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Why Whales Lose Their Legs Lab

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Why Whales Lost Their Legs

Kiara Rojas

Honors Biology

INTRODUCTION
Millions of years ago, whales had legs. Pakicetus, the first whales, were land animals. Pakicetus does not resemble the whale at all from the outside but, they share a similar ear region that is unlike those of any other mammal. This discovery provided evidence that Pakicetus and whales are linked. The question is, why did whale lose their legs? Simulating a leg with and without legs in different water temperatures, this lab will help us find out the answer.
HYPOTHESIS
If I measure the different water temperatures in ziplock bags and a glove, the temperature will be higher in the ziplock bag because it has a greater surface area and more tactile points …show more content…

Use ice if you need to. Then, fill one beaker with 175 mL of water and the other with 350 mL. Warm the water in the 350mL beaker up to 55 degrees celsius and cool the water in the 175mL beaker to 15 degrees celsius, the same temperature as the pitcher because it will be your control group. Once the beaker that should be heated is at 55 degrees celsius, pour 175 mL of the water into a glove and pour the other 175 mL into a ziplock baggie. Pour the 15 degrees celsius, 175 mL of water into another ziplock baggie. Before you set these in water, have a stopwatch ready and make sure that the water in the baggies and glove is at the right temperature. It is very important for them to be or else your data will most likely be inaccurate. When everything is set to go, at the same time, start the stopwatch and put the baggies and glove in the pitcher. To make things easier, put a thermometer in each of the baggies, in the glove, and in the pitcher because each minute, you’ll be recording the temperature of the water in each item. Make sure that no other water gets into the baggies or glove so don’t let go of them and don’t close them because you must have the thermometer in each item. After 5 minutes, reset everything back to their temperatures and measurements and you can perform the experiment as many times as you

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