Sip³ Current Student Research Projects

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Here you will find all current student reseach projects.

	People Of The Cloves The Bush School BS_011 Updated:06/07/2006	Our Research Question: How does coffee effect the germination of red clover (Trifolium Protnse)? Our Prediction: Our prediction is that coffee will stunt the growth or kill the seeds. Also, the more concentrated the sollution is, the slower the germination process will occur (if any). Our Conclusion: Our conclusion is that coffee does stunt the growth of red clover. We discovered that coffee has a pH of around 5, which probably had a huge effect on the way the red clover seeds grew. We also discovered that the seeds did not like the 50% coffee solution, and grew very little compared to the seeds in 0% and 25% coffee. So, ourprediction was right, the less amount of coffee in the solution, the more the seeds grew.
	The Tentacles The Bush School BS_010 Updated:06/02/2006	Our Research Question: How do three different concetrations of salt water in washes affect the dry mass of wheat compared to the dry mass of wheat washed in a no salt solution? Our Prediction: We think that, the higher the salt concentration, the higher the affected dry mass will become. Our Conclusion: We have to stop our experiment now because our school year is over. However, we have to conclude that the concetration of salt in a water solution with which wheat seeds are washed does not affect the dry mass of them. The dry masses of the seeds have varied too much for this conclusion to be certain. However, our experiment has left the door open to further experiments regarding dry mass, water, and salt.
	RADISH, I CHOOSE YOU! The Bush School BS_008 Updated:06/01/2006	Our Research Question: When and where do xylem develop in plant seedlings? Do different seeds develop xylem quicker than others? If so, does this xylem develop in accordance with where the seed usually germinates? (i.e. it's native enviroment) Our Prediction: We predict that the xylem will develop faster in plant seedlings of dry envrioments. We believe that the xylem must develop rather fast after germination, or close after the development of a stem. We also hypothesize that the xylem will develop rather close to the meristem, because the cells are newly produced in this area. There will be no xylem in the tip of the seedling's root. Our Conclusion: In Conclusion, seed germination and xylem development varies according to size, native climate and conditions of seed growth. Conditions of seed growth could alter the results of study, due to the possibility that the characteristics of natively dry seed may germinate faster in wetter environments, and visa versa. However, it would seem that because of this evidence, Seed germination and xylem development differentiates from seed to seed.
	Your Team Name The Bush School BS_015 Updated:06/01/2006	Our Research Question: How do varying magnetic fields effect the germination and growth rates of Trifolium Protnse (Red Leaf Clover). Our Prediction: We now predict that the seeds with a attracting force will not germinate as fast than the control seeds or the seeds with a repelling force. We also predict that the seeds with the repelling force will germinate faster than the control seeds. Our Conclusion: Magnetism had no effect on the germination and growth rates of red clover.
	Sunflower Power (I am Kimbra) The Bush School BS_016 Updated:06/01/2006	Our Research Question: Do sunflower roots grow hydroponically the same in both water and .9% salt water? Our Prediction: We think that the seeds will thrive in plain water, and not do qiute as well in .9% salt water. Our Conclusion: As we predicted, the seeds left in salt water did not grow very well. The roots only grew a few centimeters and many of them turned black. They are fairly dry and very unhealthy. The seeds in freshwater however, did quite well. Some of the roots grew to be 9 centimeters and have smaller roots coming growing off of the main ones. Some are even starting to sprout leaves above the water and all are very green and healthy. This experiment went exactly as we expected, and we have concluded that sunflower seeds will not grow and be healthy in salt water.
	Quinoa Peoples The Bush School BS_013 Updated:06/01/2006	Our Research Question: How is the rate of germination effected by the level of pH? Our Prediction: Our prediction was that quinoa would germinate slower, if at all, under lower pH levels because most of the life forms we've studied have prefered a neutral pH, but in researching the grain it's been reported as a very tolerable plant, able to germinate equally well in pH ranges 4.8-8.5. (www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/quinoa.html) Our Conclusion: According to our data, it appears that the rate of germination, that being the percent of seeds germinated, is not impacted significantly by difference in pH. The length of growth after germination however, does seem to be impacted with seeds in pH 7 doing best after three days of observation. Also, through our experiment, we were able to observe the chemical reaction created through the process of germination, that being the release of CO2 into H2O which yields carbonic acid. This acid then breaks into an H+ ion and a bicarbonate- ion thus acting as a natural buffer. We feel this is significant as it would suggest that seeds have natural means of dealing with changes in pH. It is possible that this is why the initial rate of germination is not severely impacted by extreme pHs.
	The Alfalfa Sprouts The Bush School BS_014 Updated:06/01/2006	Our Research Question: After germination, which area of an alfalfa plant does fertilizer affect the growth of? Our Prediction: We predict the fertilizer will most affect the stem growth of the alfalfa plants, making the stems much longer than the alfalfa grown without fertilizer. Our Conclusion: We were not able to obtain accurate information on what areas of a plant grow because we added to much fertilizer. However, we did learn that an excess of fertilizer used with alfalfa submerged in water will kill the sprouts.
	The Spice Germs The Bush School BS_006 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: How will changing the orientation of seeds affect direction of root growth? Our Prediction: Our group has made the prediction, that no matter the orientation of the petri dish, due to gravitropism, at germination the roots will grow downward and the shoots will grow upward vertically. Also, as the roots develop, they will grow towards areas on the petri dish where the correct environmental conditions, including air water and nutrients exist to meet the plant's needs. Our Conclusion: Roots will grow towards the ground no matter what orientation you put it at. The reason for this is gravitropism, the pull gravity has on all living things.
