Summary
A water strider skates on top of a pond without sinking and reads ripples to find trapped prey. Deep Look zooms in on the water-repelling legs and ripple-sensing that let it live on the surface film.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Tiny water-repelling hairs let a water strider stand on the surface film without breaking through. It also feels ripples through its legs, using them to locate struggling insects.
- How does a water strider keep from sinking?
- What information does it get by feeling ripples on the water?
- How do its legs help it both stand AND sense prey?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: surface tension, water-repelling, ripple, sense.
Try it: Gently float a paperclip on water using surface tension. Write how a strider's legs let it rest on the surface, too.