INVERTEBRATE MOVEMENT NOTES

o A taxis is the whole body movement of an organism in response to stimuli such as

light or warmth, in other words it is not just a part of the organism that moves, but the
entire organism.
o Choice chambers are small boxes that have areas with different conditions used to
study movements of invertebrates in the various conditions.
o A choice chamber provides invertebrates with the options of light vs. darkness,
warmth vs. coldness and dryness vs. moisture.
o The invertebrates, e.g. woodlice, are put inside the choice chamber boxes and their
‘choice’ for the different conditions is recorded by counting the numbers of woodlice
in each area or chamber after a short period of time.
o It is expected to see more woodlice in the dark and damp sections of the choice
chamber. This is most like the conditions they like in real life – they are usually found
under rocks & rotting wood.
o It can therefore be concluded that darkness, warmth and moisture allow invertebrates
to survive.
o Why are these conditions ideal?
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● http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/triple_edexcel/behaviour/animal_plant_behaviour/revision/6/

a) A Petri dish was divided into four areas with plasticine as shown in Figure 3 below. Twenty
woodlice were placed on a piece of wire gauze covering the four areas. The cover was placed
over the Petri dish. Half of the apparatus was then covered with black paper. A cross-section
of the apparatus is shown below:
After 30 minutes, the number of woodlice that settled in the different areas was noted. The
investigation was performed five times and the results recorded in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Number of woodlice that settled in different areas

Investigation No. Number of Woodlice in Area After 30 minutes

A B C D
1 2 1 14 3
2 3 0 15 2
3 3 1 12 4
4 4 2 10 4
5 3 1 12 4

i) Suggest a reason for using silica gel.

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ii) What was the AIM of the investigation?

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iii) Name the factor that must be kept constant during the experiment.
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iv) From the results in Table 2, what conditions do woodlice prefer?

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v) Give TWO reasons why woodlice prefer the conditions identified in iv) above.
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TOTAL 13 MARKS