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The I Don't Know Group

Project by group ossstephensspring2017

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Explore Work on this next!
What do we know about plants from our experiences outside of school? What have we discovered in class and background research? What questions about plants interest us?
Research Question How do acid levels affect the growth and germination of plant seeds?
Predictions We predict that the higher levels of acid, the longer it will take for the seed to germinate, the shorter the height, and the shorter root growth
Experimental Design Set up growth Chambers (method A) Soak the seeds with water overnight and plant them (10 seeds to one dish, 3 dishes.) Make two mixtures of acid, (one dilute and one concentrated) and leave one chamber untouched. All seeds get the same amount of liquid, sunlight, and temperature daily, three...
Conclusion It can be concluded that the more acid pH 4 given, the taller the sprouts will grow, with weaker stems. The reason we came to this conclusion is because chamber three always had the tallest sprout, until the last day when it tied with chamber two. But chamber three did not have the strongest...
About this Project

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
has been updated by administrator
L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Chloe--

I just looked over your group's project Conclusion -- really interesting results!  The data you mentioned at the end are pretty convincing for an effect of pH on germination of radish seeds.  I also like that you ended up collecting some qualitative data about the strength of the stems.  It would have been neat to see some graphs to relate the overall patterns in the data instead of just the tallest plants (to show whether or not the tallest seedlings were outliers), but it looks like you didn't have the time to do that.  In a study looking at many different variables, even finding a single clear effect is noteworthy, and your group has definitely done that here.  :)

I enjoyed working with all of you, and I'm glad that you found my input useful.  I hope the rest of the school year goes well!

Chloe
said

On behalf of the entire group, we just wanted to say thank you for aiding us in our experiment. Your knowledge and insight really helped us along our way!

Chloe
updated the project info
L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi again I Don't Know Group...

I heard from your teacher that you will be analyzing data from the experiment and drawing conclusions about your study this week. Despite what some people might think, the science is not over when the experiment is finished!  The experiment is the "doing" phase of a study -- now you will be coming back to another "thinking" phase.  It's really in this final stage where scientists try to understand what happened in the experiment.  In a complex experiment, we may spend several weeks or even months analyzing data and putting our findings into context based on the work of previous studies that others may have carried out. 

I will be traveling most of the day Tuesday, but I will be sure to check in when I can.  I am interested to learn what you observed and what you think those observations mean!

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. 

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. 

Please come back and visit the PlantingScience Research Gallery Archive anytime (Found under Community>Projects) to view this project in the future. You can search the Archive by key word, team name, topic, or school name.

Good bye for now. 
Warm regards,
The PlantingScience team

L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Chloe--

Glad to hear that your troubleshooting on seed type is working out.  Some types of seeds can take 1-2 days to germinate, while others can take several weeks, and still others won't germinate at all unless they are exposed to the right environmental conditions like fire or frost.

If you find yourself still curious about quinoa, it might be helpful to look around online to see if you can learn more about what conditions the seeds find the most favorable.

Meanwhile, do you see any differences between the different treatments for your radish seeds?

Chloe
said

Unfortunatley, the quinoa seeds didn't want to grow at all, so we had to change to radish seeds. The radish seeds have all started to grow. 

L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Megan--

Very cool!  I've worked with several kinds of seeds in the past, but never quinoa.

How is the experiment going?  Are any of your seeds germinating yet?  Do you see any differences?

 

Megan
said

We are using quinoa seeds

L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Megan....

Exciting to see your team has started the experiment!  What sort of seeds are you using?

 

Megan
said

Day 1:

Chamber 1- 2mL of Water

Chamber 2- 2mL of Acid pH2

Chamber 3- 2mL of Acid pH4

Planted seed barely under surface. 

L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Chloe--

Thanks for the update.  I really like the clarifications/adjustments you have made to your experimental design here.  I'm curious -- how did you decide on the pH levels of 4.3 and 1?  Did it come from some measurements you did of the two concentrations of acid?  Did it come from some info you found in your textbook or online?

I look forward to hearing how things go as you get your experiment started -- very interested to see how the seeds do in these different treatments.

Have a good weekend!

 

 

Chloe
said

This is our updated procedure-

  1. We will ask our question “How do higher acid levels affect the germination and growth of quinoa seeds?”

  2. We will begin to test our hypothesis “The higher levels of acid, the longer it will take for the seed to germinate, and the longer it will take to grow.”

