Mouse Pregnancy ExperimentTopic:The weight gain of the female mouse and the fetus during pregnancy.Problem:At what rate does a mouse gain weight during pregnancy?Information general:• Unlike humans, mice bear numerous young.• The fetus grows by cells that divide at an approximately exponential rate.• The fetus develops most during the first trimester.Hypothesis:If a healthy female mouse remains pregnant, excluding the weight she gains simply by growing up, will gain slightly less weight at an exponential rate. Operational Definitions: • Pregnant The state in which an animal has developing young growing in the uterus. • Exponential rate The rate at which a number increases if exponents are applied. It increases rapidly.• The weight acquired by growing up or The weight that a being acquires without any external cause.• Mickey Mouse PupsoExperimental project:N/AMaterials:• A fertile female mouse• A fertile male mouse• A 100 gram scale• Pencil and paper for recording the data• Mouse care materialso Three mouse cages Mouse sheets Food Water bottle for small animalso Exercise wheel Any toys/accessories Lab safety and protocol:• MAKE SURE YOU FIND LOVING HOMES FOR ALL BABY MICE!• BE HUMANE WITH MICE! • Do not pick up the pregnant mouse by the belly or tail, the tail may fall off • Have sex with the mice as soon as they are weaned. Separate the males into another cage (not the one with the father).• Handle mice with care, they may bite Do not squeeze Do not grab Do not dangle by the tail unless necessary • Do not allow pregnant mice to smell any male mice other than his or her partner will abort his or her litterVariables and constants...... middle of paper ......how much weight he or she gains/losses and estimates how much the babies actually weighed. The most insignificant change I would make is to have a younger male mouse. I was hoping to know: • If the female's weight gain is constant throughout the period. • The rate of increase • The ability of the uterus to expand • I wanted to know what percentage of the female's weight gain came from babies, how much from the placenta and amniotic fluids, and how much weight the mother's own body gained. I couldn't verify this because if the babies were handled too early, the mother would reject them and eat them. I actually learned: • Even though mice reproduce so quickly, it is still not 100% certain that pregnancy will occur • This is because mice are so small that daily weight gain is, on average, about 6 % of their total body weight.• Stress and environment greatly influence weight