Planting Science - Projects: Planting Science M.A.P.S.
You are here: Home / Groups / DMS Gray Fall 2019 / Projects / Planting Science M.A.P.S.

Planting Science M.A.P.S.

Project by group dmsgrayfall2019


Info

Explore They need sun, nutrients, air, and water to grow. They have leaves that photo-synthisize and create food / energy. They can become flowers, vegetables, fruits, or trees. They start as a seed and grow into their larger form. They have roots that take nutrients from the ground. I watered too much,...
Research Question 1. How does the type of liquid affect how fast the seed germinates? 2. How does the amount of sun affect how long it takes the seed to germinate? 3. How does the amount of air in the plant's environment affect how long it takes the plant to germinate
Predictions A, P & S = If 4 plants are watered with different liquids, then the plant being “watered” with water will grow the fastest. M = if all the plants are being tested then the plant that is being watered with sprite will germinate fastest
Experimental Design Gather Materials SOAK the paper towels with different liquids (lemonade, sprite, water, and milk) Place ten corn seeds on each paper towel Put the paper towels into 4 separate petri dishes Wait for seeds to germinate Record how long it took for the seeds to germinate
Conclusion Water sped up the germination process more than any other liquid. Though milk was also decent, it molded most of the plants, and rendered them useless. Lemonade and sprite seemed to have no effect on the growth, so those liquids are not useful. Water was the best liquid to use because it...
About this Project

This team came up with a creative investigation question that tested their prior knowledge, and showed persistence and curiosity as they figured out how to test their question. They communicated well with their mentor, especially when working to design their investigation. They showed great...

Updates

Get to know your team’s scientist mentor, who will encourage and guide you through the scientific process of discovery. The more you share your ideas and research info, the more your mentor can help. You may also hear from a scientist mentor liaison who will be helping all the teams in your class.
PlantingScience Staff
updated the project info
PlantingScience Staff
updated the project info
PlantingScience Staff
has been updated by administrator
PlantingScience Staff
has been updated by administrator
PlantingScience Staff
has been updated by administrator
PlantingScience Staff
has been updated by administrator
PlantingScience Staff
has been updated by administrator
PlantingScience Staff
has been updated by administrator
PlantingScience Staff
said
Farewell and Best Wishes
As this research project is now in the final stages of wrapping-up, we wish to thank everyone who participated in this inquiry; the students, mentors, teachers and others behind the scenes. We appreciate all of your efforts and contributions to this online learning community.

Scientific exploration is a process of discovery that can be fun! There are many unanswered questions about plants just waiting for new scientists to consider, investigate, and share.

After the end of the session, we will be updating the platform and archiving groups and projects, after which time new updates/posts will not be able to be added to projects or groups. Please come back and visit the PlantingScience Project Gallery anytime to view this project in the future. You can search the Gallery by keyword, team name, topic, or school name.

Good bye for now.
Warm regards,
The PlantingScience team
PlantingScience Staff
said
Looks like you are in the final stages of your projects.
It’s great to see that teams from your school are wrapping up and posting conclusions. Enjoy the final stages of your project, and feel free to post any final comments or questions you have for your mentors.
Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

 

Thank you Savannah, Peyton, Matthew and Armond for your feedback and  kind words.  You worked well as a team and were great at tweaking your project to make it better.  You were also a fun group to mentor.  I hope that you will enjoy plants and learning about plants from now on. :)

Have fun in the next upcoming learning opportunities in the 7th grade and in the years ahead.

Plants are so cool,

Donna Hazelwood, Ph.D.

Savannah S
said

Thank you so much Ms. Hazelwood for your time and input on our lab! You really helped us tweak our lab to make it better.

Peyton S
said

Thank You so much for your time as my mentor.

Matthew W
said

Ok sounds good! Also thank you for you advice and time.

Armond T
said

Thank you for using your time to help us with this project!

PlantingScience Staff
joined the project
Savannah S
said

Okay will do, thank you so much! 

Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

Thank you Armond for posting an updated graph for the team.  You are on the right track. Adding the key is good.   A bit of a tweak on the key would make it better.  The key can be made clear by simply defining A and B. For example, if A is indoor, then the key would be something like

                        A      Indoor, any type of covering that was used, or none

                        B     Outdoor, any type of covering that was used, or none

For the Y axis, would you please provide a bit of clarification for the units of measure for Time to Germinate. For example, days or hours or weeks.  In addition, would you please clarify whether the results for length of time to germinate averages or the range of time during which seeds germinated?  Do you have a record of the number is seeds for each treatment that germinated?

Keep up the good work and have fun! 

Plants are so cool,

Donna Hazelwood, Ph.D.

