| Explore | Based on our experiences from outside of school we know that plants, on a daily basis, use photosynthesis and respiration to survive in their rooted place. In class we discovered that they can get affected by diseases really easily due to being rooted in place, and with some background research we also inquired about how pathogens work. Some questions about plants that interest us include: How does the plant immune system work? Does it only consist of how their cells have a cell wall? Does it have anything to do with the Xylem or Phloem? Observations: Day 1: Potato was hard, light brown color, smelled like a regular potato, and did not have any discoloration around the punctured points. Day 2: Potato was hard, still the same color, and did not have any discoloration. Same as day 1 Day 3: Potato is starting to become softer and darker around the punctured points. Starting to smell stronger Day 4: Potato is soft but still not mushy. The smell is starting to get bad. The ends are starting to become darker Day 5: Potato is becoming softer and darker around the punctured points. Smell is starting to worsen and be more unpleasant.4.8 in Day 6: Starting to become mushy and darker. Smell is about the same, 4.8 in Day7: Potato is starting to get mushy around the punctured points but the rest of the potato is just a bit soft. The smell is stronger than before and is very unpleasant. 4.75 in We would also like to note that we kept the potato at room temperature the entire time (74 degrees Fahrenheit) |
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| Research Question | "How does the size of the exposure of the potato affect how the inoculation proceeds?" Our independent variable is the size of the "wound" and the dependent variable is the time it takes for the potato to rot, color change, texture of the potato, or size of the infection. Our control would be the same size cut/wound that would not be inoculated for each type of wound. |
| Predictions | The bigger the wound the faster the rotting process. The color would probably be darker and darker depending on how the cut was made but also the size of the color change would increase with the depth of the cut. |
| Experimental Design | Take one potato that has not been rinsed and place it into a plastic bag with 50 mL of water. Remove as much air from the bag as possible. Leave the potato in the bag for 7 days and collect the fluid in the bag in a closed jar. This will be used as the inoculum. Take 4 potatoes and assign a type of cut to each potato. The type of cut could be a thin slice, a deeper slice, a peeled section of the potato, and a puncture. Rinse each potato and then place it into a 10% bleach solution for 30 minutes. Let the potatoes dry before moving to the next step. Give each potato their designated cut twice on opposite ends. Brush the inoculum using a paintbrush onto one of the cuts on each of the potatoes. Do not inoculate the other cut on the potato. The controls for each would be the cut that is not inoculated. Place all of the potatoes into their own plastic bag. Record the type of cuts on all potatoes, the size/color of the infected area, and the texture for 2 weeks. Our independent variable is the type of cut given to the potato and our dependent variables are the color, texture, and size of the infected areas. |
| Investigation Theme | PGST |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| School Name | California Academy of Mathematics and Science |
| Session | Fall 2020 |