It is 6:00 PM and the sun is due west of the hive. A honeybee has just returned to its hive from a patch of flowers that are due north of the hive. Which of the following best describes the type of waggle dance that this bee should perform? Note: The waggle run is the straight part of the dance.

Question

A.  The waggle run should be straight down the vertical axis.
B.  The waggle run should be straight up the vertical axis.
C.  The waggle run should be 90° to the left of the vertical axis.
D.  The waggle run should be 90° to the right of the vertical axis.
E.  The waggle run should be 45° to the right of the vertical axis.


Clarify question:
What is the key concept addressed by the question?

What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content:
What do you already know about the waggle dance in bees? What other information is related to the question? 


Choose Answer:
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?


Reflection on Process:
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
 

Answer 1

D.  The waggle run should be 90° to the right of the vertical axis.


Clarify question:
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
The question is asking about the waggle dance exhibited by bees.

What type of thinking is required?
This is an apply level question. You are being presented with a situation. Using what you know about the bee communication you can explain what information the bee is try to covey via the dance.


Gather Content:
What do you already know about the waggle dance in bees? What other information is related to the question? 
This question comes from the section of the textbook that discusses the details of bee communication. The bee dance conveys the information about the source of the pollen relative to the position of the sun. If a bee dances along the vertical axis it means the flowers are towards the sun. Dances to the right signal a deflection to the right relative to the sun and dances to the left mean a left deflection. If the sun is due West and the flowers are due North, then what is difference in degree from West to North?


Choose Answer:
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
If you faced West, due North would be 90 degrees to your right.


Reflection on Process:
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
Did you get the question right? You needed to take what you know about bee dances and apply it to this situation to come up with the answer. You also needed to figure out what information is relevant and what is not.