Any ideas for an 8th grade science project?

ty1on · October 24, 2011, 10:23:39 PM

My son would like to use bees for his 8th grade science project. His 1st idea was to see if bees are color blind to certain colors, but it was rejected as not complicated enough. Any ideas would be appreciated.

BlueBee · October 24, 2011, 10:36:56 PM

Not complicated enough? You've got to be kidding me :? There's nothing about bees that doesn't get complicated in a hurry.

I really like your kids idea. I think it would have been a cool project to see what colors bees really respond to. Maybe put some bees in a box and use various LEDs to see what they respond to? Color LEDs (Red, Green, Blue) usually have a tight spectrum of light emissions and that would make the experiment a little more definitive. You could also experiment with far infra red vision using IR LEDs (like used in TV remote controls), you could also experiment with color beyond human visual range with some UV LEDs.

Running the experiment would expose your son to some basic circuit design (Ohms Law), basic physics (EM spectrum), design of experiments, and bee biology. What's wrong with that?

FRAMEshift · October 24, 2011, 10:50:20 PM

I agree with BlueBee. The teacher is laboring under the misconception that science needs to sound complicated. Exactly the opposite is true. Good science is clear and concise and presents reality in the most simple terms possible.

I will never forget a test my Chemistry class took when I was in college. One of the students had answered a question in very simple terms.... correct but using simple words. The grad student who was grading the test made a notation that he was subtracting points from the grade because the answer "did not sound scientific". Fortunately the professor reviewed the papers, and scratched out the grad student comment and wrote "sounding scientific is not the point. being correct is the point."

There is much we don't understand about bee behavior. We learn by small steps. And kids learn to love science by following their curiosity.

BeeMaster2 · October 24, 2011, 10:56:27 PM

I'll second that. Submit the plan that Bluebee stated to the teacher.
Jim

FRAMEshift · October 24, 2011, 10:56:53 PM

What about a test of bee response to pheromones? You could use QMP, lemongrass oil, and many fruit scents that bees respond to... banana, grapes, citrus, vanilla, smoke, Maybe place some sugar syrup in an enclosure with the bees so that the bees have to pass through a glass tube containing the scent material. Observe the effect of the scent on the bees feeding behavior. The results would be dramatic and very visible.

deknow · October 25, 2011, 12:07:18 AM

frameshift...I have a friend who used to be an engineer for Bell Labs. When he was interviewing for the job, one of the head honchos came in to meet him and ask a few trick questions. He asked my friend to define a decibel (this is actually not that straightforward to answer off the cuff).

He paused for a second and replied:
"one tenth of a bel" ...the honcho said "hire him!"

An easy one would be how long bees live in an incubator with varying diets temps, numbers of bees, humidity, etc. Plenty of experemental work and plenty of data to crunch.

deknow

FRAMEshift · October 25, 2011, 12:46:04 AM

Quote from: deknow on October 25, 2011, 12:07:18 AM

"one tenth of a bel" ...the honcho said "hire him!"

deknow

I like it. :-D

FRAMEshift · October 25, 2011, 12:59:59 AM

Here's another idea that was being discussed in another recent thread. Someone asked if foragers take syrup from a top feeder. It's an interesting question about the limits of polyethism in the hive and it will give either a positive or a negative result with possibility for some statistical analysis as well. That's what you want for a science project in school, Also, I don't think anyone actually knows the answer so it would be a real contribution to science and practical beekeeping.

A simple experiment would be to place an empty hive in place of an existing hive to catch some returning foragers. Paint the foragers (say a hundred of them) with a dot of colored paint and then return them to the original hive in it's original location. Add a top feeder with syrup and after some time remove the feeder with bees in the feeding chamber and count the percentage of bees in the feeder that have dots. You could then return all the bees to the hive and repeat moving the box and capturing returning foragers. Again count the percentage with dots.
So now you know what percentage of the foragers have been painted, and from that you can extrapolate to what percentage of the bees in the feeder are foragers. Any answer you get will be useful.

BlevinsBees · October 25, 2011, 04:06:24 AM

Do a mite count. Place a 1/2 cup of bees in a wide mouth jar, add powdered sugar and shake vigorously. Let the bees go. Pour the contents of the jar into a clear plastic container. Add water to make everything clear and then count the mites.

CapnChkn · October 25, 2011, 05:30:15 AM

QuotePlace a 1/2 cup of bees in a wide mouth jar, add powdered sugar and shake vigorously. Let the bees go.

Say What?

Pollen. Match the colors of gathered pollen with the color of the pollen in the flowers being foraged. If using more that one colony, compare the quantity and color of pollens being gathered. Speculate what source the colors of pollen being brought in that can't be matched are coming from. It might take a lot of wandering around looking for bees in the grass and trees.

BlueBee · October 25, 2011, 02:59:01 PM

CapnChkn, are you trying to send the kid on a wild goose chase?

Personally I still like an experiment to see what colors of light the bees eyes can really see and how quickly they respond. Maybe examine their peripheral vision too.

Another idea that is ALWAYS hotly debated on the forums is rather or not the bees heat their hives in the winter! We have that exhausting debate about once a month all winter long.

There is a strong legion of adults that say the bees do not heat the hive, only the cluster. There is an equally strong legion of adults that say if the hive is insulated; the bees DO heat the hive. Maybe a good 8th grader can solve this age old debate between grown men and women?

Set up two hives, one wood and one foam, then take careful temperature measurements.

ty1on · October 25, 2011, 09:28:13 PM

Thanks for all of the responses. The teacher changed her mind and will allow the original plan. He will put different color posters in the flight path to the entrance and count the # of bees that hit the poster and not go around to see if there is a color that has more hits.

CapnChkn · October 26, 2011, 01:51:24 AM

BlueBee, I don't see any problem with what I said. If the temperature is warm enough for the bees to fly in enough numbers to gather the amount of data to determine the color they can see, then they will be out gathering Pollen. On the other hand, putting bees in a jar and shaking it up will kill them.

I like your suggestion though. I now see the OP is in VA. It's getting cold enough to slow my bees down, kill the watermelon vines, turn the maples orange, and it's a little warmer here. Another month and they'll be tucked in. The cluster idea would be workable for the next few months.