Key Point #3
Eating too much sugar can cause weight gain, and weight gain can increase someone’s risk for developing diabetes.
Key Point #2
To answer a research question, you can design and carry out an experiment, collect data, analyze the results, and use your new information to make conclusions and revise your ideas.
Scientists use computer models to do science experiments. The students designed experiments on sand rats to see if changing the rats’ diet affected whether or not they got diabetes. Students asked questions, planned an experiment, collected data, and searched it for patterns to learn something new about diabetes. They found out that in sand rats, just like in humans, a sugar-heavy diet can increase the risk for diabetes, but genes can also increase risk of diabetes even with a healthy diet. People with a family history of diabetes need to be even more careful with their diet. We can change our habits, but we cannot change our genes.
Key Point #1
Both genetic factors in the body and environmental factors in the world affect the growth and health of a living thing.
Lesson 5: How do Monique's characteristics and environment affect her diabetes?
How can we use models to understand questions?
L5: How can you control your health?
Food, physical activity and mindfullness
Be mindful
Next time you eat, use all your senses to experience the food. How does it smell, feel, taste, sound, and look? Can you describe the food using words from each of your senses?
Ask a research question about something in your house, and try an experiment to answer it. Think about what was discussed in today's lesson.
Example #1
What will and won’t stick to a magnet?
Example #2
What happens if I soak a penny in different liquids like soda, water, vinegar, or soap?
Get active You can experiment with your health as well. Try exercising right after you wake up for a few days and in the evening for a few days. Which works better for you?
Eat right There is a lot of sugar in drinks like soda, juice, and milk. For every drink you have that is not water, drink a glass of water as well.
GOAL: Learning to question things in your environment to learn something new!
L5 Explore More: Asking Scientific Questions
How can questions help us understand how things work?