Sonoran Desert

Try This

Cricket Thermometer

What it does

You can figure out the temperature by listening to a cricket's chirp.

What you need

• watch with a second hand
• cricket (find outside or buy from a live bait shop)
• jar
• nylon stocking
• rubber band

What to do

1. Catch or buy a cricket and put it in the jar.
2. Cut a piece of the stocking just larger than the mouth of the jar.
3. Cover the jar with the piece of stocking and secure it with the rubber band.
4. Count the number of times the cricket chirps in 15 seconds.
5. Add 40 to this number.
6. The number you get is the air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

What it's all about

Crickets chirp faster in warm weather than in cold weather. Temperature has a direct effect on many animals, making them more sluggish in the cold. Some animals even hibernate during the winter. Their bodies go into a slowed-down state that requires less energy than normal. Their heart and breathing rates slow, their body temperatures drop and they sleep, surviving off of stored body fat.

Remember, be sure you have a parent, teacher, or other adult help you!

Do you like catching bugs? Phoenix-area middle school students are trapping crickets and other critters to help ASU researchers.
Read about it.

Lots of animals slow down to survive in the cold. How do they handle extreme heat?
Read about it.