2009 SMILE Winter Teacher Workshop High School Club Activities
WhaleWorks
WhaleWorks: Answer Booklet
STATION A: Good Vibrations
At this station, you will be using tuning forks to experiment how sound travels
through, air, solids and water.
1. Take a tuning fork from the station. Holding the handle
of the tuning fork, strike it on a hard, solid surface.
Gently move the move the fork toward the shallow pan
of water and submerge the two tines (prongs).
Question 1: What happens and why?
The vibrations from the tuning fork produce ripples, and maybe even splashes, in the
water. The ripples are evidence of sound waves moving outwards from the source. As
sound waves travel through a substance the molecules vibrate, each molecule hitting
another and then returning to its normal state, “passing” the energy through the
substance.
Sound travels through air at about 340 m/s (~0.2 mile/s). However in seawater it
travels at approximately 1600 m/s (~1 mile/s).
Question 2: About how much faster does sound travel through seawater than it
does air?
1600/340 = 4.7 times faster in seawater
Question 3: Why would seawater be a better conductor of sound?
As it is a liquid, water molecules are closer together than the molecules in air and
therefore can transmit the sound energy faster. The dissolved salts (salinity) within
seawater can also affect how the sound waves are reflected and refracted
Sound can also be conducted through bone and soft tissue.
5. Strike the tuning fork again and hold it a few inches from your
ear. What you hear is your perception of the sound vibrations
moving from the tuning fork.
6. Next you will test sound through your jawbone and the soft
tissue on your chin. Discuss with your group whether you think
bone or soft tissue will change your perception of the sound
from the tuning fork.
Question 4: What is your group’s hypothesis?
Each group will provide an explanation of what they think may happen.
2009 SMILE Winter Teacher Workshop High School Club Activities
WhaleWorks
7. Strike the tuning fork again and hold the tip of the handle to your lower jaw.
Question 5: What do you hear/feel?
The sound is more audible. The vibrations may even tickle slightly
Question 6: Why do you think this is happening?
The sound is more audible because the vibration is traveling through the bone and
tissue of the lower jaw, channeling the sound to the middle ear. Because the
molecules comprising these structures are more densely packed than the molecules in
air, the sound travels faster and farther.
Students may be surprised to discover that their lower jaw conducts sound faster.
Land mammals, such as elephants, can easily see 100 feet ahead of them across open
ground. If you have ever opened your eyes underwater whilst swimming, you will know
that vision underwater is much more limited.
Question 7: Thinking about this and what you have discovered at this station, how
are marine mammals most likely to communicate and navigate? Why would this
benefit them? Give examples.
Example answer: Due to difficult vision underwater, marine mammals have adapted
to communicate and navigate using sound. This aids feeding and communication
between groups as not only does sound travel faster and farther underwater, marine
mammals can transmit and receive sound more efficiently through their bodies.
Examples include echolocation in dolphins – using specific frequencies of sound to
determine distance from a target. Also whalesong – a series of clicks and different
frequency moans which varies by whale species.
A toothed whaleʼs fatfilled jawbone conducts
sound through the jaw to
bones in the middle ears.
2009 SMILE Winter Teacher Workshop High School Club Activities
WhaleWorks
STATION B: Blubber Gloves
This station will help you investigate the role of whale blubber.
4. Discuss with your group a prediction for how cold the ice in the dishpan is. Now
measure the temperature with a thermometer.
Question 1: What is the temperature of the ice?
The temperature of the ice will vary a few degrees above freezing point.
Temperature will also vary depending on where in the ice the measurement was
taken i.e. measurement taken in center of an ice pile may be warmer due to
insulation
The temperature of the North Pacific Ocean varies from 48°F to 64°F. Is the ice within
this temperature range? Imagine the dishpan of ice as a representation of the North
Pacific.
5. In your group, take turns putting a bare hand into the ice. Use a stopwatch to see
how long the temperature of the ice can be tolerated by each person. Record
these results on the observation sheet below and calculate an average (in seconds)
for the group. This average will be your control measurement.
NB: This is not an endurance test! Think of your hand as your whole body; as soon as
it becomes too chilled, take your hand out and stop timing!
6. Next, have your group repeat the experiment using the following to cover hands:
a. A double-lined Ziploc bag (i.e. one bag
inside another)
b. A rubber glove
c. A rubber glove lined with a cotton glove
d. A rubber glove lined with a wool glove
e. A blubber glove
Record all your observations. If you have time,
complete additional experiments using your own
combination of hand coverings with available materials.