  3. Soak the seeds with water overnight.

  4. Put the quinoa seeds in our growth chambers. We will have three growth chambers, with ten seeds in each. We will be using our own method, using pots with soil.

  5. Make two mixtures of acid, (one dilute and one concentrated) and leave one chamber untouched.

  6. Chamber one will receive no acid, Chamber two will receive a mixture with a pH level of 4.3, and chamber three will receive a mixture with a pH level of 1. 2 and 3 will receive the same amount of acid daily, just with different pH levels.

  7. All chambers will get the same amount of liquid, sunlight, and soil daily.  

  8. As our experiment continues, we will measure the height of stem, and how long the seeds takes to germinate. (when sprout starts to show)



 

L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Megan & Chloe--

Thanks for the update!  It looks like you have sound research prediction, as well as a great foundation for the experimental design.  Do you know what pH level(s) you are aiming for in your experimental conditions to simulate acid rain?  I think it should be possible to find that information online.

One thing you might want to check before you set up your experiment is what the pH is for the three solutions you  plan to use (water, dilute acid, and concentrated acid).  This is because pH does not always correlate well with the concentration of the acid.  In other words, without checking this first, it might turn out that you test two different variables:  pH and concentration of the acid.  I can see you're already thinking about how to limit changes in other factors, so this might be a good one to think about too.

I am looking forward to hear more about that experimental design!

 

Megan
updated the project info
Megan
said

This is our rough outline of procedural steps:

  1. Set up growth Chambers (method A)

  2. Soak the seeds with water overnight and plant them (10 seeds to one dish, 3 dishes.)

  3. Make two mixtures of acid, (one dilute and one concentrated) and leave one chamber untouched.

  4. All seeds get the same amount of liquid, sunlight, and temperature daily, three groups, one neutral, one with a dilute mixture, one with a concentrated mixture

  5. Measure the height and root growth of all 3 groups, when sprout is visible, the seed has germinated
L.K. Tuominen
said

Research Post

It sounds like you already have a general idea of the direction you're going to take with your research project, studying pollution effects on seed germination and growth.  That's great!  Do you have a specific question in mind yet? 

I see that you're thinking both about acid rain and road salt as possible pollutants, both relevant topics.  When I'm trying to narrow down an idea, one thing I look at is how feasible it is to create a good test.  Do you have any ideas about how you will create "acid rain" in the lab?  What about road salt?  It might help to do some background research online, to see if you can get a specific pH range or salt concentration that might be useful to test.

Do you have an idea of what kind of seeds you would like to test yet?

L.K. Tuominen
said

Hi Logan, Megan, and Chloe--

It's good to meet you!  I'm Kal, your scientist mentor for this project.  I teach college biology courses at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota.  In my research, I study how plants use creative chemistry to survive and how that chemistry affects the way ecosystems work.  In my free time, I like to go cross-country skiing or to wander around in the woods.

I look forward to learning more from you and your project -- I'll make another post shortly that is focused more on that!

-Kal

L.K. Tuominen
joined the project
Chloe
said

Hello, my name is Chloe. I love reading, playing piano, and walking my dog. My group is interested in discovering the influence of acid rain in germination and growth of seeds, and understanding the effects of road salts in the germination and growth of seeds.

Megan
said

Hello L.K. Tuominen, my name is Megan. I like to try new things, reading and I love music. I am interested in learning about how acid rain effects the germination growth on a seed.

Logan
said

Hello L.K. Tuominen my name is Logan and i'm very interested in mechanics and i would perhaps like to learn more about how acid rain affects the germination and growth of seeds 

Logan
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Chloe
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Logan
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Chloe
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Phillippa Stephens
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PlantingScience Staff
said

 

Welcome!

I am happy to welcome you to this community of plant researchers. Your team has the opportunity to be mentored by a scientist to help you develop and perform your own research project. The mentor's role is to encourage and guide you through the scientific process of discovery. The more you share your ideas and research information online, the more your mentor can help.

 

Please introduce yourself and post some possible research topic ideas to get a conversation rolling.

 

These resources are available to help you get started:

 

Student Roadmap through a Science Investigation

 

Plant Investigation Toolkit

 

Best wishes as you start this scientific journey. We are all pleased to share this experience with you. Have fun!

 

Sincerely, The PlantingScience team

PlantingScience Staff
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PlantingScience Staff
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