Wilson's Biology Lab - The Site - Recently Updated Pages

Peik, Sami, Reuben

Scott14 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:30:17 CST

Does The Difference In Food Change a Mealworms Growth? Hypothesis: If apples verses grain consumed by the worms affect it, than the meal worms eating apples will differ in size from the ones eating grain. (Reuben) Prediction: There will be a difference between the ones that eat apples and the ones that eat grain. (Sami) Materials: For our experiment we used plastic containers, apples, grain, and meal worms. (Reuben) Methods:First we labeled three containers each grain or apple and placed 4 meal worms into each container. Then we put the appropriate food into the containers and checked every 4 day. The meal worms were measured every week. (Peik, Reuben, Sami) Results: The meal worms that that ate the apples grew larger than the one that ate potatoes and grain. The ones that ate potatoes were larger than the ones that ate grain. The ones that ate grain were the smallest. Also, we observed that the ones that ate the apples were more lively and moved around the container more than the ones that ate grain. This could have been because the apple had more vitamins and sugar. (Peik) We think that this shows that meal worms prefer sugar to carbs. Apples are a very good source of sugar and the meal worms suck all of the liquids out of the apples until they were dry. This may also be because the worms were deprived of sugar at some point or they were deprived of something that could be substituted by sugar. Also, none of the meal worms reproduced. This might have happened because the meal worms may have all been the same gender. (Reuben & Peik) If we could have done this experiment over again we would have used more test subjects (meal worms). Also, we would have made sure some meal worms were different gender in both habitats. We could have made the habitats more natural as well to see if that changed the worms stimulation or even eating habits. (Peik) For more information, see these websites: Mealworm Breeding Tips! More Mealworm Breeding Tips! Even More Mealworm Breeding Tips!

Does The Difference In Food Change a Mealworms Growth?

Hypothesis: If apples verses grain consumed by the worms affect it, than the meal worms eating apples will differ in size from the ones eating grain. (Reuben)

Prediction: There will be a difference between the ones that eat apples and the ones that eat grain. (Sami)

Materials: For our experiment we used plastic containers, apples, grain, and meal worms. (Reuben)

Methods:First we labeled three containers each grain or apple and placed 4 meal worms into each container. Then we put the appropriate food into the containers and checked every 4 day. The meal worms were measured every week. (Peik, Reuben, Sami)

Results: The meal worms that that ate the apples grew larger than the one that ate potatoes and grain. The ones that ate potatoes were larger than the ones that ate grain. The ones that ate grain were the smallest. Also, we observed that the ones that ate the apples were more lively and moved around the container more than the ones that ate grain. This could have been because the apple had more vitamins and sugar. (Peik)

We think that this shows that meal worms prefer sugar to carbs. Apples are a very good source of sugar and the meal worms suck all of the liquids out of the apples until they were dry. This may also be because the worms were deprived of sugar at some point or they were deprived of something that could be substituted by sugar. Also, none of the meal worms reproduced. This might have happened because the meal worms may have all been the same gender. (Reuben & Peik)

If we could have done this experiment over again we would have used more test subjects (meal worms). Also, we would have made sure some meal worms were different gender in both habitats. We could have made the habitats more natural as well to see if that changed the worms stimulation or even eating habits. (Peik)

For more information, see these websites:
Mealworm Breeding Tips!
More Mealworm Breeding Tips!
Even More Mealworm Breeding Tips!

Hypothesis: If apples verses grain consumed by the worms affect it, than the meal worms eating apples will differ in size from the ones eating grain. (Reuben)

Prediction: There will be a difference between the ones that eat apples and the ones that eat grain. (Sami)

Materials: For our experiment we used plastic containers, apples, grain, and meal worms. (Reuben)

Methods:First we labeled three containers each grain or apple and placed 4 meal worms into each container. Then we put the appropriate food into the containers and checked every 4 day. The meal worms were measured every week. (Peik, Reuben, Sami)

Results: The meal worms that that ate the apples grew larger than the one that ate potatoes and grain. The ones that ate potatoes were larger than the ones that ate grain. The ones that ate grain were the smallest. Also, we observed that the ones that ate the apples were more lively and moved around the container more than the ones that ate grain. This could have been because the apple had more vitamins and sugar. (Peik)

Name	Warm	Cool
Scott	Fascinating idea!	Why are there two copies of the lab report? Also the materials and methods should be one paragraph, and where is the conclusion?

James, Emily and Izzy's Experiments

Scott14 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:18:06 CST

1st Experiment:
Date of Experiment: 11/16/09-11/29/10

Does the type of food given to brine shrimp affect their development?

By Emily Siegel, James Buchsbaum, and Izzy Shoji

Information on Brine Shrimp (Emily)

Abstract: Our experiment was to test if the different foods a Brine shrimp ate would effect its development. The control group ate yeast while the variable group ate frozen brine shrimp (yes, it is cannibalistic, but the frozen shrimp were dead). Both the control group and experimental group died within two weeks, but the controlled group died after the experimental group, so it matters. (James)

Introduction: There are no experiments currently being executed to test whether or not the type of food (freeze dried brine shrimp or yeast) ingested by brine shrimp affects their development. Brine shrimp thrive in salt water, and the entire life cycle of an average brine shrimp is around 1 year. The typical brine shrimp is approximately 15 centimeters in length, but can grow to a maximum of 25 centimeters. A brine shrimp passes through 15 molting stages of life before reaching it's adult form. The results of this experiment will be useful in the scientific community. Gathering more information about the life cycle and eating habits of brine shrimp may help scientists learn more about similar organisms and their behavior. (Emily)

Materials and Methods (for each person): Our experiment required basic materials, most of which can be found at any pet store. Each person needed .4 grams of Brine Shrimp eggs. Then, each of us got two 1-gallon plastic Imagine Brand goldfish bowls, for which we were to place the brine shrimp groups in. We got 9.9225 grams of yeast to feed the controlled group, 9.9225 grams of Brand Freeze dried brine shrimp to feed the experimental group, .946 Liters of water to keep the shrimp in, .473 liters of salt to add in the water, writing utensils for keeping our data and a camera. We first set up the materials, then filled the two goldfish bowls with .946 liters of water, followed by placing .473 liters of salt in the water. We then places .2 grams of brine shrimp in each bowl. The experimental group was fed .05 Grams of Frozen brine shrimp every two days while the controlled ate .05 grams of yeast every two days. We were to take pictures every time we fed them and record data. (Emily and James)

Results (Written by Each Member):
Observation Table

Name of Person	Their Results:
James	I was the only person actually to witness Brine Shrimp hatching. They began to hatch on the 18th of November, and by the 20th, they all hatched. My plan was to feed them their food every Thursday and Sunday. The shrimp that had the frozen brine shrimp for food did not eat it, while the ones with the yeast for food did eat it. About two weeks later, they all died, but the frozen brine shrimp eating shrimp died before the yeast eating shrimp.
Emily	I did not collect any results, as my brine shrimp did not hatch.
Izzy	I also did not collect any results because my brine shrimp died before hatching.

Data Table

(Emily and Izzy did not collect any data)
(graph-James)
(data table-Emily and James)

Pictures:

From November 20th	From November 20th	On November 23rd

From November 20th

On November 23rd

(James)

Conclusion:

After completing our experiment, our hypothesis was neither supported or refuted.As a group, we believe that the type of food given to the brine shrimp would have affected their development.We suspect that the brine shrimp were not able to ingest such a large portion of food, or that the shrimp did not recognize the Bay Brand Freeze-Dried Brine Shrimp as a food source.The only trend in our data was that the brine shrimp did not eat the freeze-dried food.(Emily and Izzy)

This experiment may be useful to the scientific community. Our results provide information on brine shrimp and their behavior, which could be useful for other studies on shrimp. We discovered that freeze-dried brine shrimp cannot serve as a food source for living brine shrimp. (Emily)

Our results make sense because the type of food that humans eat each day varies, just like in the case of our brine shrimp. Compare a person who only eats fast food to a person who has a more balanced diet of meat, dairy, grains, vegetables and fruits. Who is going to have the healthier body? For humans, what you eat changes your lifestyle and the way you develop. The person who is eating the junk food may become overweight and possibly develop conditions like diabetes from having a poor diet. The person who is eating all the essentials to the food pyramid has less of a chance developing health related diseases or just the changing in their bodies. (Izzy {and edited by Emily})

If our experiment had been successful, the results could have been affected by a confounding variable. We left the lids of each goldfish bowl open, possibly exposing the brine shrimp to chemicals or harmful substances in the air. Each group of brine shrimp was placed in a different household and environment, which could have drastically altered the results of the experiment.Our experiment was flawed. (Emily)The times that the brine shrimp were fed were also different which could have changed each shrimps development. We also fed the shrimp in different way; some of us used our hands and some measured it differently, all things that could change the development of the brine shrimp. (Izzy)

It would be interesting to perform follow-up experiments on this topic. It would be useful to figure out what the results might have been, and helpful to revisit this topic with a new procedure and collect the necessary results. With a different experiment design, there may have been a more successful experiment. (Emily)

Questions to consider: Why were James's shrimp the only survivors?

