The Biomechanics of Getting Around  

In this lesson, learners use a Flash animation running in a browser to study how animals and humans move. Students examine images captured by Eadweard Muybridge in the late nineteenth century; by starting, slowing, and stopping the animation, learners gain valuable insights into biomechanics of bipeds and quadrupeds. 

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Relevant standard(s) 

NSES Standard: Science as Inquiry, Grades 5-8, Content Standard A
• USE APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO GATHER, ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET DATA: The use of tools and techniques, including mathematics, will be guided by the question asked and the investigations students design. The use of computers for the collection, summary, and display of evidence is part of this standard. Students should be able to access, gather, store, retrieve, and organize data, using hardware and software designed for these purposes.

NSES Standard: Life science, Grades 5-8, Content Standard C
• Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function. Important levels of organization for structure and function include cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, whole organisms, and ecosystems. (Structure and Function in Living Organisms).

NSES Standard: Science and Technology in Society, Grades 5-8, Content Standard E
• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.

NSES Standard: Science in Personal and Social Perspective, Grades 5-8, Content Standard F
• Societal challenges often inspire questions for scientific research, and social priorities often influence research priorities through the availability of funding for research.

NSES Standard: History and Nature of Science, Grades 5-8, Content Standard G
• Many individuals have contributed to the traditions of science. Studying some of these individuals provides further understanding of scientific inquiry, science as a human endeavor, the nature of science, and the relationships between science and society.

NETS Standard: Grades 6-8
• Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research.