Science Experiment | Biological Sciences

Blubber Me!
Looking at the World Aim
Animals develop structural, behavioural To investigate if blubber keeps animals
and physiological adaptations to help warm in cold environments.
them survive in the environment in
Scientist’s note
which they live. One of the structural
Make sure the temperature of the water
adaptations that helps animals to
survive in cold environments is blubber.
is the same each time you place your
hand in the bucket.

Method Equipment
1. Half fill the medium-sized bucket with ice cubes. Add A medium-sized bucket
as much cold water as is needed to cover the ice
A thermometer
cubes (so they float in the water).
Ice cubes
2. Place your hand into the bucket of icy water and
immediately start the stopwatch. Time how long your Cold water
hand stays in the icy water. Stop the stopwatch as Rubber or latex gloves
soon as you remove your hand from the bucket.
Record the time on your worksheet. Rubber bands

3. Cover your hand with a thick layer of vegetable fat (to Vegetable fat (such as copha)
act as blubber), then secure a glove over the top (to A stopwatch
act as skin). Wash and dry your other hand.
4. Place your covered hand into the bucket of icy water
and immediately start the stopwatch. Time how long
your covered hand stays in the icy water. Stop the
stopwatch as soon as you remove your hand from
the bucket. Record the time on your worksheet.
Blubber Me! - Worksheet

Name Date

Blubber Me!
Variables: (Which variables will stay the same and which variable
should be changed?)

Variables that we could change: Variable that we will change:

Dependent variable that we

will measure:

We are going to measure

by changing .

Hypothesis: (What do you think will happen during the experiment?)

EXPERIMENT
Blubber Me! - Worksheet

Name Date

Blubber Me!
Results: (What happened during the experiment?)

Hand conditions Time in ice water

Uncovered hand

Covered hand

Discussion: (What do your results tell you?)

Conclusion: (Was your hypothesis correct? How do you know?)

EXPERIMENT