	Mothers UV Invention The Bush School BS_001 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: How does the growth of a sunflower seed exposed to UV light compare to that of a sunflower seed which has not been exposed to light at all? Our Prediction: We predict that the sunflower seed exposed to UV light will grow much more efficiently than the seed without light.
	Pinball Wizards The Bush School BS_012 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: How do different wavelenths of light affect the rate of germination in sunflower seeds? Our Prediction: We predict that the closer the frequency of the light we shine on our sunflower seeds is closer to the frequency of UV rays, a generally harmful type, the slower the growth of the seeds will be in comparison to the growth of our controls, the "no light" and "sunlight" chambers. Our Conclusion: In our experiment, we conclude that because the red and normal light chamber had no germinations, red and normal light decrease the rate of germination in sunflower seeds. In the dark chamber, two seeds germinated and grew a substantial amount. The blue and green chambers had all their seeds germinate, so green and blue light increase the rate of germination. Our hypothesis was wrong because we concluded that the light frequencys that are not extremely high or low decrease the rate of germination, and light frequencys that are in the middle of the light sperctrum increase the rate of germination.
	The Photosynthesizers The Bush School BS_009 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: During germination, what are the different responses corn seeds have to atmospheres of pure oxygen, pure carbon dioxide, or normal room air? Our Prediction:
	capricorn The Bush School BS_005 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: Do corn seeds germinate in salt water? if so what consentration do the seeds germinate the best? Our Prediction: predictions: -The corn will not grow as well in salt water as it does in fresh water. -In the low concentrations of salt water the corn will grow at a similar rate to the corn in the fresh water -In the high concentrations of salt water the corn will not grow as successfully, if at all
	The Lucky Ducks The Bush School BS_004 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: How do different amounts of light affect the germination of the red clover seeds? Our Prediction: We predict that the seeds exposed to a greater amount of light will grow larger, faster, and be healthier.
	Something Terribly Witty The Bush School BS_002 Updated:05/31/2006	Our Research Question: During the germination proccess, if the root tips and the stem tips of a radish seed were removed, how will this affect the overall germination process for the radish seed? Our Prediction: During our experiment, with radish seeds, we predict that cutting off the end of the root tip will significantly slow the germination of the seeds. We are comparing this to the normal germination cycle, where nothing is altered. Our second test is to remove the tip of the stem as well as the tip of the root. We predict that it will not have a significant effect of slowing the process of germination within the seed.
	Bunches of Oats Son The Bush School BS_003 Updated:05/30/2006	Our Research Question: Do different colored lights affect the speed of germination and/or the growth of seedlings? Our Prediction: We predict that the oat seeds, if placed under red lights, will grow and germinate faster than under green, blue, yellow, and clear lights.
	Chuman The Bush School BS_007 Updated:05/30/2006	Our Research Question: Will seeds germinate and grow differently when vitamins B1, B3, B6, a combination of three, and brown rice (containing B1, B3, B6) are added? Our Prediction: We predict that seeds will germinate faster and grow more quickly in the brown rice, which is a natural source of vitamins b1, b3, b6. The seeds will not germinate as fast in excessive vitamins from an artificial source.
	Team 8 Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_008 Updated:05/16/2006	Our Research Question: What seeds will germinate the most in different types of plant food ( Peters, Miricle-Grow,Schultz, or water) Our Prediction: We think our seeds will germinate better in miracle grow because of all the plant foods miracle grow has the most nitrogen and phosphate and potash then all the other plant food Our Conclusion: in conclusion our hypothesis was wrong, because we said that miracle grow would work the best. But in the long run it did not. Although in the beginning the miracle grow seeds were way ahead of all of the other seeds. But then as soon as the seeds started to germinated the growth of the miracle grow seeds started to slow down, and then out of no where the unexspected water seeds took the lead of all of the other seeds. After the water seeds took the lead of the miracle grow seeds, the water seeds kept on goin and going, just like the energizer bunny. And by the end of this project the water seeds had grown the furthest. Second was miracle grow, then sultz and last was peters, which seemed to not grow at all.
	Double Helix Dakota State University DSU_002 Updated:05/12/2006	Our Research Question: What are the effects of varying amounts of Manganese Sulfate on the Radish and Mung Bean growth? Our Prediction: We hypothesis that four drops of Manganese Sulfate will promote optimal growth for both seeds. Our Conclusion: Our hypothesis turned out to be correct, although days in between showed variations from our final results. Even the 4 drops will not benefit the plant in the long run. The control still better off. Chemical build up is a problem for most or all cellular tissues. In the end, the most obvious conclusion is that the MnSO4 is good for temporary, short term uses, or when used occasionally for longer periods. Too much can be harmful
	Flamming seeds Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_003 Updated:05/11/2006	Our Research Question: Our experiment is testing whether plants germinate better in water or Gatorade. Our Prediction: Our prediction is that the seed in the water will germinate normally, and the seed in the Gatorade will germinate faster, because of the extra minerals and nutrients. Our Conclusion: At first we thought that the Gatorade would help the seeds germinate at a faster rate. By looking at our journals you can tell that we weren't just wrong, but not even close to having the right answer at any point in our experiment. The regular watered seeds grew just as we expected them to grow. The gatorade seeds were the ones that surprised us. The gatorade seeds did show one sign of germination through the whole two weeks. I believe that the high amounts of sodium killed the seeds.
	seed investigators Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_005 Updated:05/11/2006	Our Research Question: Could seeds grow better in carbonated water than in regular water? Our Prediction: We predict that the carbonated water will help the seeds grow better. Our Conclusion: In our experiment we used Mung beans in regular and carbonated water, as well as Wheat in regular and carbonated water separately. Only one Wheat seed sprouted in normal water, and nothing happened in carbonated . The Mung beans in carbonated water did not have any changes, although the Mung beans that had been in normal water had large amount of growth with a sum of 51 cenitmeters. This concludes that seed germinationis more effective in normal water and carbonated water does not aid the germination at all.
