Lesson Plan - Grade 7 Blubber Experiment

Rationale: This experiment provides a hands-on experience into understanding why whales have adapted they
way they have over time.
Curricular Connections
BIG Idea: Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things.
Curricular Competency: analyzing data, connecting the information on blubber to the value of the insulation.
Comprehend and Connect: Organisms have evolved over time. Survival needs of organisms
Content:
Learning Intentions: I can conduct an experiment. I can measure and control variables. I can observe,
measure and record data.
Prerequisite Skills: Ability to measure and record time.
Materials and Resources: 28 large Ziploc bags, duck tape, large bucket of Crisco shortening, ice, 7
trays/buckets, spatula, stop watch and/or personal device, graphing worksheet (30), 7 towels, thermometers,
jugs for water, measuring cups.
Differentiated Instruction: Can have the students create their own blubber gloves (groups of 3) ahead of time
for those students who need a reward project for being ahead in their work.

Have students create their own blubber glove by substituting other materials for the shortening in the mitt,
such as wool, air, feathers etc. retry the experiment, and compare results.
*Note fur seals and sea otters trap bubbles of air in their fur to insulate them against the cold water.
Can use a thermometer and record temperature inside the gloves before and while they are submerged
Assessment and Evaluation: Students will fill in their data into worksheet. Students will discuss their learning
and connections after the experiment is completed. Students have already asked the question (on the wonder
board) why do whales have blubber? Students will answer that question and hopefully ask some new related
questions.
Organizational Management Strategies: Have the ice and buckets on sink counter. All other supplies on back
cabinet. Split class into 7 groups of 3 (potentially 4). Call on 2-3 students to pass out the worksheet while
explaining the first part of the experiment. Have #s on each students desk. The numbers coincide with
numbers above the supplies in the class. The children from each group get the supplies that match the number
they have for their group.
Lesson Activities/Structures
Introduction:
HOOK: Getting to experience blubber and competing with classmates to keep hand in cold water for the
longest.
BODY: Create a control glove. Experiment with blubber glove. Record time data. Analyze
CLOSURE: Kids post their groups scores on the front board. The kids can come up and see how everyone did.
REFLECTIONS: FILL IN AFTER LESSON
TEACHER

STUDENTS

Have the question highlighted on the wonder wall

Why do whales have blubber?
Ask each student to write their name on the top of
the worksheet

Have 2-3 kids pass out the worksheets

Discuss the question with the kids and have time for

Students write their name on their

worksheet

TIMING

2 min

START
TIME

them to discuss their hypothesis.

Ask them how we could test their hypothesis?
Have a demonstration at the front of class for the
experiment. Direct the children to use their numbers
to collect their supplies. Numbers should be taped
to their desks so they know them for later.

Once the children have all their supplies ready,

have them measure the water and ice and pour into
their bucket.

Generate and discuss their hypothesis

about why whales have blubber? Write
on worksheet

3 min
Collect supplies and return to
group/desks
5 min

Put stopwatch on overhead and have everyone

quiet and ready.

Child with number 1 tapes the two

bags to make a control glove.
Number 2 measures and pours in
water
Number 3 adds ice

Remind them to be sure not to get water inside the

gloves.

# 4 is the first student to do the

experiment

Everyone starts at the same time to teachers

stopwatch so that the water warms for each station
similarly.
Once all the data is collected. Have the students
empty their buckets and put away their supplies

2 min

# 1 is the data recorder, other students

help them watch the student with the
gloves and the time on the board.
Measure how long the student can
keep each hand in the cold water.
#2 optional can record temperature
of gloves before and after submersion

2 min

10 min

3-5 min
Instruct kids to put the data for their group into each
of their worksheets

When completed rotate the jobs until

everyone has a turn doing the
experiment.

3 min

Clean up their stations, return to their

desks.

Debrief with students the difference in scores as

the test went on (the later the person put their hand
in the water did that allow them to have longer times
why) How did the blubber impact their scores.
Was it the same for everyone?
Share some facts on whale body temperature and
the temperature in the ocean.
Look for future wonder questions (hoping the
students will discuss some questions about
environmental impact to lead into Bens lesson on
the effects climate change have on Orcas).

Once completed one member of each

group comes to front board and tapes
their results on the wall.

5-7min

Students get to come up and look at

the results and discuss with each
other.
Students sit back down and participate
in class discussion and share/review
learning.

3-5min

Research
To help them adapt to the ocean whales developed echolocation, thick layers of blubber, modified lungs, better
hearing and larger arteries among other things to ensure their survival and prosperity. whalefacts.org
When food is scarce, killer whales metabolize blubber for energy, which increases pollutant concentrations in their
blood. Wikipedia
Thick layers of blubber were created to help them stay warm in cold/freezing environments and their lungs became
better adapted at taking in oxygen allowing these marine mammals to take in as much as 90% of the oxygen they
inhale, compared to humans that take in about 15% 30% of the oxygen we inhale. whalefacts.org, evolution of
whales
Blubber plays an extremely important role in a whales life. Having blubber allows whales to maintain their body heat
and survive in extremely cold environments that would otherwise be uninhabitable to them.
Some whales can also use their blubber for energy during times when food is scarce or during long trips.
whalefacts.org adaptations
What is an adaptation: BIOLOGY - a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes
better suited to its environment.
"living in groups is an adaptation that increases the efficiency of hunting"

blubber differs from other forms of adipose tissue in its extra thickness, which allows it to serve as an efficient
thermal insulator, making blubber essential for thermoregulation. Blubber is more vascularizedrich in blood vessels
than other adipose tissue.
Blubber has advantages over fur (as in sea otters) in the respect that although fur can retain heat by holding pockets
of air, the air pockets will be expelled under pressure (while diving). Blubber, however, does not compress under
pressure. It is effective enough that some whales can dwell in temperatures as low as 40 F (4 C).[4] While diving in
cold water, blood vessels covering the blubber constrict and decrease blood flow, thus increasing blubber's efficiency
as an insulator.[5]
Blubber aids buoyancy, and streamlines the body because the organized, complex collagenous network supports the
noncircular cross sections characteristic of cetaceans.
Research[6] into the thermal conductivity of the common bottlenose dolphin's blubber reveals its thickness and lipid
content vary greatly amongst individuals and across life history categories. Blubber from emaciated dolphins is a
poorer insulator than that from nonpregnant adults, which in turn have a higher heat conductivity than blubber from
pregnant females and adolescents.

Picture of whale blubber -

Wikipedia

But this is just one side of the story, what if whales overheat because they are swimming fast, are surface active, are
pregnant, or are in warmer water. Whales do not have sebaceous glands and cannot sweat like we can to cool off, so

they need a different strategy to be able to dump excess heat...and in order to shed heat, there must be a way to
bypass the blubber layer. So while the blubber coat provides great insulation for most of the whales body, there are
certain areas called thermal windows that lack blubber and are not well insulated. These areas include flippers, dorsal
fins, and their flukes, each relatively thin and highly vascularized. We are still not entirely sure what all of the
purposes of the dorsal fin are because some whales lack it entirelybut we believe that these thermal windows at
times function as a way for whales to shed excess heat. uk.whales.org