Science Research Project
SRP Topic Development: Guided Reading Exercise
Due date: 9/25/12
Directions: This exercise is to be done with several references (sources) BEFORE you complete SRP # 1. Your teacher will discuss the specific requirements of this assignment with you.
While reading a science-related book, article, or journal of interest in the area in which you think you want to experiment, reflect and expand on the following questions. Try to develop a researchable / testable question. The following link provides access to a variety of on-line databases. Refer to the end of this document for log-in codes. (Simply cut and past this link into your web browser). http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/5093081116406/site/default.asp?536Nav=|1158|&NodeID=1158 What is the title of the book or article? __Mechanism allowing an insect to survive complete dehydration and extreme temperatures 1) Who is the author? M. Watanabe, T. Kikawada, N. Minagawa*, F. Yukuhiro and T. Okuda 2) Summarize what the article is about? (topic) __This article is about how insects can survive for a very long period with very extreme changes in the environment. These include lack of oxygen, water (dehydration), and freezing. 3) Why do you think the author wrote the article? __He/ she wanted to advance the understanding of cryptobiosis for the invertebrate, Polypedilum vanderplanki, otherwise known as the sleeping chironomid. 4) Did you like the book /article or think that it was interesting? Yes 5) Explain why you did or did not like the article: I liked this article because I learned that stress can cause some insects to enter cryptobiosis (the state where they reach the climax of stress and become dormant). Basically, it was interesting to find out that these insects can be in a sleeping state for 10-100 years, and once they’re exposed to oxygen, water, the things us humans are exposed to in a daily environment, they resuscitate back to life. 6) Do you think others would be interested in this article / topic? I do think that others would be interested in this article, especially those who want to know more about the body’s response to stress. 7) After reading the book / article, think about a question(s) that may not have been answered in the reading: Why didn’t they study lack of oxygen for the same experiment? Would the same effect occur if they had heated the brain instead of freezing it?
(continued on the next page) 8) What contradictions were there in the