(James)

Name	Warm Feedback	Cool Feedback
Amanda Shepherd	Very Good Start	Methods and a Title?
Angel Vaughn	i agree with Amanda. this is a good start	you still Isabella's results, methods, conclusion, and the title
Sam	your materials list is detailed	You only have the materials list and a title
Aliza	good start.	Its short
Phillip	James' results are really detailed and good.	A lot is missing! What was your hypothesis? What was the outcome of your experiment? There is not enough information.
Cindy	I agree, this is really good.	There is some information missing.
Lily	Very detailed! I love how you organized your text/pictures/ data table, graph/ poll.	You should add colors to the text so the page is not just black and white.
Coda	Clean looking and well written. Colors hurt eyes.	Poll doesn't work on the computer I'm using (I don't really have any way of fixing that, but just putting it out there). Acknowledgments and sources? Link back to journal page?
Scott	Great Experiment! Very interesting idea.	In the first sentence you wrote Effects when it should be Affects. You could also add a little color. Too bad most of the shrimp died. Graph and data table need longer, more detailed title.

Abby, Angel, and Daniele

Scott14 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:47:08 CST

The amount of soap and detergent (simulating pollution) affects how daisies grow By: Abby, Angel and Daniele Abstract: We decided to test how much pollution in water affects plants. We decided that the amount of pollution (simulated by soap and detergent) in water received by daisies effects their growth. We simulated the pollution with dish soap and chose daisies as our testing flower. To choose the detergent and dish soap we added in factors to make it more realistic, like the economy. We then divided up the plants into 3 groups with 3 pots per group and watered 1 with regular water, 1 with detergent mixed with water, and 1 with dish soap mixed with water. Intro: Pollution has become a very important topic in the scientific community. Scientist have already come to the conclusion that water pollution and runoff affect plant growth. They have tested this is many ways and on many different plants. We wanted to see this theory in action, see how dramatic the effects was and in what ways the plant was affected. We included factors like the economy, buying cheaper soaps and other materials and we also considered our daily lives. When we were thinking of ways to test pollution, we decided to test it simulating detergent and soap because we believe that they are some of the most commonly and most used pollutants in the average house old. Materials: We used 3 packs of daisy seeds, 1 bottle of Trend Ultra Concentrate detergent, 1 bottle of Ajax dish soap, 27 3.5 inch flower pots, a extra large bag of soil, and a graph we made Trend Laundry Detergent used in the Experiment Ajax Dish Soap used in the Experiment Methods: First, we divided the pots into 3 groups (3 to each). Then we filled each of them with soil until it went up to about an inch below the top of the pot. Then we put 5 seeds into each pot in the shape of a square with a dot in the center. Then, everyday we watered each with 6 teaspoons of water. For those being watered with soap we added 1/2 teaspoons of soap. We recorded the plants progress on a graph each day. These are Abby's plants but this was the basic setup of the plants (divided into 3's) Results: The plants that were only given plain water grew, but the plants that were given Ajax (dish soap) and Trend (detergent) did not grow. But we did observe that the soil in the pots being watered with soap and water became stained in the parts watered with the most soap. By stained, we mean that it became permanently darker until the next time we watered it. 6 teaspoons of regular water 6 teaspoons of regular water with 1/2 teaspoon of Ajax dish soap 6 teaspoons of regular water with 1/2 teaspoons of Trend detergent Conclusions: We are still very confident in our hypothesis because the lack of data and observations could be used as evidence to prove the hypothesis. The plants did not grow and the soil was stained when watered with the soap. This is not a normal reaction so from this we can conclude that our hypothesis is most likely true. The results make sense for the most part. The soil being damaged by the chemicals in the soap and detergent and the lack of growth was expected. Almost every test has come away with results like this. However, the results for the regular water plants do not really make sense. We are unsure why there was no growth here. We currently believe that the time of year and lack of time are to blame. These results could be used to further prove the effects runoff and pollution have on plants and there environments. The most important results we have gathered from this experiment is the fact that the soapy and detergent water stained the soil. It shows the abnormal effects pollution has on plants. If we could redo this experiment, we would have changed some things. We would have added more test subjects to each group. We also would have grown them in a different time of year and for a linger period of time, this way the plants would have more time to grow and be under more normal conditions. We are still a little confused about our results, though we believe some of them are valid and valuable. We don't understand why the regular water daisies did not grow at all. If a follow up experiment was done with the new guidelines presented above we believe we would have better, expected, and helpful results. Acknowledgments: Parents for helping get the materials, Angel's mom bought the supplies for the plants (pots, detergent, dish soap, soil), Daniele's mom bought the daisy seeds. Daniele provided a useful chart to keep track of what happened each day to the plants, and all three of us made this page. Who did what: Abstract-Abby Intro-Abby Materials and Methods-Angel Results-Daniele Conclusion-All Acknowledgment: Angel Pictures: All

The amount of soap and detergent (simulating pollution) affects how daisies grow

By: Abby, Angel and Daniele

Abstract: We decided to test how much pollution in water affects plants. We decided that the amount of pollution (simulated by soap and detergent) in water received by daisies effects their growth. We simulated the pollution with dish soap and chose daisies as our testing flower. To choose the detergent and dish soap we added in factors to make it more realistic, like the economy. We then divided up the plants into 3 groups with 3 pots per group and watered 1 with regular water, 1 with detergent mixed with water, and 1 with dish soap mixed with water.

Intro: Pollution has become a very important topic in the scientific community. Scientist have already come to the conclusion that water pollution and runoff affect plant growth. They have tested this is many ways and on many different plants. We wanted to see this theory in action, see how dramatic the effects was and in what ways the plant was affected. We included factors like the economy, buying cheaper soaps and other materials and we also considered our daily lives. When we were thinking of ways to test pollution, we decided to test it simulating detergent and soap because we believe that they are some of the most commonly and most used pollutants in the average house old.

Materials: We used 3 packs of daisy seeds, 1 bottle of Trend Ultra Concentrate detergent, 1 bottle of Ajax dish soap, 27 3.5 inch flower pots, a extra large bag of soil, and a graph we made
Trend Laundry Detergent used in the Experiment

Ajax Dish Soap used in the Experiment

Methods: First, we divided the pots into 3 groups (3 to each). Then we filled each of them with soil until it went up to about an inch below the top of the pot. Then we put 5 seeds into each pot in the shape of a square with a dot in the center. Then, everyday we watered each with 6 teaspoons of water. For those being watered with soap we added 1/2 teaspoons of soap. We recorded the plants progress on a graph each day.

These are Abby's plants but this was the basic setup of the plants (divided into 3's)

Results: The plants that were only given plain water grew, but the plants that were given Ajax (dish soap) and Trend (detergent) did not grow. But we did observe that the soil in the pots being watered with soap and water became stained in the parts watered with the most soap. By stained, we mean that it became permanently darker until the next time we watered it.

6 teaspoons of regular water

6 teaspoons of regular water with 1/2 teaspoon of Ajax dish soap

6 teaspoons of regular water with 1/2 teaspoons of Trend detergent

Conclusions: We are still very confident in our hypothesis because the lack of data and observations could be used as evidence to prove the hypothesis. The plants did not grow and the soil was stained when watered with the soap. This is not a normal reaction so from this we can conclude that our hypothesis is most likely true.
The results make sense for the most part. The soil being damaged by the chemicals in the soap and detergent and the lack of growth was expected. Almost every test has come away with results like this. However, the results for the regular water plants do not really make sense. We are unsure why there was no growth here. We currently believe that the time of year and lack of time are to blame.
These results could be used to further prove the effects runoff and pollution have on plants and there environments. The most important results we have gathered from this experiment is the fact that the soapy and detergent water stained the soil. It shows the abnormal effects pollution has on plants.
If we could redo this experiment, we would have changed some things. We would have added more test subjects to each group. We also would have grown them in a different time of year and for a linger period of time, this way the plants would have more time to grow and be under more normal conditions.
We are still a little confused about our results, though we believe some of them are valid and valuable. We don't understand why the regular water daisies did not grow at all. If a follow up experiment was done with the new guidelines presented above we believe we would have better, expected, and helpful results.
Acknowledgments: Parents for helping get the materials, Angel's mom bought the supplies for the plants (pots, detergent, dish soap, soil), Daniele's mom bought the daisy seeds. Daniele provided a useful chart to keep track of what happened each day to the plants, and all three of us made this page.

Who did what:
Abstract-Abby
Intro-Abby
Materials and Methods-Angel
Results-Daniele
Conclusion-All
Acknowledgment: Angel
Pictures: All

Our data from 12/1/09 - 12/18/09

12/1/09: (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/2/09: (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/3/09: (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/4/09 = (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/5/09 = (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/6/09 = (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the afternoon. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the afternoon. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the afternoon.

