Physiology: Retia Mirabilia Lesson Plan

Grade Level

6th-8th Grade

Objectives

Students will be able to explain how physiological adaptation allow dolphins to maintain a steady flow of blood to the brain despite the drastic increases and decreases in heart rate that occur while a dolphin is diving.

Florida Sunshine State Standards:

Science SC.F.2.3.3 The student knows that generally organisms in a population live long enough to reproduce because they have certain survival characteristics.
Mathematics MA.A.3.3.2 The student selects the appropriate operation to solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of rational numbers, ratios, proportions, and percents, including the appropriate application of the algebraic order of operations.

National Standards:

Content Standard A (5-8) – Abilities Necessary to do Scientific Inquiry: Use
mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
Content Standard C (5-8) – Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms: Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.