	Team 11! Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_011 Updated:05/10/2006	Our Research Question: Our research question is weather food coloring will affect the growth of the plant more than average watering due the the chemicals that food coloring contains. Our Prediction: Our prediction is that the food coloring will slow the growth down because of the chemicals in all aspects; such as root growth, stem growth, and many other things in that catagory. Our Conclusion: Our project did not work out the way we planned. We planned that the seeds would grow and germinate after soaking for water in two days, however, we believe that the soaking of the seeds caused more problems then we acknowlegded. We believe that the seeds drowned in water before the soil was added. Therefore, the growth of the seeds became incapable due to too much water that penetrated the seed coating causing the plants to drown. In conclusion we learned that the soaking of the seeds for more then one day in regular water and food-colored water was not helpful to our project. Somethings we would change would be not soaking the seeds and intially planting them in the soil and watering them with food coloring and water.
	Team 12 Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_012 Updated:05/10/2006	Our Research Question: For our research question we are wondering whether or not our seeds will grow faster and taller if we use vitamins to help grow them. We are not using just any vitamins we are going to use liquid vitamins. The vitamins that people use!!!!! Our Prediction: We predict that when we use vitamins when trying to grow our seeds that our seeds will grow faster and larger than they would without vitamins. The reason we think that is because vitamins are good for humans so why wouldn't it be good for plants also? So that is what we predict will happen when we use vitamins. Our Conclusion: During this project we wanted to see if our plants would grow with vitamins because we as humans use vitamins and they make us better. So we thought that the plants might grow faster and maybe even taller. Well as this project went on we learned that the Rocket Fuels did not do good at all and they didn't even grow. Then the Emer'gen C (Vitamin C) and Animal parade Shake did very well they grew a little taller and faster then the water. All of the seeds that we grew with water did very well. So if we were to do this project again we would most likely not use the Rocket fuel.
	dIsArRaY Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_002 Updated:05/10/2006	Our Research Question: We are going to document the effect of salt on the germination, and growth of plants in small amounts as they are compared to those plants without. We will being doing so with diffrent experiments using salty soil, salt water, and the combination of both. Our Prediction: we think that the plant with salt water and salt soil will not grow very well. The plant without salt will probably grow best, with the soild with small amounts of salt slightly held back i growth. Our Conclusion: Our conclusion- We have found that the effect of salt varies differently on plants for a number of conditions. First we found that amounts of salt in granular form in the soil is devastating. Even in small amounts the plant seedlings never spouted from the soil. The salt just dehydrates too quickly for the plant to survive. Next, we turn to our surviving plants. From our notes and observation we have noted that between out two plants, the alfalfa was affected much more than the mung bean. By observation alone I thought that maybe the mung bean’s long roots save it from the salt by being able to absorb water less salt from the bottom of the pot. I thought that the soil acted as a filter and kept the salt towards the top. The alfalfas shot roots can’t protect it as well. Then I looked up information online for similar experiments and found that sometimes plants that grow near bodies of salt water grow a resistance towards salt. Other plants found more inland, such as those on farms don’t have such a resistance. The mung bean is native to the Philippines and India. These countries both are surrounded by slat water oceans. That is why we believe that the mung bean wasn’t affected very much by the salt. The alfalfa, commonly an American crop plant was affected heavily. That would explain the difference in the growth rates.
	Team Germinator Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_001 Updated:05/10/2006	Our Research Question: Do seeds germinate better in sunlight or shade? Our Prediction: We think that although some plants could grow in shade, that the seeds in the sun will grow the fastest and the most effective. Our Conclusion: The plants in the box, grew better than the plants in the sun. We discovered that plants don't need the sunlight to germinate, just to help plant with photosynthesis the reason why the plants grew better in the box was because the moisture from the water, when we watered the plants that stayed within the box and the plants that were always in the light dried out too much, but still grew just as fast plants did not. In the shade , it was all because of the of the mositure.
	Mutants Dakota State University DSU_004 Updated:05/09/2006	Our Research Question: Will adding a solution of calcium benefit the growth of alfalfa and oat seeds? Our Prediction: We predict that we will see better growth results in alfalfa and oat seeds with a 2% solution of calcium citrate. Our Conclusion: We proved our hypothesis wrong. The control had the best overall growth results for the alfalfa and had the only oat seed germinate. Therefore the solutions of calcium citrate (.5%, 1%, 2%) didn't prove beneficial for the seeds germination or growth. We learned that calcium as a macronutrient would probably be most beneficial after the germination and sprouting of the seedling.
	Nematodes Dakota State University DSU_005 Updated:05/08/2006	Our Research Question: How will the difference in light color affect the growth of the corn and the quinoa seeds? Our Prediction: The darker the cellophane the less light there will be, therefore clear should have the most growth and blue or purple will have the least growth. Our Conclusion: Our predictions held true to a certain extent, with one experiment having excellent results in correlation with the predictions. We believe that experimental error greatly influenced our results. The changes in light did have an effect on plant growth.
