Index IntroductionExperiment DesignConstant Factors:Materials:Method:DiscussionConclusionIntroductionThe survival of any population is based on multiple different factors, a combination of abiotic and biotic. Over time, emperor penguins have developed a cooperative behavior strategy that guarantees the survival of individual penguins and the population itself. Due to rapid heat loss in the Antarctic, a single penguin is at risk of freezing to death. Penguins huddle together in an attempt to keep warm and can reach temperatures of 20°C, despite ambient temperatures reaching -50°C. (Gammon, 2012). By huddling together, they decrease the surface area to volume ratio. A group of penguins has a limited surface area of ​​the overall volume open to the elements. An isolated and alone penguin has a surface area greater than its volume. Surface is a vital aspect in heat transfer. The greater the surface area to volume ratio, the greater the amount of heat that can be lost through it. By creating a huddle, penguins reduce the amount of heat they can lose to the environment due to the reduction in surface area. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In order for populations to be maintained in an ecosystem, there must be access to a combination of biotic and abiotic factors. Examples of biotic factors necessary for penguin survival include fish, krill and squid as food, although they can go without food for up to 100 days. The most crucial and essential biotic factor for their survival are other penguins. These protect them from any life-threatening abiotic factors in the environment, such as temperature and wind. Isolated penguins are at greater risk of suffering from abiotic factors due to the greater surface area that can be compromised. Penguins on the outer ring of the group will not be affected as much as the single penguin, as they have less surface area exposed to abiotic factors. The least affected penguins would be the inland penguins since they have a very small surface area available. Huddling is a form of behavioral adaptation, in which penguins change their actions to better adapt to the environment. If a penguin were subjected to the harsh temperatures and wind of the environment, this could cause a rapid drop in body temperature, affecting the nervous system and bodily functions. Overexposure of penguins to this environment causes the heart and respiratory system to collapse, resulting in death. Homeostasis is a self-regulatory process that allows animals to maintain the optimal internal environment for survival. (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) An isolated penguin will need to increase its body temperature to survive. Homeostasis increases body temperature by sending a message to the brain's temperature regulating center, the hypothalamus. Temperature receptors in the skin send the message, the nervous system then sends it to the effector, in this case the penguin's muscles. The penguin's response is to shiver to try to raise its body temperature. (ABPI, n.d.) However, overexposure of an isolated penguin cannot aid the homeostasis process since heat cannot be gained as quickly as it is lost. (Mayo Clinic, n.d.) This will cause the death of isolated penguins. Experiment Design The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effect that variable protection has on heat loss in penguins. The tubes will be used assubstitute for penguins in this experiment. The hypothesis is: as the protection of the tube decreases, the temperature loss will increase over time. The insulated test tube will lose heat faster.Independent variable: amount of protectionDependent variable: change in water temperatureConstant factors:· Amount of water placed in each test tube· Dimensions of each test tube· Time of use of the tubes· Initial temperature of the water placed in each test tube Materials: 500 ml beaker x2 Hot water Test tube rack Thermometer x3 Timer Rubber bands x2 Test tubes x 15 Method: 14 test tubes were grouped together and secured with two rubber bands, one at the top and one at the bottom. The group of tubes was placed in a 500 ml beaker. Hot water was poured into the 14 test tubes to the same level, also filling the insulated test tube to the same level. the tubes were transferred to a new empty 500 ml beaker and the isolated tube was placed in the tube holder. A thermometer was placed in the insulated tube, the innermost tube, and a tube on the outer ring. The initial temperature was recorded. The temperature of the water tubes was recorded every minute for 10 minutes. The temperature change from the initial water temperature was calculated and recorded. The initial temperature for each tube was 34 degrees Celsius. The graph on the graph that decreases heat the most over time is the insulated test tube graph. The insulated tube lost 27 degrees in 10 minutes. The temperature of the block stabilizes at 7 degrees for 7 minutes. The outer tube lost a total temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and the temperature did not stabilize. The center tube lost the least heat, losing only 10 degrees over the entire 10 minutes. The temperature dropped steadily throughout the time period. Discussion The results obtained from this