Question 2: Which hand covering provides the most warmth?
The blubber glove. If students have invented their own hand covering that potentially
sway this result, however the blubber glove is still likely to be the warmest
Question 3: What is your explanation for these outcomes?
As fat molecules are larger, they are better insulators by creating larger air spaces
between the molecules in a fatty solid, similarly to how Styrofoam keeps a cup of
coffee warmer for longer.
2009 SMILE Winter Teacher Workshop High School Club Activities
WhaleWorks
Marine mammals, like humans, are warm blooded. A human being without any
protection in water that is 32°F can lose consciousness in around 10 minutes as heat
loss is much greater in water than in air.
Question 4: How do marine mammals survive in a cold ocean, such as the North
Pacific?
Marine mammals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds and polar bears all have a thick layer
of fat (blubber) under the skin, which provides insulation from the cold. Blubber also
serves as an energy store – abundant feeding periods allow marine mammals to store
fat. During food scarcity, this fat store can be metabolized to maintain energy for
survival.
NB: Not all marine mammals have blubber, for example sea otters. Some rely simply
on their fur for insulation; others use a combination of fur and blubber.
Experiment observation sheet:
Hand Covering
Bare hand (control)
Rubber glove
Rubber glove lined with cotton glove
Rubber glove lined with wool glove
Blubber Glove
Additional:
Time Until Chilled
Group Average (Sec)
Body blubber is a key feature of the
Northern Elephant Seal
2009 SMILE Winter Teacher Workshop High School Club Activities
WhaleWorks
STATION C: Eat Like a Whale
At this station you will investigate different whale feeding strategies.
Skimmers
Bowhead and right whales are examples of mysticetes
(baleen whales) that feed by skimming the surface of the
water with their mouths open, using baleen “combs” to
filter out food.
Gulpers
Some mysticetes, such as blue and fin whales, have pleats in their
throat that help the throat to expand, allowing the whale to take in
large quantities of both water and prey.
Bubblers
“Bubble netting” is a strategy for catching fish unique to humpback
whales. In a group of 5-15 whales, one whale will submerge and
shriek an eerie sound while blowing bubbles in a circle formation.
The fish become frightened and move close together.
Biters
Ordontocetes (toothed whales), such as sperm whales
and orca, are active hunters feeding on prey such as
fish, squid and other marine mammals.
1. Assign each member of your group a feeding type: “skimmer”, “gulper”, “bubbler”
or “biter”. Have each type simulate their feeding strategy using the instructions
below:
Skimmers: Move a comb through a pan of water filled with parsley. Remove the
parsley by tapping it onto scrap paper.
Gulpers: Hold a comb in front of the open end of a Ziploc bag. Move the bag through
the parsley water and gently squeeze the water back out of the bag through the comb
a little at a time. Tap the remaining parsley out onto scrap paper. Do this until all the
water is drained from the bag.
Bubblers: Using straws, 2 or more students blow bubbles through the parsley water,
working as a group to move the food to the center of the dishpan. Another student
then brings a ziploc bag up from the bottom of the pan, through the center of the
concentrated food. Use a comb to strain the parsley from the water and tap it out
onto scrap paper.
2009 SMILE Winter Teacher Workshop High School Club Activities
WhaleWorks
Biters: Using tongs and the water containing Styrofoam pieces, grasp “prey” out of the
water. Place pieces onto scrap paper and record how much is captured per “bite”.
In these simulations, the parsley represents krill, copepods and other zooplankton;
the Styrofoam represents fish, squid and seals.
2. With each feeding simulation, observe amounts of “food” collected and record
visual estimates on the table below. Weigh the amounts if scales are available. Try
to repeat each simulation a number of times to work out an average amount of
food per feeding type.
Feeding Type
Skimmers
Gulpers
Bubblers
Biters
Amount of “Food” Collected
Average Amount
Question 1: Using your results, which baleen feeding type is most efficient? Why?
This answer will depend on the experimentation used by the students. The 3 baleen
feeding strategies are likely to be very similar in outcomes, however the skimmers=
strategy may work out best as it is a simpler method overall. Generally, this question
should allow students to compare the different methods.
Question 2: Which prey should toothed whales concentrate on? Why?
Students should deduce that it is easier to grasp the Styrofoam pieces than the
parsley with the tongs, thus toothed whales are better adapted to hunt larger fish,
squid and seals.