| Explore | Plants grow from photosynthesis, disease often spread through roots, takes in nutrients through roots and leafs, need rich soil to grow. Does air quality effect plant growth? |
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| Research Question | How do the light levels of an environment impact the health of stored potatoes with and without infections? |
| Predictions | We are unsure what will happen Null Hypothesis: Light will not make a significant difference. |
| Experimental Design | We will need nine potatoes of roughly equal size, toothpicks to introduce infection to each potato, a thermometer, and bacterial solution. We will also use a fluorescent lamp, a dark cabinet, and a lit window. To start the experiment, we will introduce the bacteria by poking a toothpick covered in the solution into each quarter of a potato. Then, we will cover the potato in a soaked paper towel and seal in a plastic bag. This will be repeated for each potato. Three potatoes will be placed in a dark cabinet, three under a fluorescent lamp, and three near a window. A thermometer should be placed near each group of potatoes. After six days we will check on the potatoes and record any observable data. We will focus on what portion of the potatoes are infected, as well as how mushy or discolored they are. |
| Conclusion | We believe that light causes the disease to be more infectious or potent. The evidence from our experiment support this claim. For example the potatoes in the drawer showed less signs of infection than the ones in the cabinet with led lights. A change we would make in the future, if we have more time, is add more potatoes to each group and spend more time making sure the temperature was the same in each environment. We think that maybe despite the fact that we used an led light there was a possibility that it gave off more heat than the other environments received. |
| Investigation Theme | PGST |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| Teacher Name | Kristina Gremski |
| School Name | The Masters School |
| Session | Spring 2022 |