Termite Reaction Lab Report

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Olumide Adeyekun Group #2 Termite Response to Either Red Ink Pen or Red ink Sharpie Hypothesis: Termites were observed by seeing what ink they preferred, whether it is the ink from a red pen or the ink from a red sharpie. The termites were placed on paper that had drawings in red pen ink and red sharpie ink. They were drawn towards the areas drawn in red ink pen more than the areas drawn in red ink sharpie. The reaction of the termites may be due to the characteristics of the red ink pen and the red ink sharpie. The actual color, the scent and/or the dryness may play a role in the termite’s preference. The hypothesis was determined based on the behavior of the termites. It was hypothesized that the termites prefer the red ink pen to the…show more content…
The dependent variable was the average time spent on the shape drawn within sixty seconds. The standardized variables were the type of pen and sharpie used, the size of the shape (circle) the termites were placed in, and the maximum time (60 sec.) given for the termites to be observed. There were two levels of treatment, which were red ink pen and red ink sharpie. The sample size was 100 termites and there were 5 replications for each level of treatment. The species being used was termites. The experiment was carried out by first gathering 100 termites into a glass bowl. Two equal sized circles were drawn with each writing utensil on a blank sheet of white paper. Figure 1 shows the circles that were drawn with a red ink pen and red ink sharpie marker. Each termite was placed in the middle of the circles that were drawn. Figure 1: Experimental Circles. The circles drawn with a red ink sharpie marker and red ink…show more content…
The average number of time the termites spent on the red ink pen circle was much greater than the amount of time the termites spent on the red ink sharpie marker circle. It can be concluded that termites would rather stay on the red pen circle than on the red sharpie ink circle. Reasons why the termites spent a lower average amount of time on the circle drawn in red sharpie ink can be based on many factors. One of them being that the chemical make-up of the red ink in sharpie markers does not agree with the termites. Another factor may include that the scent of sharpie marker was too strong for the termites to endure. Further experiments to test why the termites prefer the red ink pen to the red ink sharpie marker would include getting the chemical make up of the red ink pen and the red ink sharpie and figuring out what draws the termites to the red ink in pens rather that to the red ink in sharpie markers. To carry this out, the termites would be exposed to the different chemicals in the sharpie red ink and the red pen ink to see what particular chemical or chemicals affect the termite’s

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