06/11/2020 Think and behave like a biomimic

Electric eel battery: ENGLISH HOMEWORK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNctvU0LZ9M&feature=youtu.be TACHE FINALE: Observe nature and write a page of a
- Schema “Design spiral” nature journal
- Screen grabs: description des différentes étapes pour créer Choose an observation exercise, and follow the
une batterie bio directions, answer the questions. Your work consists
CO: Becoming a biomimic in a double page, containing at least a drawing, and a
text (about 150-200 words): you must describe your
experience, your feelings, and the senses that you
used… and answer the questions asked.
DUE TO Friday, November 20th

A. Go further and find out to what extent eels can become a source of inspiration for
scientists

1. Watch the video and make sure you can explain the different stages of the experiment(s).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNctvU0LZ9M&feature=youtu.be
Analyze the screen grabs and explain what they show

Description of the working process

STAGE 1
Each electrocyte generates only about 150
minivolts but large eels can have
thousands of them packed together, like a
battery.
Eels are able to activate all these cells
simultaneously and discharge a hefty
shock.

STAGE 2
Those are blobs created to reproduce the
eel electrocytes. Yellow and green ones act
as a permeable membrane. Red and blue
blobs contain different levels of the ions.
Just like the eels, ions rush across the
membrane to generate a current. Each
group of 4 blobs can produce as much as
current as a eel’s electrocyte.

STAGE 3
Scientists created an artificial electric
organ. They used blobs of hydrogel to
mimick each part of the electrocyte.
To increase the voltage, they printed 2
sheets on top of each other, in order to
generate about 100 volts.
STAGE 4
To get the highest voltage, all of the blobs
of gel need to contact at the same time.
Folding the sheets allowed all the biogel
blobs to almost touch each other
simutaneously.

2. Complete the last part of the graph (steps 4/5/6) with what you just discovered.
 FINAL TASK
Observe nature and write a page of a nature journal
How does it work?
Choose an observation exercise, and follow the directions, answer the questions. Your work consists in a double page,
containing at least a drawing, and a text (about 150-200 words): you must describe your experience, your feelings, the
senses that you used… and answer the questions asked.