	Team 1 Emporia State University ESU_001 Updated:05/06/2006	Our Research Question: Does the amount of photosynethsis depend on the pigmentation of the leave? Our Prediction: Null hypothesis: There will be no difference in the rate of photosynthesis of different pgimentation on the same leave. Alternate hypothesis: Photosynthesis will occur faster in green pigmented leaf sections compared to nonpigmented (white) leaf sections. Our Conclusion: As shown on our graph "Photosyntheic rate" none of our disks floated for white or green. As we were trying to evacuate the air from the disks, the white ones did not want to lose the air as readily as the green. After two runs, the majority of the disks where at the bottom of the cup. We let the experiment run for only an hour because of time constriants. The time may have needed to be extended to finally get the disks to float. A few in each dish were half way floating to the top, but had been setting there for about a half an hour. The disks were about 1 mm in diameter so a larger size may have produced better results. Our disks may have been too old, and had been unable to photosynthesize. Our data showns that our null hypothesis is not rejected but our alternate is. Not only was there no difference between white and green leave pigmentation, there was also no photosynthesis.
	Team 2 Emporia State University ESU_002 Updated:05/06/2006	Our Research Question: How will different wavelengths of light affect the rate of photosynthesis in leaf disks? Our Prediction: Our null hypothesis would be that the different colors/wavelengths will have no effect on the rate of photosynthesis in our leaf disks. Our alternate hypothesis would be that we expect each wavelength to have a different affect on the leaf disks, with the highest rate of photosynthesis corresponding to the wavelenghts of light most readily absorbed by the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b pigments. ~Jenna t2m5 Our Conclusion: Our experiment investigated the effect different colors of light had on the rate of photosynthesis in Schefflera leaf discs. There are two forms of chlorophyll in plant leaves that utilize specific wavelengths of visible light in the photosynthesis process. Chlorophyll a is the primary pigment and absorbs wavelengths of light in the 675nm and 440nm range (red and blue) most readily. Chlorophyll b is an accessory pigment and absorbs wavelengths of light in the 440nm range (blue) most readily. The purpose of having two chlorophyll pigments is to absorb the most amount of light possible, therefore making the most effective use of available light for the photosynthesis process. Considering this, we expected the wavelength of light to affect the rate of photosynthesis so that red and blue light produced the fastest photosynthesis rate in leaf discs and green light, which is not readily absorbed by chlorophyll, to produce the slowest photosynthesis rate. After actually conducting our experiment we were unable to either accept or reject this hypothesis as our results were inconclusive. The only leaf discs that floated were two in the control (white light), which took an average time of 12 minutes to float and one in the green light, which took 24 minutes to float. The other colors of light—red and blue—did not produce any floating leaf discs. Since our control did not produce all five floating leaf discs, we concluded that it was an error in our experimental procedure or design that prevented us from seeing any results, specifically in the red and blue colors of light, but also producing poor results across all colors. One of the comments entered on or site referenced the need to place all leaf discs the same direction—with the leaf cuticle up or down. We did not realize the need to do this, so we did not take care to place all the leaf discs the same direction nor did we make a leaf peel slide to discern whether the stomates were on the top side, bottom side, or both. In retrospect, we realize the importance of this knowledge and if we were to perform this experiment again, we would certainly find that information before beginning the actual experiment. It is a good possibility that not having all leaf discs in the same direction (cuticle up or down), and not researching which direction would be beneficial played a role in our inconclusive results. Additionally, knowing whether the stomates were on the top, bottom, or both sides of the leaf would have been important information to ensure good experimental data and results. We concluded that the three leaf discs that floated to the top were probably oriented correctly in the cup, thus producing results and the lack of correct orientation of the remaining leaf discs was responsible for their inability to float. Another factor that may have played a role in the poor results we obtained is the low light intensity, which was a concern when beginning the experiment. Ideally, we would have preferred a higher light intensity, but due to the thickness and dark color of the colored filters, we were unable to achieve a higher light intensity for the leaves. Due to the need for experimental control across all colors of light, we were forced to adjust the light intensity for all colors so that it matched the best achievable intensity for the darkest color filter, which was 0.05. If we were able to repeat this experiment, we would change the considerations discussed above, which we believe would yield far better and more conclusive results. Even though the results of our experiment were inconclusive, we were able to learn a lot about experimental design and all the parameters that must be considered to ensure a successful experiment, and feel it would be interesting to conduct this experiment again to see if we could obtain better results using information we have learned from this experiment. (Stephanie t2m2)
	Moldy Mung Beans Nazareth College NAZ_002 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: We wanted to know why sprouts from a previous experiment molded. Our Prediction: We predicted that the sprouts kept in the dark and watered with 12 oz. of water every day would mold as opposed to those measured with 5 oz. of water every day. Our Conclusion: None of the sprouts molded and most of them grew very slowly. Jar #2 grew the best, with the longest sprout measuring 4.2 cm and with an average sprout growth of 1.44 cm. If we conducted this experiment again, we would use a larger amount of water to rinse with, and we would use a different type of sprout (such as red clover). We would also more sprouts in a jar.
	Diploids Dakota State University DSU_001 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: How does slow release and fast release fertilizer affect the germination of seeds? Our Prediction: The slow release will not affect the germination of the seeds. The fast release will cause the seeds to germinate at a faster rate.