12/7/09 = (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/8/09 = (Water only) pots 1, 4, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8= watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/9/09 = (Water only) pots 1 has no buds, pot 4 has 1 bud about 1/4 of a centimeter long, pot 7 has 3 buds each about 1/4 of a centimeter = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/10/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has no buds, pot 4 has 1 bud that is 1/6 of a centimeter, and pot 7 has 3 buds: 1) 3/11 of an centimeter, 2) 4/11 of a centimeter, and 3) 3/11 of a centimeter = watered in the afternoon. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the afternoon. (Trend dish soap) Pots
3, 6, and 9 = watered in the afternoon.

12/11/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 1 bud, pot 4 has 2 buds: 1) 1 centimeter, 2) 6/11 of a centimeter, and pot 7 has 3 buds: 1) 6/11 of a centimeter, 2) 8/11 of a centimeter, and 3) 5/11 of a centimeter = watered in the morning. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 7 = watered in the morning. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the morning.

12/12/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 1 bud that is 1/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 2 buds, 1) 1 1/11 of a centimeter, 2) 7/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 3 buds, 1) 7/11 of a centimeter, 2) 9/11 of a centimeter, 3) 6/11 of a centimeter = watered at night. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered at night. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered at night.

12/13/09 = (Water only) pots 1 has 2 buds (1 new) 1) 2/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 2 buds, 1) 1 3/11 of a centimeter, 2) 8/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 3 buds, 1) 8/11 of a centimeter, 2) 10/11 of a centimeter, 3) 7/11 of a centimeter, = watered at night. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered at night. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered at night.

12/14/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 2 buds, 1) 3/11 of a centimeter, 2) 4/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 2 buds, 1) 1 4/11 of a centimeter, 2) 9/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 4 buds (1 new), 1) 9/11 of a centimeter, 2) 1 centimeter, 3) 8/11 of a centimeter = watered at night. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered at night. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered at night.

12/15/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 2 buds, 1) 3/11 of a centimeter, 2) 4/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 1 bud (1 died), 1) 1 1/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 4 buds, 1) 1 centimeter, 2) 1 1/11 of a centimeter, 3) 1/11 of a centimeter, 4) 3/11 of a centimeter = watered at night. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered at night. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered at night.

12/16/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 2 buds, 1) 4/11 of a centimeter, 2) 5/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 1 bud, 1) 1 3/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 3 buds (1 died), 1) 5/11 of a centimeter, 2) 1 centimeter, 4) 1/11 of a centimeter = watered at night. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered at night. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered at night.

12/17/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 1 bud (1 died), 1) 5/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 2 buds (1 spotted), 1) 1 6/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 3 buds, 1) 6/11 of a centimeter, 2) 1 1/11 of a centimeter, 4) 1/11 of a centimeter = watered in the afternoon. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered in the afternoon. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered in the afternoon.

12/18/09 = (Water only) pot 1 has 1 bud (1 died), 1) 6/11 of a centimeter, pot 4 has 2 buds, 1) 1 8/11 of a centimeter, 2) less than 1/11 of a centimeter, pot 7 has 3 buds, 1) 7/11 of a centimeter, 2) 1 3/11 of a centimeter, 4) 1/11 of a centimeter = watered at night. (Ajax detergent) Pots 2, 5, and 8 = watered at night. (Trend dish soap) Pots 3, 6, and 9 = watered at night.

Name	Warm Feedback	Cool Feedback
Mira	sounds like a great experiment	more info! also, your members are all messed up, it says that you're Venice Matthew and Cindy.
Lily	very interesting hypothesis	needs procedure and results, and like Mira said, more information in general!
Alex S.	I agree, sounds like a cool experiment.	Yes, more info! Results? Methods? Ack?
Olivia	Nice start you guys	try to fill in some more information on your experiment :)
Irena	yeah, this sounds pretty cool	i agree with everyone else, you need to give more info
Jennie Nadel	I think the hypothesis sounds really interesting	You need a lot more information and maybe some visuals.
Ben Irving	It's good that they differentiated between soap and detergent.	Your not done so i don't want to say anything.
Max Hoffmann	Good start, this experiment sounds very interesting.	You left out a lot parts.....
Ilan ------------------------------------------------------------------ Mason ------------------------------------------------------------------ Aliza	Good start. Sounds great. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Good start, cant wait to here more. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting experiment.	You should put in some multimedia and needs more info. ------------------------------------------------------------------ A lot is still missing but I know you are not done. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I'm confused, what is detergent in this experiment? You said that the soap is the pollution, but did not specify anything about the detergent.
Zoe	Good start, nice hypothesis.	I agree with Aliza, I was a bit confused there. Also, you should label things more clearly and try to include some pictures.
Sophie	it sounds very interesting! good experiment and hypothesis	I agree with Aliza and Zoe, the detergent part is sort of unclear to me
Dominic ------------------------------------------------------------------ Alex P.	Really great experiment! ------------------------------------------------------------------ Interesting experiment, too bad that none of the daisies grew.	Specify ------------------------------------------------------------------ More information would be good. How does the dish soap choice factor into the economy?

Georgina	Good job so far	Any pictures? I also agree with everyone, the detergent is unclear.
Arielle	Cool experiment	needs pictures and some part are a bit unclear.
Peik ------------------------------------------------------------------ Amanda ---------------------------- Afemi Venice Phillip:	Coloring is great! also very interesting experiment! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nice Color! The color-coding makes everything easier to read, which is always good. Good colors! Your materials are good and your method is great!	Pictures would give it a nice pop and some specification would help -------------------------------------------------------- Pictures of your pots would help. I'm afraid the soap killed your plants. You should have considered this. Pictures are needed You should add pictures. Your hypothesis should be part of the abstract. You need an abstract. Many parts of the conclusion are missing.
Dominic	Interesting topic. I like the pictures!	The results are a little to big and almost hard to understand.
Scott	I always wondered how soap would affect plants.	The observations should be a new sections inter-grated within the lab report instead of thrown in at the end. Also, the materials and methods should be ONE section.

Sami Very interesting topic, and very clean. Picture would be nice

Adam and Lucas

Scott14 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:40:28 CST

Abstract:
We tested on meal worms to see their eating habits. We wanted to know if they liked apples more or if they liked potatoes more. It is recommend to give both apples and potatoes to meal worms but we wanted to see if one was more popular then the other. Apples and potatoes have very different tastes and we wanted to see if the meal worms would like one taste over the other and for what reasons. What we did to test this is we put meal worms in a container and put apple and potato on the other side but in 2 different corners. We let them choose if they wanted to eat apple or if they wanted to eat potato.

Hypothesis
Meal worms prefer apples to potatoes.

Prediction
If we let meal worms choose to eat apples or potatoes they will choose.

Introduction
The meal worm is what it's name describes. It is mostly used as food for birds and lizards or bait. Tenebrio molitor is a species that is nowhere near extinction. They are most common to appear in cool damp climates like the underside of a rock. They are nocturnal. The Gestation period is fairly short, being one week long, So our tests only could last so long.Our First experiment consisted of us testing on whether mealworms like Potatoes or Apples more. We did not need a control group because it was an either/or experiment. The same rules apply to the experimental group. We experimented specifically on mealworm larvae. The beetle's taste is unknown to us. We gathered enough information to make some Observations.
his is what the inside of our cardboard cup looked like, though we could not see all the larvae at one time

Materials
20 Meal worms (per person)(larvae)
An Apple
A potato
A 30cmx6cm piece of cardboard
A cardboard cup
10 cg of meal worm feed

Methods
First we gathered materials. Then we take the meal worms out of the container. Then we cut a piece of potato and a piece of apple and put them 4 centimeters apart. We put the fruit on the edges of the cardboard After that, we put the worms 5 cm away from the apple and potato. After we watch the worms travel to their food, we watched the worms crawl to the food of choice. We measured every 3 day

Results
The amount of meal worms that decided to eat an apple

People	test 1	test 2	test 3	test 4
Lucas	13	12	13	N/A
Adam	11	12	12	N/A

The amount of meal worms that decided to eat a potato

People	test 1	test 2	test 3	test 4
Lucas	7	8	7	N/A
Adam	9	8	8	N/A

Apples (amount of meal worms)

Potatoes (amount of meal worms)

Personal Observations
Lucas
"I didn't know it mattered, I thought meal worms just ate whatever was available. These results are pretty close together, but far enough apart to let me form an opinion. I think that they favor apples to potatoes."
Adam
"About 2 days into the experiment I noticed that the meal worms shed their skin and learned its apart of their growth. Also after the experiment ended I noticed that 3 of my meal worms turned into larvae. After a few days they turned into Beatles but then shortly died."

