Biology help, what does this mean?

Question

We did a lab with pill bugs, where we had 2 connected containers, one had water in it, and the other didn't, they all went to the side with the water.

One of the question is "Would you describe the pill bugs' response to the water as kinesis or taxis?"

What does that even mean?

Answer 1

Taxis is a behavioral response in which the organism moves in a directed way, usually toward or away from the stimulus.  For example, when female moths release pheremones into the environment, male moths react to the chemicals by moving toward the area of greater concentration.  Another example would be plants orienting themselves toward areas with greater amounts of sunlight.

Kinesis, on the other hand, is a behavioral response in which the organism moves in a completely random way.  The best example of this is when cockroaches scatter when you turn on a light.  In response to the light stimulus, the cockroaches run in a completely undirected way.  There is no relationship between the direction of the stimulus and the direction of motion.

Answer 2

my lego taxi is smarter than you!