| Explore | Cells absorb water at different rates, and the celery will bend as more water is added because the cells are taking up more space. |
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| Research Question | Will cutting the celery in a different way with the addition of having the water in room temperature water cause the celery to bend? |
| Predictions | The celery that is cut up in the middle with the smallest width will be the curliest. We will get the curliest celery by having more cells that absorb water quickly open to the water. |
| Experimental Design | Celery – dimensions 6in by .25in and another with .15in 1 cup of water Control Variable: Uncut 6in long piece of celery Independent Variable: Width of the celery Dependent Variable: How much the celery bends based on the length of the outermost part of the curl 1. Cut celery into a 6-inch long piece. 2. Cut another piece to 6in by .25in 3. Cut another piece to 6in by .15in 4. Record the length, width, and length of the curl of the celery is before the experiment 5. Fill a glass with 1 cup of water for each piece of celery 6. Put each piece of celery into a cup of water. 7. Let sit out for 24 hours at room temperature. 8. Record the length, width, and length of the curl of the celery is after the experiment 9. Repeat 3 times |
| Conclusion | Yes cutting the celery and leaving it in room temperature water will cause the celery to bend. Yes as the cuts got smaller up the middle the celery became more bent. With the uncut celery, there was 0inch of bend from the middle and it was still 6in tall. With the .25 starting width celery, it was About 5 in tall and about 2.75in of a curve from the middle. Then the smallest cut celery of only .15 from the starting point it curved the most with only an average of 2.5 in tall and an average of about 2 2/3 in tall. Making the celery that was the smallest starting width of the bendiest celery. The diffusion of water, osmosis, the water levels were hypotonic, so water came rushing in. Filling the cells and causing the celery to bend. |
| Investigation Theme | CEL |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| School Name | Ottawa Township High School |
| Session | Fall 2020 |