Conclusion
With the results that we got we definitely believe that meal worms like apple better then potatoes. In raising meal worms we found out that both apples and potatoes are recommended, but clearly most meal worms like apples better. If most meal worms like apple better we wondered if we really need to feed them potatoes. If we were going to redo this experiment, we would have more control variables. We could not control the temperature in each room so that might have an affect on the meal worms. They might like apple in warmer weather and potatoes in colder weather, or vis-versa. Another thing we would change is we would try and prevent the meal worms from going anywhere else in the container and try to get them to be interested in either the apple or potato. We also would try and use more meal worms so it the experiment can have a longer duration to get better results. We would like to know if it matters if meal worms eat apples or potatoes and if it can affect their lives and reproduction. We were also wondering if a group of meal worms eat only apples and another eats only potatoes will they become

different species over time?

Allergies & Autoimmune Diseases

Mira14 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:52:37 CST

Under Construction

This student page contains background information of malfunctions of the immune system: Allergic Reactions and Autoimmune diseases. Feel free to add and edit as many examples as possible. Do include textual explanations (in addition to multimedia, if you choose) and links to your original sources. Please visit the main Immunology page for more background.

Allergic reactions:
These are common. Many are mild, but some can be sever and life threatening. They occur more often in people who have a family history of allergies. Examples of things that may trigger allergic reactions are Bee Stings, certain foods, medications and pollen. The first time you have an allergic reaction, you may only have a mild reaction, but the more times you are exposed to it, the more severe the reaction will become. They can also be confined to a small portion of the body, or spread over the entire body. Most severe reactions occur seconds, or minutes after exposure. some may occur after a few hours, or, at the most, 24 hours later. Common allergies include animal dander, stings, foods (nuts, fish, shellfish) insect bites, medications, plants and pollen. Common reactions can take the form of hives, itching, stuffy nose, rashes, and red eyes. If any of these happen, try to identify the allergen (the thing that triggers the allergic reaction) and remove the person form contact. If the person is having a more severe allergic reaction, like, difficulty breathing, dizziness, fear, nausea or vomiting, swelling of the face, weakness, or unconsciousness, check the person's airway, call 911, calm the person down, and if they have medicine against their allergy, give it to them. (ack:http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000005.htm)

Online Resources

emily2014 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:04:50 CST

lPlease use and add favorite sites related to biology content below. Do include a brief description next to the link. Note that the links that are currently used in the Introductory Biology Course or the Disease Elective can also be found at The Bookmarks. Visit the Teacher's Corner for lesson plans and other educational activities. Also view course Handouts.

General Science & the Nature of Science
Links	Brief Description
http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html	This sight is an overview of how to write a lab report and its different components
http://www.digitaldutch.com/unitconverter/	This sight converts a variety of different units
Graphs	This sight shows you which type of graph to use: line, bar, etc.
http://www.sciencedaily.com	This sight has experiments and information relating to all different types of science.
http://www.pbs.org/science/ ____________________________________________________ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/programs/	This site has info on all fields of science _________________________________________ This site links to the most recent episodes of Nova, a show about the nature of science and physics.
http://www.fordhamfoundation.org/issues/index.cfm	Good link for any kind of science questions.

http://www.livescience.com/	This sight contains many different topics including, space, environment, health, technology, culture, history, videos and news and articles related to science.
National Geographic	A respected journal and magazine that publishes many very interesting science related articles.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/nature/index.shtml	This web sight contains information on the basics of the nature of science.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method	This is the wikipedia explanation of the scientific method.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/	Here is a site dedicated to Darwin's work, including a long list of most, if not all of his publications.
http://www.wired.com/science/	The science section of the great Wired website.
http://www.kids.gov/
http://www.exploratorium.edu/	This is a general science website, it is student friendly, and has some interactive games, but is quite educational at the same time.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html	The NY Times Science Section has fascinating articles on the latest experiments in science. One does not need to register to view the articles.
General biology	This shows all major fields of biology
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/	This site shows examples of evolution.
Wikipedia on Biology	This is Wikipedia's definition and an article about biology in general.
http://www.bio.org/	This link is everything you need to know about biology that is going on right now. It is basically a bio news paper. Its really cool, check it out.
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/science.html

BrainPop	This shows animated videos on how stuff works
http://www.youtube.com/user/wilsonsbiologylab	This shows all of the things that we should expect to be in the intro bio course.
Some Notes on the Nature of Science	This link shows notes on the nature of science by Joe Schwartz and Stephen Barrett.
Fun Science Experiments for Kids	This link has fun science experiments to do at home. They're all perfectly safe.
Funny Evolution Images	These are various funny pictures of evolution in different countries.
Popular Science	This website offers a in depth look at both current and futuristic technologies.
CNN	CNN is a valuable resource that posts very respectable articles, often science related.
http://www.bacteriamuseum.org/cms/Evolution/evolution-in-bacteria.html	site explains how evolution in bacteria works
General Science	This website provides valuable information on anything about general science.
http://www.sciencemag.org/	This website is a science magazine that talks about all the latest major experiments and much more.
Genetics Home Reference	This is a Website about Genetics and DNA.
http://www.extremescience.com/zoom/index.php/home	This is a website with general things and facts about science which are very interesting.

Evolution
Links	Brief Description
Homologies	This is a website about understanding evolution.
Natural Selection	This is a website that explains Natural Selection and how it works.
pbs Evolution Page	This is the pbs website on evolution.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/	This is a website with lots of information from the University of California; explains the basics of evolution and gives recent breakthroughs with it
Intro to Evolution	This website tells you about evolution.
http://www.actionbioscience.org/ _________________________________________________________ http://dev.nsta.org/ssc/moreinfo.asp?id=1006	this site is just a very strong source for all forms of biology ________________________________________________ This is a website that talks about evolution and fossil record
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_25	This site explains natural selection and gives a good example.
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/jbpascar/Courses/Biol1010/ExtraCreditActivities/American%20Scientist%20Online%20-%20Adaptive%20Radiation%20of%20Darwin%27s%20Finches.htm	A very in-depth article about the Medium Ground Finch's observed evolution process written by the scientists who originally designed the experiment.
Darwin \| American Museum of Natural History	This is an online exhibition about Charles Darwin.
Darwin's Writings	Has a complete list of all of Charles Darwin's writings, including his original book of the theory of evolution Origin of Species
Wiley interscience	This website lets you read articles from a book about Evolution
http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96feb/darwin.html	A website that tells you about Charles Darwin's trip to the Galapagos Islands and his theory of evolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution	This is Wikipedia's information on evolution
Fossil Hominids: The Evidence for Human Evolution	This is a website about Human Evolution vs Creation mainly based on Hominid Fossils.
Regents Prep	This website provides useful information on natural selection, mutations, and variation.
Niche Evolution	This is a webiste link about Niche Evolution from Nick Friedenberg's research.
True Origins Archive	This is a website archive that you can search all different pieces of evolutionary evidence
PBS	This is a website with many different topics relating to Evolution.
Allopatric and Sympatric Speciation	This website talks about what allopatric speciation is and how it works. Tawards the bottom of the page there is a link that is called "sympatric speciation" and tells you what in means and how it differs from allopatric speciation.
Evidence of Evolution	This is a site that has some evidence of evolution.
All About Pheromones	This is information on Pheromones by Wikipedia
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/S/Speciation.htm	This is a site that explains speciation and the different kinds.
Science News	This site contains information on evolution occurring with humans
Evolution Website	This site contains information about evolution and can be good for research and vocab.
Natural Selection Source	This site has a case study and explains natural selection in depth
http://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/	This is Darwin's theory of evolution (hence the link's name)
http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/understanding_evolution.htm	This is an essay on how ideas about evolution have changed over time.

Genetics & Biotechnology
Links	Brief Description
Genetics	This site gives great information about Genetics.
Biotechnoligy	This site gives great information about Biotechnoligy
http://www.chw.org/display/PPF/DocID/23185/router.asp	This site has good information about genetic disorders and their causes.
Gene School	This is a link to a website on genes and hereditary traits
DNA-RNA-Protein	This page has information and a navigational "game" on D.N.A, R.N.A., and Protein.
http://www.genetics.org/	This cite is everything that you need to know about genetics. It has modern updates on the scientific world's understanding of genes. Check it out!
Genetics and Biotechnology	This site has news and special reports on genetics and biotechnology updated every day
Genetic activities	This site has games and activities for middle schoolers relating to genetics
Genetic Traits	This cite has great information and explanations on traits in genetics.
http://faculty.southwest.tn.edu/jiwilliams/Human_Traits.htm	This site gives a detailed list of Dominant and Recessive Traits.
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/genetics.shtml http://science.jrank.org/pages/2998/Genotype-Phenotype.html All About Genetics	This site gives links to the genome of almost any organism. Genotypes and Phenotypes There are many different topics within this site such as the relationship between DNA and Protiens, your traits, and new genetic technology.
Genetics PBS DNA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA DNA National Human Genome Research Institute	The University of Kansas' educational site on Genetics, that has a collection of interesting facts as well as links to other sites. The PBS website on DNA This is a wikipedia page on DNA This is a website that tells you what DNA is A website containing a detailed fact sheet on Deoxyribonucleic Acid

The Human Body and Disease
Links	Brief Description
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	This is a government funded website that has articles, photos and videos about the latest diseases and disease control
Web MD	This is a database for all types of medical information, is especially helpful in terms of diseases, conditions and their symptoms as well as very good general information.
Flu.gov http://www.flu.gov/	This is a Flu database created by the government, which supplies current information about any type of flu and if there are recent outbreaks.
http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/science/trivia/human/index.html	This link provides 20 very interesting facts about the human body.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/commoncancers	This link provides the most common types of cancers and important information on what they entail.
http://www.who.int/topics/infectious_diseases/en/	This link to the World Health Organization provides a lot of information of infectious disease from an organization that deals with it first hand on a daily basis
http://www.arup.utah.edu/database/index.php	A database on diseases.
The American Health Assistance Foundation	A great website with loads of information on diseases. It has reports from latest research on diseases like alzheimer's and Glaucoma. Its filled with articles and new information about major diseases and illnesses.

