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Have
you
noticed that
ants play
“follow the
leader” when
they find food?
This activity
shows why.
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HERE’S
WHAT YOU NEED
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A sheet of
paper about 16“ square
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A pencil
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Scissors
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Masking tape
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Ants
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Honey
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HERE’S
WHAT YOU DO
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1.
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Draw a circle about 5“ across.
Around this circle, draw four more circles, each one an inch
larger, so that you have a circle surrounded by four circles.
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2.
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Cut along each line.
Remove the middle circle. You now have four rings.
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3.
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Lightly tape the rings
together.
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4.
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Find some ants outdoors.
Place a drop of honey near the ants.
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5.
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Surround the honey drop
with the rings. Tape down the outer and inner edges of the
rings.
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6.
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Soon after the first ant
tastes the honey, you’ll have a trail of ants from
the anthill to the honey. Notice that all the ants are following
the same path. The first ant made a scent trail that the
other ants follow.
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7.
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Remove the innermost
ring to take away the part of the scent trail. How do the
ants react?
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8.
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After the ants have found
their way to the honey again, remove the next two inner rings.
How do the ants react to the bigger gap in their trail?
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