Fish Form and Function

1
Fish Form and Function
Fish gotta swimBirds gotta flyI gotta love one
man till I dieCan't help lovin' that man of
mineTell me he's lazyTell me he's slowTell me
I'm crazyMaybe I knowCan't help lovin' that man
of mine Showboat
2
What can you tell about a fishs lifestyle by
watching it swim?

• Inquiry Materials
• Missouri Conservationist Lady Wildlife
• Geocities
• Sydney Aquarium
• Ichthyology Web Resources

• Instructions
• See the following page for instructions.

Hints Check out these swimmers!
3

• STEP 1 Observe at least four different kinds of
  fish.
• STEP 2 You will notice that fish have different
  types of fins located on different parts of their
  bodies. Identify the basic features of fish
  anatomy.
• STEP 3 Compare the shapes of fish.
• STEP 4 Carefully observe how fish move.
• Discovery Questions
• 1. What does the shape of a fish tell you about
  its lifestyle?
• 2. What are the connections between the size and
  shape of the various fins and the way that a fish
  swims.
• 3. What do fishes do when they want to swim up?
  Swim down? Turn left? Turn right?
• Make sketches illustrating these different types
  of movement.
• Summary Question
• What is the general relationship between form and
  function among all living things?

4
Developer Page

• National Science Education Standards
• Life Science Content Standard
  CCharacteristics of Organisms
• Each plant or animal has different structures
  that serve different functions in growth,
  survival, and reproduction .

• Assessment
• How would you assess students work for this
  Inquiry Challenge?

• Credits
• http//www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/files/fish.h
  tm