	Jumpin' Germination East Central University ECU_007 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: How will variations in temperature affect the process of germination? Our Prediction: The standard for Rhaphanus sativum to germinate is 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit. We predict that when germinating in a temperature of 77 degrees the seedlings will most likely grow but temperatures of 86 and 99 degrees are skeptical. Our Conclusion: From our research before the project, 12C and 25C were the ideal temperature ranges that the seeds are able to germinate at. Our experiment confirmed that the seeds at 21C and 25C, which are in the designated range did germinate. The seeds in the 30C that we predicted would not germinate did, to our surprise this was the temperature that did the best. The seeds at 37C did not succeed in in germinating, the temperature was to extreme.
	Team 3 East Central University ECU_003 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Is there a variation in seed growth using pond water as opposed to distilled water? Our Prediction: The pond water will provide more nutrients and therefore cause the seed to grow faster than with the distilled water. Our Conclusion: In our conclusion, our hypothesis has been falsified. The seeds rinsed in the distilled water germinated faster than the ones rinsed with the pond water. However, through extended research we found that the pond seeds had longer sprouts that began having root-like structures, and were in a greater quantity than the distilled. Through discussions with our botanist, we have concluded that a reasonable answer for the falsified hypothesis is that the pond water could have contained unwanted bacteria causing a mutated growth in our seeds. We also found that the bottle structure, of which the seeds were kept in, played a role in our sprouts growth. Gennie's bottle was not very flat, with deep creases up the bottom of the bottle. These seedlings did not have very long sprouts for both the distilled and the pond rinsings. We note, too, that the color of the sprout had mostly to do with the fact that the seeds were kept in the dark, but also there was a difference in color due to algae and other particles in the pond water. This caused the pond seed sprouts to have a yellowish tent, whereas the distilled were very white and almost transparent. Although our hypothesis was falsified, we still feel our experiment was a success.
	Team 1 East Central University ECU_001 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Does spring water speed the process of germination as opposed to deionized water? Our Prediction: The seeds watered with spring water will germinate faster than the seeds watered with deionized water. Our Conclusion: Our expirement was to see if evian spring water would speed up the rate of germination as opposed to deionized water (rinsing daily for 1 minute). Our hypothesis was supported by our data. The data stayed consistant accept for one day that may have had other environmental factors that affected it.
	Team 8 East Central University ECU_008 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: We want to see if washing our seeds in different types of solution will affect germination any, and if so, the rate at which it happens. Our Prediction: We believe in our experiment the seeds that are being rinsed in the water only will show the largest change. Our Conclusion: After observing the seeds for a week, we came to the conclusion that water is the best for germinating the seeds. The Mountain Dew seems to act as an inhibitor since there was no growth in the water/Mountain Dew solution and Mountain Dew only solution. Although the seeds in water did not germinate much, it may have been because of the minimal amount of time they had to grow.
	Team 2 East Central University ECU_002 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Will rinsing the seeds with water containing fertilizer accelerate the germination process in millet seeds? Our Prediction: We predict the millet seeds that have been rinsed with fertilizer will germinate faster than the millet seeds that are rinsed with tap water. Our Conclusion: Our predictions were falsified by our observations. The seeds rinsed in the fertilizer did not do as well as the seeds rinsed in tap water. The seeds do not need fertilizer for germination. The seeds germinated faster in tap water, and they also looked healthier.
	Team 5 East Central University ECU_005 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: We are going to see if sugar water either increases or decreases the time for germination and the number of seeds that germinate. Our Prediction: We predict that sugar water will decrease the amount of time and increase the number of seeds that will germinate. Our Conclusion: After conducting our experiment for about a week we have come to the following conclusions. Our concentration of sugar water seemed to not have much of an affect on the germination of our seeds in comparison to the tap water. The seeds in the sugar water germinated at about the same rate and the same number as those in the tap water. Even though we did not get to conduct this experiment very long or more than once we still reject our hypothesis.
	Team 6 East Central University ECU_006 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Is there a variation in early seed germination in using tap water as opposed to using vitamen supplented water made by Vitawater? Our Prediction: The Vitawater, due to the fact that it is vitamen enriched, will increase growth in seed germination at a faster rate than regular tap water. Our Conclusion: With the observation of our experiment, research, and evaluation of our data, we believe that we can conclude though the results we obtained that our hypothesis has been falsified. The exposure and rinsing of the millet seeds with the vitamin supplemented “Vitawater”, seemed to fail to enhance growth production. This came as a suprise due to the fact most vitamins have been proven to enhance growth in plant production. We believe that due to the fact that the "Vitawaters" high content of sugar may have slowed the growth production due to a bad reaction in millet seed germination. The vitamins that the "Vitawater" contains were either not concentrated enough (to small of amount) or the nutrients had very little to due with early germination. The Regular tap water seemed to provide a better source of minerals for early germination than did our vitamin supplemented water.
	Team 4 East Central University ECU_004 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: What effect will sodium have on the germination process? Our Prediction: We predict that as the sodium concentration increases the greater the negative effect on seed germination. Our Conclusion: We concluded that as the concentration of sodium increases the rate of germination decreases. Our data generally supports our prediction, although further expirementation would be needed to definitively uphold our prediction.
