How Does A Fish Breathe?

Today in 4D, we conducted an experiment to answer the following question:

How is the breathing rate of a fish affected by different environments? 

Mrs. Alaniz brought in some goldfish. 

 We were very surprised to see them, but we are always ready for new things!
In science, we have been learning about adaptations (body parts or behavior that allow an animal to survive in its environment). 
To solve the problem, we observed our goldfish. They swam slowly, staying at the bottom of the "aquarium".  Then we counted the number of gulps the fish took for 30 seconds.  We did three trials and took the average using a chart and a stopwatch.

We wanted to see if the goldfish would breathe the same if it was agitated, so we moved the aquarium gently and counted the gulps again.  The number was higher!
Finally, Mrs. Alaniz gave us a bag of ice. We put the ice in the aquariums, waited five minutes, and counted the gulps again. (We also repeated the trial and took the average.) This time the rate was slower!

Our conclusions:
Moving the water causes the fish to breathe rapidly, while cooling the water causes the fish to breathe more slowly.
This behavior is an inherited trait.

Our vocabulary words today:   respiration and agitation.