| Explore | Over the past week, each of us observed a total of 6 trees in our neighborhood. We measured each tree's circumference and used this information to calculate the diameter. The calculated diameters were then inputted, along with the type of tree, into a website that calculates the monetary benefits of each tree(all of this information is on a spreadsheet, will upload when we can). These benefits were separated into several groups: stormwater, property value, energy, air quality, CO2. Overall, there seemed to be no real trends among the relationship between tree diameter and the benefits, however, this is likely due to the presence of many different kinds of trees affecting the amount of benefits. |
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| Research Question | Does the location of a tree (curbside, private homes, parks etc) affect the health (number of cankers, scars, leaf discoloration, etc) of a tree? We decided on this question since the trees observed last week are in varying areas (backyards, parks) and allow for easily obtainable observations. |
| Predictions | The location of the tree does impact its health. Trees in private homes will be healthier than trees in the park and curbside tree will be the least healthy compared to the park and private home trees. Private home trees are healthier due to being in private property, so they will be better taken care of and there is less possibility of people messing with the trees. Both curbside and park trees have the problem of people messing with them, however curbside trees tend to have less soil around them which could possibly interfere with its intake of nutrients. |
| Experimental Design | Our plan is to find trees around our area in different locations and observe their health. The independent variable we are testing is the tree's general locations such as private homes, parks and curbside areas. The dependent variable we are measuring and observing is if the tree has any health defects such as cankers and leaf discoloration more specifically we will measure the size of the canker (its width and length) and the ratio of the discolored leaves found on the tree. We are keeping the overall location of the trees constant as all trees are found in residential areas. All data and observations will be kept in tables and pictures (close up and full expanse pictures). |
| Investigation Theme | TREE |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| Teacher Name | Crystal Davis |
| School Name | California Academy of Mathematics and Science |
| Session | Spring 2021 |