	Team 7 Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_007 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: What will the effects of Gatorade and an Energy drink have on maize? Our Prediction: We predict that the Gatorade will have little or no effect, while the energy drink will have a negative effect on the maize. This is due to the high water content in Gatorade, as oppose to different ingridients found in the energy drink. Our Conclusion: We concluded that the Energy Drink and the Gatorade had zero or a negative effect on the maize seeds. The seeds as you can see in the pictures looked diseased when watered with gatorade (regaurdless of the high water content). The seeds watered with the energy drink seemed to have no effect done to them, however did not grow. The caffine level in the energy drink was high which couldve been a contributing factor. The two seed bottles watered with water both grew to different heights (as seen in the graph) and were the only successfull maize. Zach & Bret
	Botany 101 Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_009 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Will the food coloring make the plant grow the color that the food coloring is? Our Prediction: Group 9 thinks that the seed will just stay the same and not change the genetic makeup of the plant. It might slow the the process of the plant growth. Also we think that the root color will change. Our Conclusion: For our conclusion, we discovered that some of the plants that were dyed, grew better than some of the plants watered with regular tap water. Interestingly enough, the dyed plants showed no signs of any color change, but they did show signs of growing faster than regular water. The only problem, was that none of our hypothesis were correct with the changing of plant's outward appearence in color. One reason the plants with the dye might of grown faster than the ones with no dye, could possible be the ingredients in the dye itself. Most dyes for food have ingredients like sugar that have been proven to help plants grow faster and stronger. This might have been one reason that the dyed plants grew faster.
	Emporia State University ESU_005 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Does the temperature of the citrate-phosphate buffer solution affect the rate of photosynthesis in a Maize Leaf? ************************************************************* After completing the initial experiment and reviewing our results and discussing them with Dr. Sundberg we had a thought that maybe the temperature of our buffer solution was converting the bicarbonate in our disks to CO2 causing them to float rather than the production of O2 by photosynthesis. Since we didn’t know if this was even possible – it was important for us to test the theory in order to insure that we were indeed measuring the rate of photosynthesis in the leaves and not the breakdown of the bicarbonate. We set up the second experiment a couple of days later by basically setting up two of our hot temperature apparatuses. In each tube we placed two redbud leaf disks instead of three but we used the same procedure for preparing them. The two hot set ups were situated next to each other with one wrapped in foil to block out the light with only a small slit in open on the side that allowed us to monitor the temperature and the activity of the disks. Over the other setup we placed the same light source we used for the initial portion of our experiment. Our Prediction: Null Hypothesis: The variation of temperature will have no effect on the rate of photosynthesis. Alternate Hypothesis: As we increase the temperature of the buffer solution the rate of photosynthesis will also increase. Our Conclusion: When we tested the two hot solutions we allowed the experiment to run for 20min and only saw two of the disks rise in the setup without light exposure. In the setup with the lamp all the disks were at the top before the 20min time cut off. Our results clearly showed that it was indeed the process of photosynthesis that was causing the disks to rise and not the breakdown of bicarbonate. ************************************************************************* *************************************************** In the temperature variation portion of our experiment we saw a direct correlation between the temperature of the buffer solution / bath and the rate at which the disks floated to the top. Since we know that the rate at which the disks float can be related to the rate of photosynthesis and oxygen production we can say that there is a direct relationship between the temperature of the environment and the rate of photosynthesis. In the cold water bath we saw no disks rise (represented by x in our data charts), while in the room temperature water bath we saw all disks rise in an average time of about 12 minutes. In the hot water bath we also saw all the disks rise, but in an average time of about 10 and a half minutes – about a minute and a half quicker than the room temperature. This data shows that an increase in temperature will increase the rate of photosynthesis, which supports our initial hypothesis.
	Tree huggers 10 Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_010 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Will seeds soaked in kept moist with "sugar water" (2 tbsp. sugar:1 cup water) grow better than seeds soaked and kept moist with tap water? Our Prediction: We believe that the seed soaked in sugar will grow stronger because of the extra energy. Our Conclusion: The seeds treated with sugar died, while the ones with tap water sprouted. Plants make all the sugar they require through photosynthesis. Plant roots are not designed to absorb sugars. Table sugar added to the water will harm or kill the plants because it reduces water availability because of an osmosis effect. It can also promote tremendous growth of soil micros that may compete with plant roots for oxygen and nutrients or potential phototoxic waste products.
	SEEDLINGS Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_004 Updated:05/05/2006	Our Research Question: Will a half of a seed germinate as well as a whole seed? Our Prediction: Our team thinks that both of the seeds will germinate the same. As long asyou have half a seed it should grow. Our Conclusion: For our experiment we chose to record how full seeds and half seeds might germinate. By the end of our project we found out that on the full seeds, they germinated, and sprouted, but on the half seeds the seed coat split but nothing split. The corn seeds germinated a lot and some seeds sprouted with a 7 centimeter sprout. The half corn seeds died. The sunflower seeds also sprouted but only about 1 or 2 centimeters. But like the corn seeds the half sunflower seeds did not germinate. When we started this project we were skeptical if our half seeds would do anything, or grow fully. But we did think they might germinate a little. Our prediction was wrong, our half seeds did not germinate at all, the seed coat only cracked a little. We now know that to germinate a seed you need the whole seed, you can't cut a seed in half and germinate it.
