Embedded Files
Looking across Kingdom Animalia, there are lots of special features, functions, and facts when it comes to animal brains. Explore this page to learn more about these amazing characteristics.
Data Analysis
This chart from (Science World) shows the relationship between Brain Mass and Body Mass, called the Brain-to-Body Mass Ratio. You may wish to print this out so you can write on the chart as you learn a little more about it.
As you look at this graph, ask yourself the following questions:
What feature is on the horizontal (x) axis of the graph?
What feature is on the horizontal (y) axis of the graph?
Take a look at the numbers on each axis. What is the highest body mass value? What is the highest brain mass value?
How many grams are in a kilogram?
Find an animal that has a small body mass and a small brain mass.
Find an animal that has a large body mass and a large brain mass.
Find an animal that has a medium body mass, but a large brain mass (for its size)
Find an animal that has a large body mass, but a small brain mass (for its size).
What does the line in the middle of the graph mean?
Hypothesis
A hypothesis in Science is a guess that you can make based on background information and some clues you already know. It also leads you to a testable question: the hypothesis should be something you can test.
Using the information you observed in the above chart, and other information you may know, could you make a connection between intelligence and brain mass? What is that relationship?
Task: Write your hypothesis in your science notes, or on the chart we've been working with.
Questions To Consider
Do all animals have a brain?
How and why do we learn something?
Is the human brain really so special? If so, what makes it that way?
Some Facts To Keep In Mind:
Some scientists believe all learning is done through earning rewards or receiving a consequence/punishment- but not everyone agrees, especially when it comes to the human brain.
Neurons are the cells that make up the nervous system. The number of neurons, or how densely they are concentrated, may tell us how much "cognitive ability," or learning, is possible.
In humans, 25% of our daily energy is just spent to keep our brain working! This is super high compared to any other animal.
Amazing Brains in Kingdom Animalia
There are so many amazing brain stories in the animal kingdom. From earthworms actively learning the best position in order to pull a piece of leaf back to their home, to elephants' amazing memory, its clear all animals have brains with special features. Here are a few examples to explore.
Pavlov's Dogs: Dogs learn to salivate when they hear a sound associated with mealtime
An Elephant Never Forgets: Amazing Elephant Memory
The Bee Dance: How bees communicate with a special dance
The Worlds Smartest Dog: Chaser has learned over 1800 words!
Parrot Communication: Are parrots as smart as a preschooler?
Octopus Escape: Can this Octopus Learn How to Unscrew a Lid to get its Dinner?
Tasks For This Week
Watch at least one of the above videos that interests you. Be ready to share in our meeting next week.
Decide on some activities this week to work on growing your frontal lobe. This is where your empathy, consciousness, reflection, planning, and logic are processed and stored. How will you "work out" this part of your brain?
Vocabulary Discovery
An important part of learning new topics in science is listening for and noting new vocabulary terms. Please use this sheet as reference to write down any new words you have not heard before. A copy of this sheet will be on each one of our pages for you to download and print. You can fill it out on paper or in your OneNote notebook.
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