University of St Thomas
Study the effect of different substances on the nervous system of planarians
Laboratory information
Planarians are flatworms that can be used to study the effect of different substances on the nervous system. In this remote laboratory, you can choose the solution into which to place the planarian worms. The solutions are aqueous and have different exitatory or inhibitory substances, with different concentrations, dissolved into them.
In this version of the planarians laboratory there is a manual tally counter that students can use to count the number of times the planarians cross a line (to estimate their activity level).
What students do
Ready lesson plans
Preview classroom-ready activities that guide students through the real laboratory.
Short lower-secondary activity: students open Planarians in detective mode, count line crossings for control E and two mysteries, identify the high- and low-movement mysteries, and write a cautious evidence-based conclusion.
Available experiments
Open Planarians through LabsLand.
Teaching resources
Description of the planarian laboratory and some activities that can be carried out in it.
Open resourceDescription of the planarian laboratory and some activities that can be carried out in it. This document includes questions and answers.
Open resourceExplanation of how the planarians laboratory can be used and questions.
Open resource