Phu Nguyen

Lab Report
February 6, 2015

Offspring Battle
Intro:
A.
Charles Darwin stepped ashore on the Galapagos Islands in September 1835, it was the start of a
world of new science. He observed a lot of different kind of birds on the island, but never really
noticed their significance, and failed to keep records of his specimens and where they were
collected. After his return to London he kept being confuse over the bird then he realized that
species of finch led him toward formulating the principal of natural selection.
Darwin wondered about the changes in shape of bird beaks from island to island. Cactus finches
boast longer, more pointed beaked than their relatives the ground finches. Warbler finches beaks
are thinner and more pointed than both.
Members of research team was able to collect finch eggs from the Galapagos National Park.
Researcher only took only third of the eggs to avoid disruption in nature and the abandonment of
nests. Darwin speculated that birds, resemble starlings came to the Galapagos Islands by wind.
Evolution took place and Darwin wrote an immigrant first settled on one of the islands, it
would undoubtedly be exposed to different conditions in the different islands where it have to
compete with a different set of organisms He believed that beaks change shape as the bird have
different taste for fruits, seeds, or insects. These changes make it easier for the birds to adapt to
weather condition and help them more fit to survive on the available food.

B. Hypothesis:
I believe that the people with chopsticks beak would decrease in time because the user doesnt
know chopsticks very well.

Material and Method:

We used tongs, chopsticks, clothes pin, large hairclip, binder clip, small hairclip, tweezers, chip
clip and our food was sunflower seeds.
We were given one item listed above and in front of us were a whole bunch of sunflower seeds.
In a minute we were supposed to collect as much sunflower seeds as possible; then count how
much we collected.

Results:
Beak Types
Tongs
Chopstick
Clothes pin

Beginning
#2
Freq : 6%
#5
Freq:15%
#5

Round 1
#2
Freq : 6%
#7
Freq:21%
#3

Round 2
#2
Freq : 6%
#6
Freq:18%
#4

Round 3
#2
Freq : 6%
#5
Freq:15%
#4

Round 4
#2
Freq : 6%
#5
Freq:15%
#5

Round 5
#1
Freq : 3%
#4
Freq:12%
#6

Phu Nguyen
Lab Report
February 6, 2015

Freq:15%
Large hairclip #5
Freq:15%
Binder clip
#5
Freq:15%
Small hairclip #5
Freq:15%
Tweezers
#5
Freq:15%
Chip Clip

Freq:9%
#5
Freq:15%
#4
Freq:12%
#5
Freq:15%
#6
Freq:18%

Freq:12%
#4
Freq:12%
#3
Freq:9%
#5
Freq:15%
#7
Freq:22%
#1
Freq:3%

Freq:12%
#4
Freq:12%
#3
Freq:9%
#5
Freq:15%
#8
Freq:25%
#1
Freq:3%

Freq:15%
#4
Freq:12%
#2
Freq:6%
#4
Freq:12%
#9
Freq:28%
#1
Freq:3%

Freq:18%
#4
Freq:12%
#2
Freq:6%
#4
Freq:12%
#10
Freq:31%
#1
Freq:3%

Double click graph to see

full details.

The result was marvelous every item have struggled up and down, but there is one that keep
going head on without having any issue of getting an offspring.

Conclusion:
A. I believe my hypothesis was neither supported nor rejected by the data.
B. My hypothesis of chopstick decreasing in time wasnt entirely right, but wasnt wrong
either. It was increasing in the first 2 round, but was decreased in round 3 and 5.
C. The user of chopstick impacted my hypothesis a lot. I never expected the user to use
chopstick so well and was able to survive and getting an offspring in the first 2 round.
D. This experiment to me is valid and therere ways to prove it. It was because of the
sunflower seeds that made many of the beak type struggle, but for a small beak like a
tweezers it was very easy because it didnt take a long time to open the beak, wasnt hard
to carry and did not waste a lot of effort like the other big beak like tongs, large hairclip,
binder clip etc... Instead of sunflower seed if the source of food was something bigger
then maybe the tweezers wouldnt be doing so good. The changes in result showed me
that this experiment is valid.

Phu Nguyen
Lab Report
February 6, 2015

Discussion:
A. Scientific method consist in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and
the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
B. Other field that could use the scientific method is medical and psychology.
C. Observing my food supply to figure out ways to collect them faster and observing other
beak that is doing good and figure out whats the difference between my beak and theirs.
D. Darwins theory of evolution by Natural Selection. More individuals are produced each
generation that can survive. Those individuals with heritable traits better suited to the
environment will survive.(Google)
E. This activity was supported by the theory of evolution by natural selection is that were
finding the best way to have offspring with the most chances of survival with the food
supply that we have.

Works Cited
Adaptive Radiation: Darwin's Finches (n.d.)Public Broadcasting Service Web. Retrieved
February 6, 2015, from
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/6/l_016_02.html>

Cromie William How Darwins finches got their beaks (n.d) President and Fellows of Harvard
College Web. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from
<http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/08.24/31-finches.html>