6th Grade · Science · Activity · shared by Luke Morgan
A 6th Grade Science activity exploring how living things stay warm by analyzing data on oxygen consumption and body heat.
Investigation: The Energy of Life
How do living things stay warm? For a long time, people thought body heat was just a natural part of being alive, like the color of your eyes. However, scientists eventually discovered that heat is actually a byproduct of a specific chemical process. In this activity, you will analyze data from a controlled experiment to determine the relationship between the air an animal breathes and the warmth its body creates.
Living organisms require constant energy to maintain their internal body temperature and perform essential biological functions. This energy comes from a process called respiration, where the body uses oxygen to break down nutrients from food. During this chemical reaction, the body produces thermal energy, which we recognize as body heat. Scientists use a special tool called a calorimeter to measure this heat production. A calorimeter captures the thermal energy released by an organism, often by measuring how much ice it can melt over a specific period. By tracking both the amount of oxygen an animal consumes and the heat it produces, researchers can see a clear pattern. This pattern suggests that oxygen is essential to power the internal 'burning' process that keeps creatures warm. When an organism becomes more active, its demand for oxygen increases, which leads to a measurable rise in the thermal energy it releases into its environment.
The Experiment: Measuring Mouse Metabolism
Imagine a scientist is studying the relationship between oxygen and heat in a laboratory setting. She places a small mouse inside a sealed chamber designed to measure gas levels and temperature changes. Over the course of four different trials, the scientist changes the mouse's activity level (resting versus running on a wheel) and records the results…