Teach a fish to...

​Can you subtract two numbers? For example, 4 - 1 = 3? Well, you're not the only one. Scientists from Germany have discovered that fish can do this too.

​Fun Fact Friday!

​The scientists studied fish to see if they could do simple math. They tested two kinds of fish: stingrays and cichlids.

The fish had to add or subtract the number one to and from a small number. If they got it right, they got a treat. It was a piece of tasty food.

​But how?

Let's say they wanted to show fish how to "add one." First, they showed a fish a card. The card had shapes on it. All the shapes were blue. (Yes, fish can see colors!) Let's say it had four shapes. Then, they showed the fish two new cards. One had three blue shapes. The other had five. The fish could touch one of the cards. Scientists gave a reward for touching the card with five shapes. There was no reward for touching the card with three shapes. Over time, the fish learned to add. They knew to touch the card with an extra shape. The scientists did the experiment again. But this time they used yellow shapes. The fish had to pick the card with one less shape. About half of the fish managed to learn the task. Most of them were better at addition though.

Fish might not need to know how to add or subtract. But they know about more and less. Fish need to know where there's more food. Or they look for larger groups of fish.

​Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2022 Washington Post. All rights reserved. Activities Related

​Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2022 Washington Post. All rights reserved. Activities Related

​Warm up time... Solve for x!

3X=24