Cricket Respiration: Teacher’s Notes

Purpose:

This lesson module is intended to bring the cell biology curriculum to life for middle and high school students by
allowing them to observe the results of cellular respiration as it happens in live animals. Students will gain
improved understanding of how cellular respiration works in cells by using simple respirometry techniques to
measure oxygen consumption in live crickets. By doing this, students will also learn to think about these
cellular-level processes in the context of whole-animal function. By the end of this module, students should be
able to:

 Understand how cells metabolize fuel to produce energy in the form of ATP
 Understand how metabolic rate can be determined by measuring gasses (oxygen and carbon dioxide)
 Know how to use a basic respirometer to measure metabolism
 Collect, graph, and interpret their data
 Understand how physical variables (such as temperature) affect living systems

Background:

The module is intended for the cell biology unit of the life science/biology curriculum. The module requires that
students understand the basics of how cellular respiration works in cells. Specifically, they will need to know
how cells obtain oxygen and glucose, utilize them to make ATP, and release carbon dioxide and water as
byproducts. Students also need to know how the rate of these processes determines the metabolic rate of the
entire organism. An introductory lecture on this topic should be sufficient.

With this basic knowledge, the students will work through the first component of the module, which is a pre-lab
worksheet that requires students to integrate what they know about temperature and metabolism to make
predictions about what will happen during the experiment.

The laboratory component of the module walks students through a one-day experiment in which they will
measure how quickly oxygen is consumed by crickets at different temperatures. Students will be responsible for
collecting data about the weight of their animals, the temperature the crickets are exposed to, and the volume
of oxygen consumed by the animals.

For the post-lab portion of the module, students will answer follow-up questions to assess understanding.
Students should be shown the class data set and asked to record their conclusions based on these data. The
final portion of the module is an extension activity that guides students through a set of simple calculations to
estimate the metabolic rate of a human based on the metabolic rates they measured for their crickets. This
activity is intended to emphasize how all animals utilize the same cellular processes to make useable energy, and
reinforce the relationship between metabolic rate and body size.
California State Content Standards:

Grade Level Subject Standards Addressed

1.a. Students know cells function similarly in all living organisms.
1.d. Students know that mitochondria liberate energy for the work
Cell Biology
that cells do and that chloroplasts capture sunlight energy for
photosynthesis.
5.a. Students know plants and animals have levels of organization
for structure and function, including cells, tissues, organs,
Structure and Function organ systems, and the whole organism.
th
7 Grade Life in Living Systems 5b. Students know organ systems function because of the
Science contributions of individual organs, tissues, and cells. The
failure of any part can affect the entire system.
7.a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including
calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes,
Investigation & and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.
Experimentation 7.c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses,
science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and
conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.

Grade Level Subject Standards Addressed

1.b. Students know enzymes are proteins that catalyze
biochemical reactions without altering the reaction equilibrium
and the activities of enzymes depend on the temperature,
ionic conditions, and the pH of the surroundings.
Cell Biology 1.g. Students know the role of the mitochondria in making stored
chemical-bond energy available to cells by completing the
breakdown of glucose to carbon dioxide.
1.i. Students know how chemiosmotic gradients in the
mitochondria and chloroplast store energy for ATP production.
9.a. Students know how the complementary activity of major body
High School
Physiology systems provides cells with oxygen and nutrients and removes
Biology
toxic waste products such as carbon dioxide.
1.a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology to perform
tests, collect data, analyze relationships, and display data.
1.c. Identify possible reasons for inconsistent results, such as
sources of error or uncontrolled conditions.
Investigation &
1.d. Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence.
Experimentation
1.j. Recognize the issues of statistical variability and the need for
controlled tests.
1.l. Analyze situations and solve problems that require combining
and applying concepts from more than one area of science.
Materials:

Item # Per Group Cost Estimate

Large crickets (Petco or Petsmart) 2 $0.13 per cricket
Small vials (I used Drosophila shell vials) 2 $0.10 per vial
Rubber stoppers with 1 hole (Amazon) 2 $11 for 4 stoppers
Graduated pipettes (0.1-2mL in 1/100 subdivisions) (Fisher) 2 $40–160 for pack of 12 pipettes
Cotton balls 1 $2 for 1 bag
15% KOH solution (eNasco) 1 mL $6.75 for 100 g of pellets
Water baths (plastic bins/container) 2 -
Thermometers 2 -
Ice 2 cups $2 for 1 bag

Timeline:

Day Activity Handout

1 Pre-Lab Pre-Lab
 Lecture on cellular respiration  “Metabolism Notes”
 Pre-lab worksheet  “Hot and Cold Metabolism”
2 Lab Exercise Lab Exercise
 Cricket respiration experiment  “Cricket Respiration Lab”
Questions Questions
 Comprehension Questions (during wait periods)  “Cricket Respiration Data”
3 Post-Lab Post-Lab
 Graph data and discuss results
 Extension Activity  “Deducing human metabolic rate”