 

 

 

Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

Thank you Armond for posting an updated graph for the team.  You are on the right track. Adding the key is good.   A bit of a tweak on the key would make it better.  The key can be made clear by simply defining A and B. For example, if A is indoor, then the key would be something like

                        A      Indoor, any type of covering that was used, or none

                        B     Outdoor, any type of covering that was used, or none

For the Y axis, would you please provide a bit of clarification for the units of measure for Time to Germinate. For example, days or hours or weeks.  In addition, would you please clarify whether the results for length of time to germinate averages or the range of time during which seeds germinated?  Do you have a record of the number is seeds for each treatment that germinated?

Keep up the good work and have fun! 

Plants are so cool,

Donna Hazelwood, Ph.D.

 

 

 

uploaded Armond - Planting Science Graph.xlsx in project files
Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

 

Thank you for posting your graph and, Peyton, thank you for posting your rationale.  Good start.

 

Graphs tell a story so that the reader is given a clear concise summary of your experiment.  In science, the reader is guided through your study and is given enough information to understand the experiment and results.  If units were added to the Y axis, “Time to Germinate”, the reader would get the story clearly and concisely.  

Armond T
updated the project info
Peyton S
said

The ingredients in the Sprite and Lemonade hindered compared to the Water. I think this is because of the sugar in those to liquids which made it so that the sugar got into the seeds and kind of "killed" the seeds.

Armond T
uploaded Armond Tavelli - Planting Science Graph.xlsx in project files
Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

Thank you Team M.A.P.S..  Well done.  To give your conclusion a bit of impact, making use of your measurements is the next step in the world of science.  Will you be measuring the seeds and the new growth?  Will you be recording length, color and whether the new growth emerged from similar locations on the seed? If you get a chance, look up the ingredients for Sprite and lemonade. Look for similar and different ingredients.  If you make a list of ingredients for both Sprite and lemonade, we can visit about the effects that the ingredients might have on seed germination.  Here is a fun hint for you.  In order to germinate a seed needs to first absorb water.  So, do the ingredients in Sprite and/or lemonade help or hinder the absorption of water by seeds?

Have fun putting all of your information together to make a cool story to share.  Scientists do this  for each experiment.  :)

Plants are so cool,

Donna Hazelwood, Ph.D.

Armond T
said

Top Left  Sprite

Top Right  Water

Bottom Left  Lemonade

Bottom Right  Milk

Armond T
uploaded IMG_20191018_093256.jpg in project files
Armond T
said

Based on our results we believe that water is the fastest growing liquid.

 

Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

Thank you for the update, spokesperson Armond.  With only two days left, you are correct, continuing with your current set-up is a reasonable course of action. Keep close watch on your seeds and look for changes in size of the seeds that have not yet germinated.  Are they larger, same size, or smaller than seeds that are dry and have not been subject to water or any other treatment. Are the seeds firm or soft? Changes in color?This information may be of interest.

Good luck on your project. Have fun.

Plants are so cool,

Donna Hazelwood, Ph.D.

Armond T
said

there are also only two days to experiment left so changing the liquids now could mess with results

Armond T
said

OK. We'll think about dilutions. So far neither sprite nor lemonade seeds have sprouted, so we may end up doing those.

Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S.,

Thank you for your update, Armond.  Sounds good.  Good news that the seeds treated with milk have been discarded. What do you think about treating seeds with,say,1/10 strength Sprite or lemonade to allow for another treatment and to compare full strength with 1/10 strength.  A reminder that  dilutions are additive, so a 1/10 strength solution would be 1 part Sprite or lemonade plus 9 parts water, 1+9 =10.  You could also try 1/100 strength which would be 1 part Sprite of lemonade plus 99 parts water. 1+99=100.  Might something like this fit in with the design for your study?

I am impressed with your problem solving about getting photos using chrome books.  Please let me know how that works out.

Enjoy your study. Have fun.

Plants are so cool,

Donna Hazelwood

Armond T
said

we have 10 seeds for each liquid, the milk seeds have started to mold (so we threw them out), we're thinking about water being a sort of control, and we're trying to record all quantitative and qualitative data possible, though pictures maybe hard considering we're using hard-to-position chromebooks.

Donna Hazelwood
said

Hi Team M.A.P.S. Project,.

I am excited to have the chance to visit with you and serve as a mentor for your team. I am a Professor Emerita of Biology (retired) from Dakota State University in rural South Dakota. We have two stoplights in town and live about 40 miles or so from the nearest Walmart.   

I love plants My research interests involve interactions of plants and microbes.

You are moving right along with your project.  I really like your idea bout testing the effects of different liquids on seed germination.  May I hop right in with a few suggestions?   

