Mississippi Science ZOO.3.8
The Standard
- ZOO.3
- Students will understand the structure and function of phylum Mollusca, and how they adapt to their environments.
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to model the jet propulsion utilized by cephalopods in mechanical design of fluid systems (e.g., improving hydraulic systems). *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Phylum Mollusca
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students model how a squid pushes water out through its siphon to move. They change a nozzle, measure how their model moves, and use the results to improve it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can draw the water jet pointing backward and the squid moving forward. They can compare travel distances from repeated tests and explain whether a nozzle change helped.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think a squid moves forward by sucking water in. Others assume a narrower nozzle always means more travel, even when less water gets through. They may confuse a water jet with a hydraulic jack, which uses fluid pressure to push a piston.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Draw a raft with a rear-facing water jet and an arrow showing its movement. Name one nozzle change you would test and what you would measure.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a foam raft with a water-filled balloon and straw nozzle, then test its travel distance with two straw widths.
Ask: Why does the raft move forward when water shoots backward? Have students answer with two force arrows and one sentence.
Give pairs six raft-and-jet diagrams; have them draw each raft's movement arrow, then check against an answer key.
Show a hydraulic car jack diagram beside the raft model; have students label where fluid moves and what each system pushes.
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Printable ZOO.3.8 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- ZOO.2.8
Enrichment: Utilize an engineering design process to create a simulated nematocyst, including possible biomimicry use. *
- ZOO.6.8
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to model the water vascular system in hydraulic systems to meet a societal need. *
- ZOO.4.8
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to design and construct a system to utilize flatworms, roundworms, or annelids to meet a human need. *
- ZOO.9.8
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to utilize a bird’s flight adaptations in the development of a flying aircraft (e.g., glider, plane). *
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