The Glossary - Introductory Biology

jennie14 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:45:07 CST

),In addition to using the glossary to study, also use the flashcards, here.
A - C

TERM	DEFINITION
Adaptation	An adaptation is a mutation in an organism that is helpful for said organism to survive and reproduce in its particular environment and niche.
Adaptive Radiation	When one species evolves into several species and each of those species fill a different niche
Allele	Different forms of genes that are represented by a capital and lower-case letter. There are dominant alleles (capital letter), recessive alleles (lower-case letter), and incomplete dominant alleles (a mixture of a dominant allele and a recessive allele, e.g. wavy hair). The dominant alleles are able to mask the recessive resulting in the phenotype specified by the dominant. While the incomplete dominant is unable to fully mask a recessive allele resulting in a mixed phenotype. No dominant alleles present result in the phenotype of the recessive alleles.
Allopatric Speciation	When species originate after geographic barrier cuts off gene flow
Anatomy	The study of the physical structure of living things
Ancestor	An early type of organism from which others have evolved. Many organisms can share a common ancestor.
Asexual	Not involving the fusion of male and female gametes, as in vegetative reproduction, fission, or budding
Behavioral Isolation	There is little or no sexual attraction between males and females.
Biology	The study of living organisms.
Biological Definition (for a species) and problems associated with it	If two organisms can mate and produce fertile offspring under natural conditions they are the same species. Problems with this definition: a) does not work for asexual organisms, and b) does not work for extinct organisms.
Biome	A big, natural, group of plants and animals in a major habitat.
Biotechnology Base Pairs	The integration between science and nature A pair of complementary bases in a double-helix which "fit together". A belongs with T, while G belongs with C.
Cell Theory	A theory that states that all living organisms are composed of cells.
Common Ancestor	An extinct species that is related to two present species.
controlled variable	Controlled Variables are items or things that are not being changed in an experiment.
Constant	A variable that always stays the same
Chromosome	A thread-like structure in the nucleus of a cell that carries genetic information in the form of DNA
competition	A contest between two species for one niche
Cytoplasm	The part of the cell that is between the cell wall and the nucuelus
cell	The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building brick of life.
Cyanide	A type of poison that the white clover (only the variety with white stripes) uses to defend itself against predators. The poison is activated when the plant is bitten because there are two ingredients in two different parts of the cell, and when the cell is broken, they combine to make cyanide
Copulate	The physical act of having sex
Cancer	the disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in parts of the body
Characteristics	A broad generalization of all traits, classifying types of things in humans without going into specifics. Example: Hair color.
Concentration Gradient	Varying concentrations of something
Apple Maggot Fly	The section of the species Rhagoletis pomonella that lays its eggs on apples
Allel	An allele is one of a pair that has a specific position on a certain chromosome. You have two alleles for each trait. You can have one dominant and one recessive or two dominant or two recessive. The dominant allele masks the recessive allele.
P. Camper	A scientist that compared European, African and Ape skull structures to "perfect" facial structures of Greek and Roman statues. If your skull didn't match the statues, you were considered ugly.
co-dominant	Heterozygotes display both phenotypes equally. Example: flowers that show two colors equally.

D - F

TERM	DEFINITION
Detelation	When a part of chromosome is deleted
Dependent variable	Observed result of the independant variable being manipulated
Dominant Allele	The allele that covers the recessive allele thus it is the one that overpowers the recessive one.
Egg	The female sex cell; determines half of babies' DNA
Evolution	A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.
Evolve	To change over time from an original ancestor to a different species by gaining adaptations and losing useless body parts and traits both through mutations in their chromosomes and DNA.
Evidence	Facts that indicate whether a belief or theory is true or valid.
Extinction	When a species completely dies off and discontinues reproducing.
Environment	where one species lives
Enzyme	A chemical produced by cells to speed up chemical reactions
Darwin	The man who created the theory of evolution/natural selection, based on evidence he gathered from the Galapagos Islands.
Ecology	the branch of biology that deals with the relations of other organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
Fossil record	all the preserved species that have gone extinct that leave there skeletons to be able to map out the leaps of evolution
Fossil	remains or evidence of a living organism that is preserved.
Dominant Trait	In genetics, a trait that will appear in the offspring if one of the parents contributes it. Always overrides a recessive trait
Experiment	A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)	A self-replicating material, main constituent of chromosomes. It looks like a twisted ladder called a double helix and they are made up of sugar molecules, phosphate molecules and nitrogen bases. There are 4 different nitrogen bases Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine
Double Helix	The shape that DNA is in, which resembles a twisted ladder

G - I

TERM

DEFINITION

Genes

Genetics

A hereditary unit consisting of a sequence of DNA that occupies a specific location on a chromosome and determines a particular characteristic in an organism. Genes undergo mutation when their DNA sequence changes.>>

The science of heredity, dealing with resemblances and differences of related

organisms resulting from the interaction of their genes and the environment.

Hypothesis

An explanation of your observations. Your hypothesis can be proven by doing an experiment.

Homeostasis

The capability to maintain a constant environment.

Homology

Refers to any simalrities between organisms becuase of their shared ancestry

independent variable

The thing you change in an experiment to create different groups besides the control group.

Isolation

Insoluble

Happens when species suddenly become cut off from other member of there own species

Incapable of being dissolved.

Gametic Isolation

Male and/or female gametes die before uniting or fail to unite.

Gene pool

The total genetic information in the sex cells of all the individuals in a population.

Gene flow

The transfer of genes between populations (reproduction)

Hereditary

passing, or capable of passing, naturally from parent to offspring through the genes

Homologous structures

Structures that evolve from the same ancestral body parts.

Hybrid

The offspring of two different species

Imprint

a fossil formed when a thin object leaves an impresion in soft mud, which hardens

Hybrid Inviability

hybrid zygotes fail to develop or to reach sexual maturity

Hybrid Stenility

Hybrid fails to produce functional gametes

Hybried Breakdown

Offspring of hybrids are weak or infertile

Hawthorn Maggot Fly

The section of the species Rhagoletis pomonella that lays its eggs on the hawthorn fruit

Habitat Isolation

where two species live in the same general area but live or reproduce in different habitats

Incomplete Dominant

when a trait doesn't have complete dominance. Leads to in-between phenotype.

gametes

sex cells (sperm and egg)

Genotype

The genetic constitution of an individual organism.

Homozygous

Having two dominant or recessive alleles for a given trait

Heterozygous

Having one dominant and one recessive allele for a given trait

hetero

different

histogram

showing variation

homo

same

J - L

TERM	DEFINITION
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck	A French scientist who originally came up with the idea of evolution, but was incorrect in saying that organisms could pass on genes acquired in their lifetimes and that characteristics would disappear from disuse. As well as saying that an organism could develop positive mutations out of necessity or desire.

M - O

TERM	DEFINITION
molecular clock	a scale that can be used to determine how long ago an organism has branched off from its ancestor
manipulated variable Morton, Samuel George	The Variable that is changed, or controlled intentionally A scientist who measured the size of skulls from different countries of the world. He concluded that the smaller skull you had, the less intelligent you were.
mean Meiosis	average The process in which half of the DNA is removed from a parent cell with two copies of every gene so the child's cell has only one copy of every gene. The cells that have half of the DNA become sex cells.
Migration	When an organism moves from its original habitat to a new one
Morphological Definition (for a species) and problems associated with it	Using appearance to judge if two organisms are the same or a different species-If two organisms look the same they are the same species, if they look different they are a different species. Problems: a) variation within a species- if two organisms look different because they have different traits they can still be the same species, b) two organisms look the same but are still a different species, c) sometimes species try to mimic each other.
Mutation	A mutation is a change in DNA of an organism that can occur randomly or be hereditary. Sometimes it is beneficial to the organism and sometimes it is not.
Natural Selection	The process in which organisms best adapted to their environment survive and reproduce often then those that are not. Sometimes a new species will occur but not always.
Niche	The mix of an organism's needs, its habitat, and the part it plays in its habitat
Observation	an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.
Organism	any individual living creature (an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form)
Overproduction Original Population	More offspring are born than can possibly survive in one environment. A primary group of creatures adapted to an environment, in which mutations form from.
Maladaptation	An trait which came by a mutation that is not beneficial to the survival of the organism in its enviorment.
Mechanical Isolation	A type of reproductive isolation where the male and female sex organs are incompadible with each other
Meiosis	process in which half of the DNA is randomly erased to make sex cells (gametes)
Mitosis	A type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus, typical of ordinary tissue growth.
Observational Study	Draws inferences about the possible effect of a treatment on subjects, where the assignment of subjects into a treated group versus a control groupis outside the control of the investigator.
Nucleotide	molecules that when they are joined together, make the structure of DNA and RNA.