  • I like that you are using liquids that are easily available for your study.  You might give a careful consideration to the use of milk.  Do you know what happens to milk if it is left out of the refrigerator for a few days?  What do you think might be happening with the seeds that are being treated with milk that has been left out of the refrigerator for a few days?
  • If you have an opportunity to use more than one plant seed per study, that would allow you to observe and compare seeds within a given condition, called a treatment.  Plants, like people can and do vary, so one seed may not give you enough information about what other seeds of the same type and under similar conditions might do.  Having more than one seed per treatment is called a replicate or a rep.  Very cool to check your reps for variation within the rep and then among the other reps.  Plenty to observe and write down, and photograph, too. 
  • In science every study includes a control group, or control for short.  The control has the same number of reps as the treatment groups, and is usually kept “happy”.  The control is something reliable and serves as a comparison for the treatment groups.  The control is often the middle range where you expect that the seeds will grow and germinate and the treatments can be above and below that.  In your case what do you think might be a good control?
  • All information tells us something, even if your data (results) don’t point in one direction or another.  We say data are inconclusive, and usually brainstorm on how we would set up another study to find out what may be happening.  This is exciting, too.  A good study leaves you with more questions and wondering “What if” . All sports involve a lot of “what if”.
  • Finally, sometimes other factors (confounding factors) can influence on your experiment.  For example, in South Dakota, in Sept. we had a flood that closed roads and schools.  The electricity was off for most of the town, about 36 hours for my area, and 4-5 days for other areas.  So, any and all of those could have affected experiments.  These would be considered confounding factors. Make sense?  Most confounding factors are not so dramatic, but can affect your study.

So, Team M.A.P.S., please brainstorm and, because you understand the importance of being clear, ask as many questions as you like.  I am here as your mentor, so ask away.

Please also tell me a bit about your selves.  What do you like to do and what are your favorite seeds to eat.

 

Enjoy the fun of doing a scientific study with seeds.  Carefully observe and write everything down.  Take plenty of photos. Hint: a ruler is very useful to include in your photos.  What to observe, color, size, texture and anything else you notice.  Furry stuff is mold. So. if you see furry stuff, out of consideration for anyone who might have allergies to mold, place in a plastic bag and discard. 

If you see something coming out of the seed.  Carefully observe and record.  What do you think the first thing to emerge from a seed might be? The shoot (part that grows out of the ground0, or the root, (art that grows below ground)?

I love your idea about testing common liquids on house plants.  What about taking cuttings, ask for permission), placing the cuttings in a container and adding liquid of your choice, maybe skipping milk here.  Have fun.  Doing the extra is amazingly creative.  Go for it!

 

Plants are cool,

Donna Hazelwood, Ph.D.

 

 

 

I am excited to join as mentor for your team. 

Donna Hazelwood
joined the project
Armond T
said

We didn't think about the plant in their environment too much, but we think it would be interesting to see (however unrelevant) if growing household plants could be hastened by using odd liquids 

Armond T
said

We chose milk and lemonade to get a wider variety of liquids to see what kind of nutrients plants absorb best

Armond T
said

Seeds dampened with water are nearly all sprouted

 

Armond T
said

I was wondering about sprite because I've heard it makes Christmas trees last longer 

Evelyn Gray
said

Hello Planting Science MAPS! I am excited to introduce Donna Hazelwood to you. She will be jumping on as your mentor for the remainder of the project. Donna is mentoring one other team at DeWitt and is excellent. 

Please welcome her and answer any questions she has as she gets to know your investigation!

said

Hi, team!

Good job on completing the info sections of the project! I have a suggestion for you guys, consider yourselves as a plant. Where would you find sprite or milk for you to feed on? I would encourage you to think like a plant, soda or milk are for humans, and may not be very relevant when we want to understand more about plants and how they grow. Let me know your thoughts!

Aline

Armond T
updated the project info
Armond T
said

were thinking about using sprite, water, lemonade, and milk 

    Evelyn Gray
    said

    Can you think how these liquids might be similar/different from what a plant might experience in its natural environment? Reflecting on our mission of a sprout farm, will these liquids increase our germination rate?

Armond T
updated the project info
Armond T
replaced project picture
Armond T
updated the project info
Armond T
replaced project picture
Armond T
updated the project info
Ghulam Abbas
joined the project
said

Hi, team!

I am Aline, I am a PhD student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and I am interested in plant development and physiology. I like origami, biking, and cooking. 

I will be your guys' liaison and temporary mentor. I am very pleased to meet you guys!

I loved your questions! What kind of liquids are you guys planning on testing on question 1?

LogoWithTags.png

f_logo_RGB-Black_72.png 2021_Twitter_logo_-_black.png icons8-mail-30.png

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

GET INVOLVED AS A TEACHER  *   GET INVOLVED AS A SCIENTIST MENTOR

SUPPORT US!   *   TERMS OF USE

NSF_Logo.jpg This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2010556 and #1502892. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Copyright © 2022 PlantingScience -- Powered by HUBzero®, a Purdue project