Magnificent Flying Machines

An Activity Using Multiple Research Tools




Overview/Introduction:

Birds are magnificent flying machines. Except for a few flightless birds, such as penguins, ostriches, and emus, most birds are well adapted for flight. Some birds soar such as eagles, others fly long distances, such as the golden plover that flies oaver 14,000 miles, and others fly extremely swiftly, such as sandpipers, clocked at 109 miles per hour. What are the adaptations that enable birds to fly? These can be divided into those adaptations that lighten the load, reduce the drag, and increase the power.

Purpose or Objective:

  1. to identify the adaptations that birds possess which enable them to fly through the observation of animal structure, function and behavior and the use of diagrams, world wide web information, and text materials.

  2. to access information on the world wide web to make inferences on about how structural adaptations are related to the physics of flight.

Time Required: 2-3 class periods

Materials, Tools, and Resources Needed: Preserved or mounted animals (see below), Photographs or Videotape of Birds in Flight, Handlens or Dissecting Scopes, Web Access and Web Browser

Teacher Preparation:

If skeletons of a bird and bat are not available, students could examine a fried chicken wing after they eat the meat off of the bones and diagrams of skeletons and insects. Feathers are readily available from a fly-tackle shop or craft shop. Encyclopedias and general biology texts can be used in place of the books listed in the bibliography.

Prerequisite Student Knowledge:

Science: California Science Content Standards Grade 3-LS 3a

3. Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's chance for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

  1. plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.

Technology: Basic web browser skills

Procedure A. Observations of Structures of Animals

Proceed as a group to each station and observe the characteristics of birds, bats, and insects that "lighten the load; reduce the drag and increase the lift and rev up the power". Observe by yourself at first and then discuss the adaptations with your group. Record your observation on the data chart. You will have 10 minutes at each station.

Station 1: Skeletons of Pigeon and Chicken
Station 2: Stuff Duck Positioned for Flight (or photograph of duck in flight)
Station 3: Mounted Wing of a Bird; Forelimb skeleton of Bird and Bat
Station 4: Feathers and Hand-lens
Station 5: Bat Skeleton (or printed diagram of bat skeleton)
Station 6: Insect Mounts and hand lens or dissecting scope

Discussion Questions:

  1. How are birds, bats, and insects adapted for flight? What are the similarities of their wings? What are the differences?

  2. What make skeletons of birds and bats light but strong?

  3. How is their shape and surface adapted to reduce the drag and increase the lift?

  4. How are their internal anatomy and physiology adapted to lighten the load and increase the power?

Share your tentative conclusions with the class.

Procedure B:

Now in pairs go on the World Wide Web to the web addresses below. Add information to your data chart from the information accessed from the web in a different color pen.

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/UPSbirds.html

http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/

http://birds.cornell.edu/

http://www.audubon.org/

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/index.html

http://www.petersononline.com/bird/

Procedure C:

Now in your groups examine the text material. Each person will have a different reference (see list of references below). Read and then share your information with the rest of the group. Add to your data chart with a pen of a third color.

  • Burnie, David; Birds, Eye Witness Books, April, 1988

  • Welty, Carl, "Birds as Flying Machines"; Animal Engineering- Readings from Scientific American; 1974

  • Proctor, Noble S., et al, Manual of Ornithology : Avian Structure & Function, July 1993

  • Hickman, Cleveland P. Jr., Biology of Animals, Chapter 26, WCB/McGraw-Hill, 1997

  • Peterson, Roger Tory, The Birds, Time-Life Books, 1978 (out of print)

  • Hickman, Cleveland P. Jr., Roberts, Larry S., Hickman, Frances M. Biology of Animals, Times Mirror/Mosby College Publishing, 1986

  • Kaufmann, John, Birds in Flight.(out of print)

    Student Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the information gleaned from direct observation, world wide web, and text material differ?

  2. How are they the same?

  3. Comment on the recency and accuracy of the information from the world wide web compared to the text.

  4. What are the advantages of using multiple sources of information?

  5. What experience or information did direct observation give you compared to the other sources of information.

Procedure D:

Observe an actual bird in flight for homework. Describe its behavior and flight mechanics in as much detail as you can. You may use diagrams.

View a videotape or laserdisk of a bird in flight. You may use the pause button. What new information did you get from viewing the video? How did technology help you in your observation?

  • Bird, Eyewitness, DK Vision, 1994

  • "To Fly or Not to Fly", Life of Birds, David Attenborough, PBS

  • "Mastery of Flight". Life of Birds, David Attenborough, PBS

Grade 7-10

California Science Content Standards Addressed:

Grade 7-LS 5c., 6 Structure and Function in Living Systems

5. The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the complementary nature of structure and function. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

c. how bones and muscles work together to provide a structural framework for movement

6. Physical principles underlie biological structures and functions.

Grade 7, IE7b

7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content of the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

b. utilize a variety of print and electronic resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information as evidence as part of a research project.

National Science Education Standards Addressed:

Life Science Content Standard C: 9-12

  •  
    		•  The great diversity of organisms is the result of more tan 3.5 billion years of evolution that has filled every available niche with life forms

  •  
    		•  Like other aspects of an organism's biology, behaviors have evoleved through natural selection. Behaviors often have an adaptive logic when viewed in terms of evolutionary principles.

    National Education Technology Standards for Students Addressed:

    5. Technology Research Tools

  •  
    		•  Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources

  •  
    		•  Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness to specific tasks


    The Integrating Technology into Science Instruction webpages project is partially funded by grants from The Boeing Company and The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Integrating Technology into Instruction is a project of Target Science (target@laep.org) and is displayed on the Los Angeles Educational Partnership Learning Exchange. Target Science is an initiative of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership.
    Updated July 2000