P - R

TERM	DEFINITION
punctuated equilibrium	periods in Earth's history in which many adaptive radiations occur in a relatively short period of time.
prediction	An educated guess for the result of an experiment or anything and how it might turn out.
Phenotype	The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from natural selection. How an organism acts in its environment.
Photosynthesis	The process/cycle in which plants use sunlight and CO2, turn it into energy (food), and let out oxygen for other organisms to breathe. The organisms that breathe the oxygen then let out CO2 for the plants to use.
Pheromone	A chemical scent given off by an organism for communication
Peppered Moth	The moth in england that lives on trees and is either black or grey.
Recessive allele	the allele that is masked by the dominant allele
Reproduction	the process of making offspring or making a copy of something
responding variable	A variable that will change as a result of a change in the manipulated variable.
RNA	Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins.

S - U

TERM	DEFINITION
Soluble Species	Able to be dissolved. group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. Also the two organisms must be able to produce fertile offspring.
Speciation	the process by which one or more populations of a species become genetically different enough to form a new species.
Selection Pressure	-A cause that disables the success of any organisms -A danger to a selected organism that threatens the reproduction of that organism
Temporal Isolation Transition Forms	Organisms mate at different seasons or times, which stops gene flow and may lead to two different species. This is sympatric speciation. fossils of each stage between the big changes of an organisms that show characteristics, previous adaptations, and descendant organisms.
Theory	An explanation, not a guess
Trace Fossil	evidence of the activities of an organism
Translocation	When chromosome pieces are deleted
sex cell	a sperm or egg; a gamete
Sperm	The male sex cell; along with determining half the DNA, it, unlike the egg, determines babies' gender
subspecies	When species have distinct differences and are sometimes isolated but can mate and produce fertile offspring.
sympatric speciation	A speciation where new organisms evolve from one ancestor while living in the same geographic region
Survival of the fittest	When the better adapted organism of a species is able to thrive and reproduce, killing off the less adapted one.
Traits	A specific characteristic based off genetics. Example: Brown hair, blue eyes
Telomere	both sections in the DNA at the end of the chromosome

V - Z

TERM	DEFINITION
Variation	-Each member of a species has different traits, so no two are exactly alike. -When their is a difference between organisms within a species
Prezygote	-Before the fertilization of a females sex cell(egg).
Postzygote	-After the fertilization of a females sex cell(egg).
Zygote	post-fertilization cell. the cell after the egg and sperm have joined.

Olivia and Mira

Phillip14 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:20:03 CST

How The Amount Of Snail Offspring Are Effected By The Amount Of Water In Their Parents' Habitat (12/7/09-1/12/10)
By: Mira and Olivia

Experiment Question:
Snail Experiment: Does the amount of water affect the number of snails produced?

green=Mira's info purple=Olivia's info blue=general information/our findings black=labels

green=Mira's info
purple=Olivia's info
blue=general information/our findings
black=labels

Abstract:
Our experiment tested the amount of reproduction in varied amounts of water. We did this by have four different tanks with different amounts of water versus land. We used gravel to be land. Our first tank had all water, our second tank had 75% water, and 25% land. Our third tank has 50% and 50%, and the last on was 25% water, and 75% land. We didn't try 100% land because they need water to survive as others have proved already. In the end,Olivia got 4 snails babies in the 100% tank, 1 baby in the 75% tank, and 2 babies in the 50% 50% tank. Mira got one baby in the 75% tank and that's it. Our results don't prove our hypothesis, and don't go against it either. We did prove that it does affect the number of snails, but not much else. It does seem that one would need more than 25% water to have snail babies because neither Olivia nor Mira got got babies in that tank. Our hypothesis wasn't really proved.

Introduction:

We started with pond snails, but all of them died. We then started with trumpet snails. Those survived, so we are using them in this experiment. Trumpet snails need water to survive, they can't survive or reproduce without water. Because of this, we decided to see if the amount of water affected the snails. We had four different tanks with varied amounts of water and counted the number of babies found in each tank.

Methods:

We had four plastic containers, called critter keepers, each with a different amount of water. One had 3 cups(0.70976471 liters), the next 2 1/4 cups (0.53232353 liters), the next 2 1/2 cups (0.59147059 liters) and the last 3/4 of a cup (0.17744118 liters).We bought the snails online, and had them shipped to Mira.We then divided them among each other, brought them home and found a warm ish area for them to live for the duration of our experiment. We filled each habitat with an inch of blue and white gravel.Then we measured and added the correct amount of water needed into each tank.We put five snails (chosen randomly) in each tank, and kept the extras in a plastic container with many holes poked in the top.Every other day we fed the snails with algae wafers.Every three days we changed their water with purified water. We recorded observations every other day.Then at the end of the experiment we recorded the number of snails found in each at the end of our experiment.

Observations:

Mira's:
They all then seemed to play dead, but when Mira poked them a lot, they would start moving. I almost washed the baby out three times. They would hide in their shells when you washed their water out. Once they all hung out on the surface of the water upside down. The water got really dirty when you fed them.

Olivia's:
At first they would seem dead but if you watched them for a while they would come out of their shells and move their foot around and then their anteni to make sure it was safe then crawl around. They would go into their shells if they got scared (usually when you changed their water and had to put them in a separate tank while the other one was being cleaned because they got disoriented, or when you fed them because dropping the food in shakes the water which shakes them which can be scary.) For a while the just sat there, some climbed up the sides, but not all the way up. I found they liked to stay right where the water ended and the air started. They eat very slowly, but continuously, and like their food most when it is half dissolved.

Our Data:

Data Table Showing The Number of Snail Hatched in Different
Percentages of Water

Percentage of 100 mL of Water in Each Tank	Number of Snails Hatched in Olivia's Tanks	Number of Snails Hatched in Mira's Tanks
100%	4	0
75%	1	1
50%	2	0
25%	0	0

Line Graph:

Possible reasons that more did not hatch: replaced the water too often and washed out eggs/baby snails, and the snail eggs were in the water they were just too small for me to see, some environments were better for mating than others, other unknown variables, ...

This is a picture of Olivia's snail habitats This is just an up close photo of the habitats containing 25% water

Conclusion:
We found that our data didn't really match up so it was hard to draw conclusions. Although we had little data from Mira's experiment, if you compare the two tanks with the most reproduction, they are both larger than 50% full. Though that is not much of a conclusion, that is the best we can draw.

If we could do this experiment differently, overall we would be more careful with the treatment of our organisms. In order to do this, we would be more careful when cleaning the tank, meaning we would make sure we don't dispose of any snail eggs. Also Mira would keep them next to the window to keep her methods constant. One of the problems she ran into when the tank was not by the window was that her cat sat there most of the time, and knocked it over often. Also, we would have all the same colored lids for the tanks because although unlikely, a difference in color could have effected their survival. Furthermore we should have been more specific as to what temperature the rooms our tanks were in instead of just a warm room. Also, of course we did not have enough test subjects, because there can never be too many organisms to test on.

As a follow up experiment we could compare temperatures, because Mira's organisms were on the heater, not by the window, like Olivia's. We could do this by controlling the temperature the tanks are in and making sure it stays consistent throughout the experiment. The way we would control the temperature would be to put the tanks in either the same room, or two isolated rooms with a controllable heat source. We could also do an experiment that compares the amount of reproduction in tanks with different colored lids. The reason we would test this is the different colors could potentially vary the amount of light the snails received which could potentially effect their population numbers with in their tanks.

By doing this experiment, people will now be able to maximize their snail numbers by knowing how much water to provide their snails with to reproduce. Also, on a larger scale, if an environment where snails live lacks water, their snail population could drastically be effected which would lower the amount of food for the predators of snails which could effect the food chain. This means stop throwing junk into ponds, because then all the snail will die. (this is just in terms of water level, not pollution)

We could have used more snails, and have been more careful about not washing the baby snails down the sink.

