The Manduca Project

Mathematics activities

Ideas for Mathematics activities

Raising Manducas provides unlimited opportunities to use Mathematics in real-world situations. Students are able to use measurement, prediction, charting and graphing, probability and statistics, arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. Most of the activities in the Science Activities section also involve math skills.

Ideas for measurement activities

Record daily observations of the larvae. Measure and weigh the caterpillars and record the information on a graph.

photograph of a young girl observing and drawing Manduca larva

Use both standard and nonstandard measuring devices (paper clips, string, scales made by students), to emphasize the concept of appropriate units measurement.

Ask students what they think makes a good standard unit of measure. Have them bring in what they believe would make good standard units (e.g., beads, macaroni, pennies).

Paper clips make excellent units of measure for the larger caterpillars (i.e., 5th instars). Obviously, the smaller the clip, the more distinct will be the changes in growth.

To visualize changes in weight, make a paper clip "graph". Weigh the larva using paper clips, then form a chain from the clips. Pin each day's chain to the bulletin board with a date label. Add each subsequent day's chain, and soon you will have a graphical representation of an animal 's rate of growth.

Other math ideas

Plot the stages of the Manduca development on a chart or calendar on a daily basis.

Introduce the concept of multiplication using the caterpillar and moth body parts as multiples (See Lesson on Patterns in Multiples by Marilyn Burns). This lesson will take several days to implement and can be integrated with an art lesson.

Use ordinal numbers during a caterpillar race to predict which caterpillar will come in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc..

The Manduca Project
The University of Arizona
Contact: Dr. Michael Wells
Revised: July 27, 2001, 2001