experiment were similar to what was expected. The water placed in the insulated test tube representing the isolated penguin lost most of its heat during the experiment. This is due to the increased exposure to the cool environment in conjunction with the large surface area of ​​the tube. The surface area of ​​the insulated test tube was much larger than the volume of water inside it, meaning more heat could escape over time due to the large surface area to volume ratio. The water on the outer ring of the tub has lost the second amount of heat. The least amount of heat was lost from the tube in the middle of bringing the tubes together. This was expected because the outer ring tube has a lower surface area to volume ratio than the insulated tube and a higher surface area to volume ratio than the core tube. The center tube lost the least amount of heat due to the smallest surface area to lose heat from. Although the results collected were expected before the experiment, there were several unexpected data points. The isolated tube was not expected to stabilize at 7 degrees. However, the insulated tube was expected to rapidly decrease in heat and eventually stabilize, but this was assumed to occur at room temperature. The other two tubes measured did not reach the plateau, which was expected since these tubes retained more heat. There are a few different sources from which random errors could occur during your investigation. One of these includes that the water in the test tubes was not accurately measured with a graduated cylinder, but by observation. The experiment required that the water be measured with the eye rather than a cylinder, since transferring the water between the different containers would result in considerable heat loss and would reducethe accuracy of the data significantly. This remains an error as it is not known whether the amount of water was the same in each test tube. If each test tube contained a different amount of water, the volume would not be the same affecting heat loss. A second random error may have been that the temperature on the thermometer was read incorrectly. Since more than one person in each experimental group took the measurements, people might have read the thermometer differently each time. This means that the recorded temperature may not have been the actual value, severely affecting the results of the experiment. A systematic error that may have occurred could be that the thermometer used was not properly calibrated. This means that the recorded results would not be accurate, but the trend in the data would still be visible. Only a very small sample size was used during this investigation. Only the isolated, outer ring and center tubes were actually measured, and no repetition was performed. Due to these factors, the effect of random errors would be more obvious and significant. In an experiment like this, it is critical that it is repeated and with a larger sample size to reduce the amount of random error. The greater the number of values ​​recorded and averaged, the less significant impact any outliers in the data would have. Since there are no real values ​​for this experiment and no replications have been performed, the accuracy and precision cannot be discussed. One of the strengths of this experiment was that the temperatures of each test tube recorded were taken with a thermometer with a resolution of one. This means that the thermometer was accurate in reading the temperature of the water. Another strength of this investigation was the fact that the experiment was conducted with each test tube at the same time and in the same environment. This meant that external factors affecting the test tubes would affect them at the same rate. There would be no temperature change in the room, so the test tubes would not be affected dramatically. However, despite the strengths of this experiment, there were also numerous weaknesses. One of the weaknesses was that the thermometer could be read differently by each person who was recording the results. This means that the readings would not be true to the experiment and would influence the results and conclusion. Another weakness is measuring water in each test tube without a graduated cylinder. It was important that all quantities were the same in each tube, to get an accurate result regarding the rate at which heat was lost. Without accurate measurements, the amount of heat loss would vary at different volumes. A third weakness was that the thermometer was not calibrated precisely enough to read the temperature to a specific degree. This can be identified as a weakness as actual water temperatures would not have been reflected in the results. Some conclusions could still be drawn; however the values ​​would be incorrect even though the data trend is still correct. The small sample size and lack of repetition in the experiment were another couple of weaknesses that reduced the significance of the data. For this reason the effect of random errors has been increased. The most significant weakness of the entire experiment was that the test tubes in no way accurately represented how penguins lose heat, whether huddled or isolated. The layer of fat and feathers that penguins have insulates them from the.