Survey:

Acknowledgments: Mom for buying the tanks while I was in school

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/930/55073257.JPG
http://www.dragonflyaquatics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/japanese-trapdoor-snails1.jpg
http://www.lifeinfreshwater.org.uk/Species%20Pages/Limnius.jpg
http://www.exploringthepotteries.org.uk/Nof_website1/species/creepy_crawlies/other/other_images/gpsnail01pmag.jpg
http://jeremybiggs.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/lymnaeidae-lymnaea-galba-truncatula.jpg
http://th04.deviantart.net/fs5/150/i/2004/335/6/a/Smiling_Gary_The_Snail_by_athenatt.jpg

Acknowledgments: Mira's mom for getting the snails, gravel, and buying the water purifier.

Name	Warm Feedback	Cool Feedback
Lily	Interesting Hypothesis, good experiment design	Minimal information, needs acknowledgments, and when I first read it I thought you meant you had a cup with a baby (human) in it. The beginnings of sentences need to be capitalized. Also, what was the result of the experiment?
Daniele	Good thorough experiment, captivating hypothesis.	I agree with Lily, it needs acknowledgments and the experiment has some issues.
Emily	Good experiment design, straightforward hypothesis.	Missing a results section. Rephrase some unclear sentences. This was a little disorganized, and it was hard to tell if your results supported or refuted our hypothesis.
Jennie Nadel	Good Experiment, Interesting hypothesis You both seemed to really keep you kept your data consistent. It's good that you chose your snails randomly that way there is no certain age group and they are all mixed up.	Acknowledgments? A little unorganized I agree wit Emily and I'm a little confused If you hypothesis was proven or not.
Ben IRving	The subjects didn't die. You tested something specific, most groups didn't.	No pictures. Your Methods are not listed and are a long run-on. Do steps for the methods.
Abby	Good experiment design and hypothesis	The last observations paragraph is a little randome and I am unsure of how it relates to your hypothesis. Im not sure whether your hypothesis was proven or not.
Mason	Clear hypothesis and good experiment design.	The last paragraph was a bit random and there was a lot of irrelevant information in there.
Zoe	Good hypothesis, experiment design, and your pictures show a lot of information in them.	The conclusion is supposed to be five separate paragraphs, and the materials and methods are supposed to be in paragraph form not list.
Georgina Aliza	Good hypothesis and you photos are clear. Good experiment design. I agree with Georgina.	The acknowledgments should be more organized. Where is the conclusion? It is supposed to be five paragraphs. The methods should also be in paragraph form. I'm confused... what is your conclusion?
Sophie	Really clear hypothesis and report, very clear. great pictures	there is no conclusion and no results
Coda Dylan Reuben Peik Afemi	Hypothesis is solid; experiment is well designed. Good pictures and really descriptive. It sounds really interesting. Really well organized and nice pictures, also a lot of detail in you methods Your experiment is pretty amazing, and your choice of organisms is interesting.	Lack of conclusion or results; overall formatting is cramped and the materials and methods are not supposed to be in list form You are missing some key parts to your article. You might want to double space it because it was a bit tedious to read. You should probably round of off the amount of liters. It would be better if you added a bit to the summary of the experiment I think the "effects" in the title should be "affects", but I'm not really sure.
Scott Vahimir Alex Phillip	Great experiment. It sounds very intresting I like what you are doing in your experiment. Very interesting Very good experiment. Nice pictures. Your pictures are AWESOME!!! I like your graph. Also you formatted everything well. Very organized	Your materials and methods should be in paragraph form: not a list I agree with scott, your m&ms need to be in paragraph form. Conclusion could use more work You should probably add the heading " Results" into your experiment. Your introduction is a bit small.

Sami Sounds like aninterestingexperiment. Very detailed/ Try to clean the formatting up a bit

Cindy Good idea for an experiment!--The materials and methods should not be a list

Matthew, Cindy and Venice

Phillip14 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:15:54 CST

BRINE SHRIMP IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIQUID HATCH DIFFERENTLY.

ABSTRACT-Venice
Our Brine Shrimp experiment is simple. Our hypothesis is that Brine Shrimp in salt water hatch differently than Brine Shrimp in salt water with different amounts of lemon juice. Our control group was the salt water, and our experiments group(s) were the Brine Shrimp in the lemon salt water. In the end of our experiment we had mixed results. This proved our hypothesis correct, and that the amount of acid (lemon) does affect the amount of Brine Shrimp that hatched.
INTRODUCTION-Venice
For our experiment we tested Brine Shrimp and their ability to hatch in substances other than water. Brine Shrimp or there popular name Sea Monkeys are small organisms that don't grow more than 1 cm. in length. Scientists have carried out this experiment with different organisms in different situations. For example fish in non-polluted environments will hatch with less deformities than a fish in a polluted environment, or something out of their ordinary habitat. In our case the lemon juice lowered the Ph, which is bad. The real world situation that possibly could be tied to this would be pollution. We put things into our rivers, oceans, streams etc. This may affect the hatching of different organisms.
Materials and Methods-Matthew
Our experiment is pretty simple. All of our materials came from the grocery store, or just everyday objects, except the Brine Shrimp, which Mr. Wilson gave us. We divided the Brine Shrimp packets into three sections, and brought them all home. Each section had two teaspoons of brine shrimp. We used three containers, all 100ml. The containers need the same amount of Brine Shrimp, water, and air holes. We used ten air holes. Fill the containers with 2 cups of water. Then put one of the brine shrimp groups into one of the containers, do the same for all the groups. Label the containers: 1 Lemon, 2 Lemon, and Plain. In the 1 Lemon container add one teaspoon of lemon juice(found at most grocery stores). In the 2 Lemon container, add 2 teaspoons of Lemon juice. In the Plain container, add nothing. Watch and observe over the next month, how fast they hatch and how many hatch. Enjoy!

Results-Cindy

Amount of Lemon Juice:	Group Members:
Amount of Lemon Juice:	Cindy	Matthew	Venice
Control	15	12	14
Lemon #1	7	4	5
Lemon #2	0	1	0

Conclusion-Cindy and Matthew
Our experiment was very simple, and it needed more complexion. We should have used more than just lemon juice, like coke or soap. And the containers got very dirty after a little bit. We should clean the containers every once in a while. Besides that, our experiment was pretty much flawless. It's very easy, and it doesn't take much looking after, except for the cleaning. If it was more complex, it might be more interesting for some people. So it could go either way.
Our results are not unexpected. Lemon juice is very acidic and salt water is more basic. Brine Shrimp need to live in saltwater, so if you introduce something acidic to their environment it might (and did) affect them negatively.
One way that this experiment is relevant to the outside world is in pollution. If a small amount of lemon juice can affect brine shrimp this much, it goes to show how much damage is being done to other organisms with the chemicals released into water due to pollution. Lemon juice isn’t a dangerous substance, but most chemicals released because of pollution are. This experiment could be used to prove that.
If I were to do this experiment over again, it would have some complexion. I would not only use lemon juice. I would use lemon juice- more acid, soap-more basic, and plain-normal. This would add some variety. I would also clean the tanks once a week, or once every two weeks, depending how long you do the experiment. This is still very simple and easy, but a little bit more complex.

Name	Warm Feedback	Cool Feedback
Dylan	At least there are no spelling mistakes.	You need to write, everything.
Reuben	It's not confusing.	You should start.
Sam	very organized	blank
Afemi	Nice font.	...there's nothing here.
Aliza	Interesting topic idea.	Its empty
Scott	I know your suppost to add possitive comments here but there is nothing to comment on	you need more writing, pictures, etc.
Alex	The experiment sound good.	Lacks necessary parts of a lab report, widgets, pictures, and personality.
Phillip	You guys included all of the componets of a good experiment nicely done. I especially like your graph and widget poll.	There are no pictures of your experiment.

Ilan, Will, and Danielle's Science Fair Page

Phillip14 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:11:52 CST

The type of fish food you feed a fish effects how big it grows. Abstract: Our Experiment tested that fish that are fed meat will be larger than fish that are fed vegetarian food. We had four vegetarian fish in one tank and four carnivorous fish in the another tank. We fed the vegetarian group of fish lettuce and the carnivorous fish regular fish food which contained some meat. We measured the fish when we bought them and then placed them in the tank. At the end of the month, after feeding each group of fish the correct food, we measured them to see which tank had the fish grew the most and/or fastest. Ultimately, we have concluded that our hypothesis is supported because the fish that survived in the meat tank grew larger than those in the lettuce tank. (Danielle)	Picture 1: 2 of Danielle's fish at the end of her experiment. Picture 2: The fish food we fed to our fish.
Introduction: For our experiment we used a type of minnow called rosy reds or otherwise known as fathead minnows. A rosy-red minnow is a common freshwater feeder fish. Rosy-red minnows have a golden red body and fins. They are mostly sold in pet shops as feeder fish and they are rarely used in aquariums. The fish prefer to live in 10-21 degree celsius. Also, can eat meat and vegetarian foods. Currently no scientists have done this exact experiment; however, one experiment has tested the metabolic rate of a species of minnows. They tested the metabolic rate of a starved fish in a certain temperature water in relation to its body weight. This can be very helpful in relation to our future experiments. Perhaps if they grow much larger with the meat food then we can stop feeding them vegetarian foods. This way, fishermen can have larger bait for their fishing lines. (Danielle)	Materials and methods: For this experiment we bought and assembled all the materials. Each person in the group bought two 1 gallon bowls and 8 rosy red minnows. In addition, we bought 1 bed of lettuce and TetraFin golden flakes fish food. After we bought all the necessary materials, we labeled each of our bowls with LETTUCE and FISH FOOD. After this we filled the bowls 3/4 of the way to the top. Before placing the fish in the correct bowls, we measured their length with the centimeter side of a ruler so that later we could see the difference in their growth. After measuring them, we placed four fish in each bowl. For about a month, we fed the fish twice a day and measured their growth each time we changed the water (about 2-3 times a week). We observed the fish every day and on the last day of the experiment recorded their total growth. (Ilan and Danielle)

The type of fish food you feed a fish effects how big it grows.

