This lesson investigates the correlation between the rate of cellular respiration and metabolic rate of Weddell seal pups. Students will collect data of their personal oxygen consumption rate at rest and during exercise, and evaluate how collecting oxygen data can be used to calculate metabolic rate. Students will comprehend that heat is a product of the reaction of cellular
This lesson investigates the effects of different insulators (fur and blubber) on maintaining the body temperature of polar animals. Water balloons filled with warm water simulate the marine mammal. The blubber insulator will be simulated by covering the balloon in vegetable shortening. The fur insulator will be simulated by placing another balloon over the “marine mammal” and adding an
Exploration of the Antarctic continent did not occur until the late 1800’s, and the South Pole was first reached on December 14, 1911. Courage, planning, and technology have been the main components of Antarctic exploration from the earliest days. This classroom activity is designed to highlight the historical elements of the past 100 years of exploration in Antarctica and