Measurement (time): Leafcutter Ants
The Problem
The ‘Day in a Life’ information (opposite) shows just how busy leaf cutter ants are cutting and carrying leaf parts.
Use the information to answer the following questions:
- How far must the ant travel from leaf to fungus and back again?
- How long does it take the ant to remove a leaf part, take it to the fungus and return to the original leaf?
- How many round trips will the ant make in 4 hours?
- How long will it take the ant to take 10 leaf parts to the fungus and how far will it have travelled?
Compare each answer and how you arrived at it to a partner’s. What was similar? What was different?
Did you know?
The leaf cutter ant has a specially adapted jaw that ‘saws’ off pieces of plant. Its chainsaw mandibles vibrate a thousand times per second!
Visualising the Problem and Getting Started
