The Mystery of the Bumblebee
Bumblebees should not be able to fly. That is what a scientist, named August Magnan, suggested. Magnan wanted to explain how bumblebees flew using math. However, when Magnan finished solving his math problems, the answers showed that bumblebees should not be able to fly. Their bodies are too big and their wings are too small, and when bumblebees fly, they don't always fly in a nice straight line. Sometimes they "bumble" around-bumping into flowers or other objects as they fly. As a result, many people believed that bumblebees were somehow special.
It may be true that bumblebees are special, but it is not because they can fly Just like Magnan, scientist Michael Dickinson wanted to understand exactly how bumblebees could fly. First, he examined special photographs of bumblebees while they were flying and looked closely at their wings in the photographs. He also created a large robotic bee wing. Dickinson used this special wing to help him understand exactly how a bumblebee's wing works. After a lot of research, Dickinson believed he understood how bumblebees could fly.
Some people believe that when an insect flies, their wings move up and down like a bird or that they fly the same way an airplane does. Neither of these is true. Dickinson discovered that bumblebees actually flap their wings back and forth very rapidly. Bumblebee wings sort of work like a helicopter blade. By flapping their wings very rapidly, bumblebees move the air in such a way that they are able to stay aloft.
Other studies have confirmed what Dickinson discovered. Researchers in China attached very tiny pieces of glass to some bumblebees. Then they watched how the light bounced off their wings. This showed exactly how the bumblebees moved their wings. Dickinson's ideas were proven correct, and now we know how bumblebees are able to fly.
1. In the passage, what causes light to bounce off the wings of a bumblebee?
OA. tiny pieces of glass
OB. movement of air
OC. objects in their path
OD. a photograph of their wings Reset Next​