STAGING
Why do your biceps bulge?

Why do your biceps bulge?
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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DISCUSS:

What do you think is going on inside your hands when you’re moving your fingers? Any ideas?

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DISCUSS:

Take a few moments to move the different parts of your body, and see if you can find all your joints.

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DISCUSS:

What do you think would actually be pulling on the strings?

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DISCUSS:

Describe how you might go about creating a robot hand that works just like yours.

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Anchor Connection

DISCUSS (1 of 2):

Look at the "Wonder" column of your class See-Think-Wonder chart. Have any questions been answered by this Mystery?

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Anchor Connection

DISCUSS (2 of 2):

What are the parts of the owl's claw? How do they work together to grab the mouse?

How are your hands similar to and different from an owl's claw?

Go to the next slide to revise your owl system model.

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skeleton


1 of 12

all of the bones of an animal, including humans
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bones


2 of 12

the hard parts inside many animals that help give their bodies shape
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joint


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a part of the body where two bones come together and can bend
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muscle


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a part of the body that attaches to bones and allows the body to move
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bicep


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a large muscle in the upper arm
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tendon


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a part of the body that attaches muscle to bone
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function


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what something does
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system


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a group of things that affect each other and function as a whole
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structure


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the specific form and shape of something
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dissect


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to take something apart to study it
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model


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a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with
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observe


12 of 12

to pay close attention to something
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Discussion & Video

The robot hand can't do everything your hand can do.

Ask your student to experiment and figure out what their fingers and hands can do that the robot fingers and hands can't. Ask them: If you wanted to make the robot hand more like your hand, what would you need to add to the robot hand?

Discuss this question as a class. After your discussion, watch the video on the next slide to hear some of the differences the Mystery Science team noticed.

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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
futuristic Android by Humanrobo , used under CC BY-SA
orange robot by Alexander Kozusev , used under CC BY
roomba stuck in chair by Geekzine Mexico , used under CC BY-SA
Atlas complex futuristic robot by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DARPA falling over by blue hippo films
Atlas robot by Boston Dynamics
firefighter and rescued child by SanchaiRat
girl lunging by axelle b
baby steps by Berenice Garcia , used under CC BY-SA
man running up hill by Alisha Vargas , used under CC BY-SA
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ricky Romero by Keith Allison , used under CC BY-SA
Portola Palace Stairs by Bernt Rostad , used under CC BY-SA
child riding a bike by Jerry , used under CC BY-SA
Sydney Gonzalez Gymnast by Ruben Gonzales
white android by Hairygael , used under CC BY-SA
duracell batteries by Anton Fomkin , used under CC BY-SA
sandwich by Seph Swain , used under CC BY-SA
Integrated Circuit by Tomasz Mikołajczyk
brain by Sanandros , used under CC BY-SA
brain and nerves by KRITRIM VAULT , used under CC BY
human hand by Johnny Magnusson
robot hand by Peter Ohlmus
human hand bones by OpenStax College
human skeleton by Scott Anselmo , used under CC BY-SA
seattle building by Seattle Municipal Archives
building skeleton by Les Chatfield , used under CC BY-SA
hand x-ray by Noah Weiss
arduino hand robot by Peter Ohlmus
fried chicken by Evan-Amos
white hen by Agricultural Research Service
white king salmon fillet by Isaac Wedin , used under CC BY-SA
Strip Steak by Ɱ , used under CC BY-SA
Activity
rock em sock em by DJ , used under CC BY-SA
Other
Unit: Bicep by daniel64
Credits
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students discover the mechanism by which their muscles control their bones to move their bodies. In the activity, Robot Finger, students construct a model of a human finger and observe how pulling on a string (a model for tendons) causes it to bend at the joints.
Preview activity
Number of students:

I have a Mystery Pack

Robot Finger Template printout 1 per student
Glue Sticks
1 glue stick per group
Rulers
1 ruler per student
Scissors
1 pair per student
Stack of Paper
Used as a soft surface so that students can make indented lines for easier folding. A notebook will also work.
Details
1 stack per student
Dot Stickers
We prefer stickers because they are easier to distribute in a classroom. Tape also works.
Details
1 sticker per student
Index Cards (3x5)
1 card per student
Paper Clips
Small or medium, but not jumbo sized paper clips.
Details
2 clips per student
String
18" per student
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own, but may need a partner to help with a few steps.

Prepare String

Each student will need one piece of string that is 18 inches long.

Extend this Activity and Create Robot Hands

In the Extensions, we have a fun engineering extension activity where students combine four robot fingers to create a robot hand. We recommend having each group of four students assemble a hand using the robot fingers they each made.

Check our "Extensions" for further instructions.

Exploration

25 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Extend this lesson

Vocabulary

Unit Reading

Activity

Mini-lessons

Activities

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline:
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