independent learning Log 1 by Lee Dominic

link: https://youtu.be/9f_ztTlZV58

what I did: I was very bored at night and did not feel like sleeping. I then started to notice something that not many people would pay much attention to. That was the cicadas. I began to wonder how they make a sound even louder than the sound that humans could make. While I was looking through YouTube, I happened to find a video on it by National Geographic.

What I learnt: I learnt that the cicadas are able to make such a loud sound due to their hollow abdomens. They have a tymbal which rapidly contracts about 300-400 times a second while their hollow abdomen amplifies the sound like how a guitar works. They create these loud sounds to attract a mate before they die.

Summary: cicadas are able to create such loud noises due to their hollow abdomen and use it to attract a mate.


New word: Tymbal- a corrugated exoskeletal structure used to produce sounds in insects.

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