1 Semester Project Components Mr. Nichols PHHS

Cartoon of the Day! 2 Meanwhile in Australia!

Cartoons of the Day! 3

What!?!?! 4

Cartoon of the Day 5

Organism of the Day! Inland Taipan: Oxyuranus microlepidotus Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes (snakes) 6

Snake in the grass! The prize for “The World’s Most Venomous Snake” goes to the Inland Taipan of Australia. Just a single bite from this snake contains enough venom to kill 100 human adults or an army of 250,000-1 million mice. Its venom is at least 200 – 400 times more toxic than a common cobra. The Inland Taiwan’s extremely neurotoxic venom can kill an adult human in as little as 45 minutes. Fortunately this snake is very shy and there have been no documented human fatalities (all known bites were treated with antivenin). 7

Man!!! That bites…. Inland Taipans adapt to their environment by changing the color of the skin during seasonal changes. They tend to become lighter during summer and darker during the winter. This seasonal color change serves the purpose of thermoregulation, allowing the snake to absorb more light in the colder months. 8

Shy but deadly The Inland Taipan consumes mostly rodents, small mammals and birds. It kills with a single accurate bite, then retreats while waiting for the prey to die before returning to safely consume its meal. Inland Taipan produce clutches of between one and two dozen eggs. The eggs hatch two months later. The eggs are usually laid in abandoned animal burrows and deep crevices. Reproduction rate depends in part on their diet. If there is not enough food then the snake will reproduce less. 9

Sweet Pics Bro! 10 WinterSummer Taipan in a santa hat!

11 Semester Project Components Research Question/Background info Hypothesis Procedures/Materials Observations/Data/Results Conclusion Discussion

Research Question/Background Information What question are you out to answer? Give us all we need to know about your organisms biology/experiment background. Why did you decide to do this experiment? 12

13 Hypothesis (Honors must have 3) Explain your ideas about the experiment. Describe your best guess about the results of the experiment Hypotheses ARE NEVER IN THE FORM OF A QUESTION!!!!! Ex: The levels of estrogen will increase in infants that are breast fed because of mammalian maternal protein/hormonal transfer.

14 Procedure/Materials Describe step by step “what to do” What safety cautions should you be concerned with. Make a labeled diagram of the experiment. Give a listing of any materials you used and in what quantity.

15 Observations Describe the initial visual appearance and any other information using your senses Describe any changes during the experiment. Describe the result of the experiment

16 Data/Results/Observations Organize your observations and measurements in a clear chart or graph Time (s)Position (m)

17 Conclusion Diagrams may be necessary to show your answer. What can you conclude about your hypothesis now that you’ve finished your testing? Is you hypothesis correct? Use your data to support this answer. What does your data tell you?

18 Discussion Answers the question “what’s next or what now?” How can this experiment be used to learn more in the field or about the organism? What are some sources of error in the experiment, how can it be improved?