Anthony’s Experiment

Ms. Gatdula was invited by a friend to visit her in Baguio City. Before leaving her home in Manila,
she instructed her helper to feed the fish in the aquarium during her absence.

It was May. The summer heat was almost unbearable. The helper was worried about the fish
entrusted to her. One very warm afternoon, she got a tray of ice cubes and put all of them into the
aquarium. In just a short while, all the fish in the aquarium died.

Anthony, a nephew of Ms. Gatdula, learned about the tragic incident. But he did not reprimand
the helper right away. He wanted to be sure of the cause of death of the fish. Here is what he did:

● He bought six fish of the same kind as those that had died. He kept them in the aquarium for
two days.

● He got two large wide-mouthed glass jars of the same size. He labeled one “Jar no. 1” and the
other “Jar no. 2”. He put the same amount of water in the jars, and three fish in each jar, together with
some aquarium plants and pebbles.

● When the fish have stayed in the jar for two days, he put ice cubes in Jar no. 1.

● He observed that the fish in Jar no. 1 died and those in Jar no. 2 did not.

Now, answer the following questions:

1. For his experiment, why did Anthony buy the same kind of fish as those that had died? Could he

not have used just any kind of aquarium fish?

2. Why did Anthony keep the fish he had bought in the aquarium for two days before starting his

investigation?

3. Why did he use two jars of the same size, put the same amount of water in the jars and place the

same number and kind of fish in each jar? Was it necessary that the conditions in the two jars be

the same at the beginning of the experiment?

Why or why not?

4. Why did Anthony put ice cubes in only one jar? Why not in both jars?