	Emporia State University ESU_003 Updated:05/03/2006	Our Research Question: How does light intensity affect the rate of photosynthesis? T3M1 Our Prediction: Null Hypothesis: light intensity will have no affect on the rate of photosynthesis. Alternate Hypothesis: greater light intensity will cause a faster rate of photosynthesis. 4/20/06 T3M1 Our Conclusion: In the graph posted above under "uploaded journals", the equations refer to the best fit lines for each series with Y1 corresponding to 300 Microeinsteins, Y2 correspoding to 500 microeinsteins and Y3 corresponding to 700 microeinsteins. The rate of photosynthesis is represented by the slope of each best fit line. Therefore our rates were 2.0535, 2.279, and 2.1941 disks/min for 300, 500, and 700 microeinsteins respectively. This shows that the rate increased by 0.2255 disks/min from 300 to 500 microeinsteins, but decreased by 0.0849 disks/min from 500 to 700 microeinsteins. The results between 300 and 500 microeinsteins support our alternate hypothesis, however the results from 500 to 700 micoreinsteins do not. We may have encountered some experimental error as we had some difficulty getting our disks to sink. Overall, our results do not support either of our hypothesis. However, our data specifically for treatments of 300 and 500 microeinsteins do support our alternative hypothesis that greater light intensity increases the rate of photosynthesis. T3_M1 4/27/06 I reanalyzed the data by separating the three data series. For each set of data, I made graphs for the points only up until all disks were floating. This changed the slopes of the lines to 2.0535, 3.4273, and 2.9319 for 300, 500 and 700 microeinstiens respectively. This shows that the rate increased by 1.3738 disks/min from 300 to 500 icroeinsteins, but decreased by 0.4954 disks/min from 500 to 700 microeinsteins. These results still support our hypotheses in the same way, but this respresentation is a more accurate method of presenting our data. T3_M1 5/03/06
	For Useful Botanical Understanding Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts LSMSA_003 Updated:05/03/2006	Our Research Question: Will the mass of the plant seed affect the amount of plant growth? Our Prediction: We hypothesize that the mass of a plant seed will have a direct influence on the amount of plant growth. As the mass of the seed increases, the amount of plant growth increases as well. Our Conclusion: Based on our experimental results, we were unable to observe any trend or relationship between seed mass and plant growth. The data severely points against any relationship whatsoever.
	Zaphytiphthimians Emporia State University ESU_004 Updated:05/03/2006	Our Research Question: Does the light intensity the plant is subjected to prior to the experiment affect the photosynthetic rate compared to subjecting it to the same light intensity during the experiment? Our Prediction: Null Hypothesis: The light intensity the plant is subjected to prior to the experiment will have no affect on the photosynthetic rate. Alternative Hypothesis: The light intensity the plant is subjected to prior to the experiment will have an affect on the photosynthetic rate. Our Conclusion: The initial thought with this experiment was that as light intensity increased, so would the photosynthetic rate. However, the data indicates that the exact opposite happened. The Group 1 plants, those subjected to the higher intensity light for one week prior to determining photosynthetic rate, had a rate of y= 0.0018x + 0.283, and an R-squared value of 0.6726, as shown on the graph in book 1. The R-squared value indicates that the data is somewhat good, although this number should be closer to one. The second group, the plants moved from the lower intensity to the higher, has a rate of y= 0.0064x + 1.0877, and an R-squared value of 0.9642. This rate is obviously higher than group one, and the R-squared value is very good, as it is quite close to one. The third group, grown entirely in low intensity, has a rate of y=0.119x + 0.2921, and an R-squared value of 0.9413. Again, the rate is much higher, and the R-squared value is good. The high R-squared values for groups 2 and 3 indicate that the data is valid. Qualitatively, the color of the group 1 plants was a yellow-green, the second group was a medium green, and the third group was a dark green. These color variations could indicate that there was a difference either in the amount of chlorophyll in the plants or the orientation the chlorophyll. The results were the opposite of what was expected, and there are several possible explanations for this. First, as previously mentioned, the orientation of the chlorophyll may have differed group to group due to cytoplasmic streaming. The plants under higher intensity may have tried to adapt to the higher intensity by keeping their chloroplast on edge and limiting their exposure to the light. As such, the rate of photosynthesis may have been lower. At the lower intensity, the chloroplast may have been fully orientated to capture as much light as possible, and so would have a higher photosynthetic rate. Also, the Kalenchoe is a desert plant, a xerophyte. Desert plants limit the amount of cellular respiration during the heat of the day to prevent water loss. It is possible that the higher intensity light simulated conditions that the plant adapted to by undergoing less respiration, and so would have a lower rate. The lower intensity plants may have undergone more respiration because they were in a cooler environment that was more suitable to respiration as in the wild habitat. Furthermore, though the plants were all in the same green house, there may have been temperature differences between where the groups were placed, and this may have affected the rate of photosynthesis. In terms of procedure, flaws may have transpired during the vacuuming process. All the disks did not sink at the same time, the group one plant disks in particular sunk first. Therefore it is possible that more gas in group one disks' was removed, than in the other groups. In addition, the experiment was conducted only in a certain time window, that being 30 minutes. The results may have differed if all disks were allowed to float and then recorded, rather than only recording those disks that floated within the 30 minutes. In any case, the experiment could be improved by performing several more replications, then a more definitive conclusion could be reached. Also, due to natural variation in weather, the plants were not continuously under the same high or low light intensity, or temperature. To correct this, the plants could be grown under continuous artificial light and kept in an incubator at a constant temperature. Given the results from this experiment, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. Prior exposure to light with the Kalenchoe does appear to have an effect on the rate of photosynthesis. However, the relationship is inverse; the lower the intensity, the higher the rate of photosynthesis. A further study could be to determine if there is a point where even lower intensities may lower photosynthetic rate. This conclusion was a collaborative effort of all group members: Anthony, Charles, Lindsay, and Stacy.
