Thames & Kosmos ANiMALS User manual

EXPERIMENT MANUAL
Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | [phone] | www.kosmos.de
Thames & Kosmos, 301 Friendship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com
Thames & Kosmos UK Ltd, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2QZ, United Kingdom | 01580 212000 | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk
Experiments for Your Remote-Control
Animal Models
After building each model, set up your own experiments to answer the following
questions below. Or come up with your own questions to answer!
››› How long does it take for the animal model to move a distance of one meter?
Which animal model is the fastest and which is the slowest?
››› How far can the animal model move in 20 seconds?
››› Can the animal model walk uphill? Set up an inclined board and see if the
animal model can walk up the board. Try the board at different degrees of
steepness. Likewise, can the animal model walk downhill?
››› How does the incline affect the speed of the animal?
››› What happens when you play with the orientation of the shaft pins in the
medium gear wheels? Instead of puing the shaft pins in the correct holes as
indicated in the instructions, try puing them in the other holes. How does it
affect the animal model’s movement? Do the models still work?
››› How much weight can your animal model pull? Tie a string to the animal model
that can drag along the surface behind the model. Tie various weights, such as
metal hardware (nuts, bolts, etc) to the string. Is the model powerful enough to
pull the weights forward?
››› How does the material of the surface on which the animal model is moving
affect its movement? For example, for the walking animals, do they walk beer
on carpeting, hardwood floor, asphalt, or a lawn?
››› For the models that travel along a string: How does the degree to which the
string is taut affect the animal model’s movement? Can it move along a loose
string as well as it can move along a taut string?
››› Does the IR remote control work the same in a very dark room as in a normally
lit room? What about in a very bright room?
››› Can you control the model from another room, through walls, with the IR
remote control? How about through a window?
››› Can you imagine completely different types of bizarre mechanical animals that
you could make out of the building pieces in this kit? Can you combine the
models and plastic animal skins in new and funny ways to make creative
hybrid animals? How about a flying rabbit, a penguin with the head of a T. rex,
or an elephant with claws?
After you are finished with your experiments, draw conclusions from the observed
results of your experiments.
6 2 0 37 3 - 0 3 - 0 9 1116

620373-02-210616
Safety Information .................. Inside front cover
Kit Contents............................................................. 1
Table of Contents................................................... 1
Tips and Tricks ....................................................... 2
MODELS
Crab ................................................................................ 3
Orangutan .................................................................. 7
Tyrannosaurus Rex ................................................. 12
Penguin....................................................................... 17
Pterosaur.................................................................... 21
Rabbit.......................................................................... 25
Elephant ..................................................................... 29
Scorpion ..................................................................... 33
Publisher’s Information ...........Inside back cover
Additional Experiments ...................... Back cover
› › › TABLE OF CONTENTS
What’s inside your experiment kit:
1 2 3 7 854 6 9 10
11 12 13 14 17 1815 16 19 2120 22 23
24 25 26
29
27
28
You will also need:
6 x AAA batteries
(1.5-volt, type AAA/
LR03)
GOOD TO KNOW !
If you are missing any parts,
please contact Thames &
Kosmos customer service.
TIP!
You will find additional
information in the “Check it
out” sections on pages 6, 11,
16, 20, 24, 28, 32, and 36.
Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off
No. Description Qty. Item No.
1 String, cotton (200 cm) 1 R39-W85-200
2 Joint pin 8 1156-W10-A1R
3 Small gear 2 7026-W10-D2R
4Shaft plug 47026-W10-H1R
5 Shaft pin 4 7026-W10-J3R
6 Motor axle 2 7026-W10-L1W
7 Axle, 7 cm 1 7061-W10-Q1D
8 5-hole dual rod B 2 7026-W10-S2W
9 5-hole dual rod C 2 7026-W10-S3W
10 Square frame 2 7026-W10-V1W
11 3-hole cross rod 37026-W10-X1W
12 3-hole wide rounded rod 4 7404-W10-C1W
13 7-hole wide rounded rod 4 7404-W10-C2W
14 7-hole flat rounded rod 4 7404-W10-C3W
15 Curved rod 4 7061-W10-V1W
16 90-degree converter - X 4 7061-W10-J1W
17 Flat triangle 4 7128-W10-A2S
18 Button pin 6 7061-W10-E2W
19 Eye pin 4 7128-W22-2
20 Two-to-one converter 47061-W10-G1W
21 Nose piece 2 7402-W10-C2D
22 Short anchor pin 1 880-W10-M1B
23 Anchor pin 8 7402-W10-C1D
24 Small pulley 17344-W10-N3S
25 Anchor pin lever 1 7061-W10-B1Y
26 Medium gear with 4 holes 4 7346-W10-C1B
27 IR remote control unit 1 7336-W85-A1
28 IR motor unit 1 7336-W85-B1
29 Plastic die-cut sheets (6) 1 7336-PP
1
› › › KIT CONTENTS
Remote-Control Machines: Animals
RCM ANIMALS Manual Inside New.indd 1 6/21/16 9:54 AM

KEYWORD:
BIOMECHANICS
Biomechanics is the study of living
things and biological systems
according to the methods of
mechanics, which is the area of
physics concerned with objects,
forces, and movement. The models
in this kit are mechanical. They
certainly do not function exactly
the same way as the bones and
muscles of the animals they
represent. Rather, they are designed
to use mechanical elements to
mimic signature movements of the
animals.
Now try the experiments
on the back cover!
Done!
14
15
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The T. rex walks forward or
backward on two legs, balancing
on one foot at a time. Notice how it
shifts its weight from foot to foot.
The large foot pads give it enough
surface area to balance on, so it
does not topple over.
The leg rods are mounted to the
gears via holes that are off-center
on the gears. When the gears
rotate, their rotary motion is
transformed into a linear, up-
and-down motion of the legs.
2.
1.
15
Tyrannosaurus Rex

LEGGED ROBOTS
Like scorpions, legged
robots are able to move
with the help of legs.
Usually, they have four
or six legs so they don’t
tip over so easily.
Deadly Arachnids
Scorpions are arachnids, a huge class of joint-legged invertebrates called arthropods. All
arachnids have eight legs. There are over 100,000 species of arachnids including spiders,
scorpions, ticks, and mites.
STINGER
A scorpion’s tail has six
segments. The last segment,
called the telson, has a
stinging barb on it. Inside,
there are glands that
produce poisonous venom.
The venom paralyzes the
scorpion’s prey which
primarily consists of insects.
CLAWS AND LEGS
Like crabs, scorpions have chelae, or claws, on
their foremost appendages. They have four pairs of
symmetrical legs and a carapace — a large upper
exoskeletal shell. Like crabs, they have an
exoskeleton on the outside and muscles, nerves
and tissue on the inside. Scropions can move very
quickly to surprise, aack, and paralyze their prey.
36
CHECK IT OUT