Dependent Variable) • Experiment: • Step 1: Place white construction paper covering your desk, to represent the white homes in the 17th century. • Step 2: Have the predator stand in front of the desk facing away from the paper. • Step 3: While the predator is not looking their partner will place 8 black moths and 10 white moths out in random locations on the white ecosystem created. • Step 4: The timer in the group will then say “go” and the predator will hunt the prey for energy. • Step 5: the predator will have 5 seconds to hunt the moths (please follow teacher instructions on how to hunt) • Step 6: At the end of the 5 seconds the timer will yell “stop”. The counter will count up the black and white moths remaining in the ecosystem and record information in the data table. The left over moths will reproduce and their offspring will be added to the ecosystem.