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Biology · Zoology and biomechanics

Animal Movers

Slow a cheetah's gallop to a crawl, hop like a kangaroo, steer a bat by sound, and design an animal that the square-cube law cannot flatten.

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First lesson01 · Skeletons and leversSee all 24 lessons →

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The course

6 worlds · 24 lessons

World 1 · How Animals Move

FREEBones, muscles, gaits, leg length and the energy price of travel
  1. 01Skeletons and leversBones, joints and muscles · 10 min
  2. 02Walk, trot, gallopReading footfall patterns · 10 min
  3. 03Leg length and speedWhy big animals are faster (and slower) · 10 min
  4. 04The cost of getting aroundSwim, fly or run? · 10 min

World 2 · Built for Speed: the Cheetah

PROBody plan, double-suspension gallop, heat and elastic legs
  1. 01A body made for sprintingCheetah anatomy · 9 minPRO
  2. 02The double-suspension gallopFlight twice per stride · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Why the sprint is shortPower, heat and what we know · 10 minPRO
  4. 04Horses and springsElastic legs · 10 minPRO

World 3 · Hopping, Slithering, Swimming

PROA kangaroo's springs, a snake's friction, a fish's waves and a gas-filled float
  1. 01Kangaroo: the bouncing springHopping economy · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Snakes without legsFour ways to slither · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Fish: swimming with wavesBody and tail · 10 minPRO
  4. 04Staying neutralThe swim bladder · 10 minPRO

World 4 · How Birds and Bats Fly

PROLift, flapping, hollow bones, one-way breathing and wings made of skin
  1. 01Wings and liftAir under the airfoil · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Flapping flightDown, up and hover · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Built to flyBird bodies · 11 minPRO
  4. 04Bat wingsHands covered in skin · 10 minPRO

World 5 · Seeing with Sound and Other Senses

PROEchoes, wavelength, a bat's hunt and senses for heat, electricity and magnetism
  1. 01Pulses and echoesDistance from time · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Wavelength and detailWhat a bat can resolve · 10 minPRO
  3. 03The hunt sequenceSearch, approach, buzz · 10 minPRO
  4. 04Senses we do not haveHeat, electricity, magnetism · 10 minPRO

World 6 · Size, Scale and Warm Blood

PROWhy size changes everything, and how to design an animal that can live
  1. 01The square-cube lawArea grows by L², weight by L³ · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Why there are no giant antsLimits of body plans · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Warm-blooded vs cold-bloodedEndotherms and ectotherms · 11 minPRO
  4. 04Design an animalEverything at once · 12 minPRO
Animal Movers — interactive 3D lab · Novareka