	Pyro Beans Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts LSMSA_004 Updated:05/03/2006	Our Research Question: The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether heating a seed to high temperatures will affect the seed’s potential for a successful germination. Our Prediction: The parameters of our experiment include both the temperature and time a number of different types of seeds can be heated and still germinate. Our predictions are that the thicker seeds with husks or shells will be less likely to be damaged. Most likely, more seeds will germinate at the lower temperatures for smaller amounts of time. Our Conclusion: Other than seeds that were brought to 100°C, the varying heats and times had no major noticeable or measurable impact on seed germination and growth. The alfalfa seemed unaffected by the heat except at 100°C for six minutes. However the wheat did not germinate if the temperature was above 75°C for longer than three minutes, suggesting that a husk is not suitable protection from extreme temperatures. The corn, wheat, and sunflower did not grow in any of the groups subjected to 100°C suggesting that these seeds may be the most susceptible to heat.
	Jolly Green Giants Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts LSMSA_002 Updated:05/03/2006	Our Research Question: How does the condition of the seed coat affect corn growth? Corn seeds must be soaked in water before they will germinate, and scarification occurs when the plants are in water. We have edited our research question to," What degree of scarification will affect the corn germinate the fastest." Our Prediction: We believed that kernels with the slashed seed coat will grow fastest. We also believed that the seed with the full seed coat will grow the slowest. Our Conclusion: Although our group's hypothesis was wrong, the experiment went exceptionally well and had a few suprises. We believed that kernels with the cut seed coats would grow the fastest. We also believed that the seed with the full seed coat would grow the slowest, and that the seeds with no seed coats would be in the middle. It turned out that the plants with the whole seed coat grew the fastest, plants with no seed coats were next, and plants with cut seed coats were all unhealthy and barely grew. The suprise came when the plants were taken home in completion of the experiment. The plants with cut seed coats began to rapidly grow just when we though all hope was lost for them. After three days of rapid growth, they died. I later came to find that my little sister had added water to the plants with cut seed coats because she thought they looked a little "parched" like Dr. Koptur said. This is more than likely what caused the cut seed coat plants to act the way they acted. Overall, our group really enjoyed working on this experiment and are satisfied with the results.
	Red Bull Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts LSMSA_001 Updated:05/03/2006	Our Research Question: What effect do different liquids, in place of water, have on seed germination and growth? Our Prediction: Certain products such as mineral water may have positive effects on the germination and growth of the plants due to the excess nutrients, while other products such as sodas may be detrimental to their growth. Our Conclusion: Based on the results before the molding, it seems that the seeds with water worked the best. The second best liquid was the powerade option, which was shockingly enough, another type of water. Sources of error the type of growth chamber used. The fact that the seeds were enclosed into a Petri dish instead of being exposed to air factors in along with the fact that the seeds were not exposed to direct sunlight which is vital for most plant growth. The plants received too much or not enough of their respective liquid. The liquids had high sugar growth and acidity favorable environments for mold and fungus growth. It was concluded, based on the evidence that was gathered that none of our hypotheses were correct and water is best used to nourish plants. However, this experiment would have been deemed very successful if the objective was fungal or mold growth.
	The Pink Panthers Nazareth College NAZ_003 Updated:04/27/2006	Our Research Question: What type of environment is most conducive to sunflower seed sprouting? Our Prediction: The control jar, which is the jar in the warm and dark environment, will be the most productive in growth. The jar in the cold and dark environment will grow the least. Our Conclusion: We concluded that the sprouts in the warm dark environment grew best, followed by cold and sunny and warm and sunny environments, in that order. The cold and dark spouts did not grow at all.
	green boys Bishop Dwenger High School BDH_006 Updated:04/25/2006	Our Research Question: Will sunflower seeds germinate in fesh water and salt water? Our Prediction: We believe they will start to germinate in the salt and fresh water but will die in the salt water.
	I Want To Touch It! Nazareth College NAZ_001 Updated:04/25/2006	Our Research Question: Will sprouts respond to touch? Our Prediction: We predict that the sprouts will respond to touch and therefore will grow faster than those which we do not touch. Our Conclusion: Group 1: The seeds from both jars started out at the same growth rate, but after day 7 the growth rates began to differentiate. The control group grew at an increased rate compared to that of the experimental group. At the end of the two week period the final growth rates were almost equal. Group 2: Up until day 7 growth rates were about the same, but after day 7, the control jar dramatically increased in growth rate while the experimental jar stayed at a constant rate of growth. Group 3: Before day 6, the growth rates of the two jars were similar. After day 6, the experimental jar began to increase at a constant rate of growth above that of the control jar. The experimental seeds ended up growing more than the control seeds.
	Watered Out Nazareth College NAZ_004 Updated:04/25/2006	Our Research Question: What would happen if the seeds of sprouts were not rinsed everyday? We want to know if seeds will still successfully grow if they were not rinsed daily. Our Prediction: We predict that the red lentils will have the best growth because of previous experience. We also think that the smaller the seed the more difficult growth will be. Also, we predict that the seeds that are rinsed daily will have the best growth rate and the seeds that are not rinsed at all will have the slowest growth rate. Our Conclusion: That without water the seeds will die over a period of time. They can survive and grow, but their growth will cease when water is not added. The best growing conditions would be to wash the seeds every other day, because through our data we have seen that the red lentils had the best growth According to our data the adzuki did not grow much, however there may have been other factors that caused problems with growth. The seeds that were not rinsed at all began to mold on the thirteenth day of our experiment.
	Freshwater Protists Dakota State University DSU_003 Updated:04/20/2006	Our Research Question: How does temperature (hot/cold) effect seed growth? Our Prediction: We think that the alfalfa seeds that were kept in the fridge for a week will grow pretty well. We think that the alfalfa seeds that were heated over night will also grow just fine. With the wheat seeds that were in the fridge might take a little longer to grow. The wheat seeds that were heated over night might grow at a faster rate.