Abstract:
Our Experiment tested that fish that are fed meat will be larger than fish that are fed vegetarian food. We had four vegetarian fish in one tank and four carnivorous fish in the another tank. We fed the vegetarian group of fish lettuce and the carnivorous fish regular fish food which contained some meat. We measured the fish when we bought them and then placed them in the tank. At the end of the month, after feeding each group of fish the correct food, we measured them to see which tank had the fish grew the most and/or fastest. Ultimately, we have concluded that our hypothesis is supported because the fish that survived in the meat tank grew larger than those in the lettuce tank. (Danielle)

Picture 1: 2 of Danielle's fish at the end of her experiment. Picture 2: The fish food we fed to our fish.

Introduction:
For our experiment we used a type of minnow called rosy reds or otherwise known as fathead minnows. A rosy-red minnow is a common freshwater feeder fish. Rosy-red minnows have a golden red body and fins. They are mostly sold in pet shops as feeder fish and they are rarely used in aquariums. The fish prefer to live in 10-21 degree celsius. Also, can eat meat and vegetarian foods. Currently no scientists have done this exact experiment; however, one experiment has tested the metabolic rate of a species of minnows. They tested the metabolic rate of a starved fish in a certain temperature water in relation to its body weight. This can be very helpful in relation to our future experiments. Perhaps if they grow much larger with the meat food then we can stop feeding them vegetarian foods. This way, fishermen can have larger bait for their fishing lines. (Danielle)

Materials and methods:
For this experiment we bought and assembled all the materials. Each person in the group bought two 1 gallon bowls and 8 rosy red minnows. In addition, we bought 1 bed of lettuce and TetraFin golden flakes fish food. After we bought all the necessary materials, we labeled each of our bowls with LETTUCE and FISH FOOD. After this we filled the bowls 3/4 of the way to the top. Before placing the fish in the correct bowls, we measured their length with the centimeter side of a ruler so that later we could see the difference in their growth. After measuring them, we placed four fish in each bowl. For about a month, we fed the fish twice a day and measured their growth each time we changed the water (about 2-3 times a week). We observed the fish every day and on the last day of the experiment recorded their total growth. (Ilan and Danielle)

Results:
Our results are somewhat varied. All of the fish in Ilan's tanks died, 4 fish died in Danielle's and only one of the fish in Will's tank died. However, in each case there was a significant increase in the size of the fish that ate the commercial fish food (if they were not fully grown) compared to the fish that were fed the diced lettuce. As would be

assumed, the fish that were fed the commercial food grew larger, faster. This very clearly supports our hypothesis. (Will)

Data Table: (everyone)

Lettuce for Each Person	Regular Fish Food for each Person
Will: 2.2	Will: 3.4
Danielle: 2.6	Danielle: 3.2
Ilan: (there was no change because of quick death)	Ilan: (there was no change because of quick death)

Conclusion:

We are rather confident with our decision. Despite the fact that thirteen of the twenty-four fish died, the ones that lived showed a very definitive result. In our live fish, the ones being fed the commercial fish food, grew larger than the fish that were fed the diced lettuce (the fish that were not fully grown grew). This is a variation of growth due to different foods; thus it supports our hypothesis.

It is very easy to see why the results drawn from this experiment makes sense. The commercial fish food contains more protein and vitamins that are needed for rapid growth and development. By feeding one group of fish lettuce, we were depriving them of the necessities for body development (although lettuce does contain essential vitamins for us, they may not be so important to minnows). Clearly protein is needed for fish to grow.

The result to our experiment can be looked at in two ways. One, now people know that minnows (and more likely than not other fish) should not be fed just lettuce. And two, organisms need protein to grow. This is important information to know. All carnivorous organisms were designed to digest protein- more specifically, though, protein from meat. An example of this is Ilan's fish. The first ones to die were in his lettuce bowl. This is important to keep in mind when considering becoming a vegetarian, vegan, or when considering adopting a new diet. It is VITAL for people to get proper amounts of protein. Yes, there are other ways of getting protein, but meat is the easiest, fastest, and most efficient way of getting protein into the human body. This simple test on fish clearly shows that a deprivation of meat can be detrimental to growth and development. Another real world usage is what to feed bait fish. Meat (from our results) grows the largest minnows (which are bait fish).

As with most experiments, ours had flaws. In any experiment, there is always the possibility of random chance. Our experiment only used twenty-four fish. Twenty-four fish offers room for random chance. Having more than twenty-four fish may seem excessive. However eliminating chance is one of the easiest ways to make experiments more reliable. Another flaw in our experiment was the conditions for the fish. Evidently, the conditions for our fish were different, as some lived and some did not. Another problem was that we did not use baby minnows. Some of our minnows were already fully grown. So, we would not see results in those fish because they cannot grow. This harshly affected our results.

A fantastic follow up experiment would to be to do this experiment again with slight changes in the design. First, there would be one thousand fish, five-hundred being fed diced lettuce, and five-hundred being fed the commercial food. This would eliminate and possibility for a chance error. Next, all of the fish would be put in large tanks together with automatic filters. This way, the conditions would be the same, and the water would be cleaner. Another thing to do would be to feed exactly the same amount of food to each fish so that no fish is overfed and grows too much. (Will and Ilan)

(Danielle)

Name	Warm feedback	Cool Feedback
Arielle	Good start and interesting experiment.	the Materials need to be in paragraph form more info needed and pictures are needed. More work is necessary.
Lucas	It seems that it will be accurate	how will you feed twice a day?
James	A very good experiment template, seems plausible	Wheres the conclusion?
Henry	Good experiment, well designed and formatted page	How did you make sure you were feeding them the same amount?
Phillip	nice format and layout. The introduction and materials & methods were very good.	there is no graph in this experiment

Afemi, Coda, and Mason

Phillip14 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:08:01 CST

Back to Journal 2009-2010

Experiment 1: Salinity Levels Affect Brine Shrimp Reproduction
Experiment date: November 16th - December 19th

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To do:

Add widgets - Completed!
Add Afemi's and Mason's data - Completed!
Add conclusion -Completed
Add pictures - Completed!

Color code work breakdown:

Coda
Mason
Afemi
Collaborative Effort

Abstract:

In our experiment, we tested if the water's salt content would affect brine shrimp reproduction. We discovered varied results, but we mostly found that a moderate amount of salinization would be beneficial to brine shrimp. Thus, our hypothesis was supported, and the salinity levels do affect brine shrimp growth and reproduction.

Introduction:

Brine shrimp (Artemia nyos, also known as Sea Monkeys) are subset of the Artemia species, and have longer lifespans then their brethren, which increases their usefulness in the lab and as pets. Brine shrimp are around one centimeter long, while the brine shrimp nymphs (their offspring) are roughly 0.5 millimeters long. Their eggs are special; if the habitat is not correct, brine shrimp eggs will stay preserved for a long time, making them ideal for pets. After hatching, brine shrimp take three to six weeks to reach adulthood, and adult brine shrimp lay about 20 to 30 eggs. While brine shrimp prefer to eat algae, they will eat yeast, flour, and even egg yolks. Additionally, brine shrimp have 11 sets of legs, and can survive in extreme temperatures ranging from 0 ºC to 105 ºC. Brine shrimp can also survive high levels of salinity, though they prefer to live in places with 80 parts of salt to 1000 parts of water. Finally, brine shrimp require an optimum Ph level of 7.5 to survive.

Scientists have proven that brine shrimp can, as stated before, survive with an optimum 80 parts of salt to 1000 liters of parts, but are able to survive much more than that. However, brine shrimp will fail to hatch with less than that, or far too much salt. Our experiment uses far below the optimum amount (6 parts per 250), the optimum amount (20 parts per 250), and above the correct amount (35 and 75 parts per 250), in an attempt to find the brine shrimps' total range. Additionally, our experiment will show pet owners, teachers, and scientists the correct range of salinity for brine shrimp.

Brine shrimp

Materials and Method:
Firstly, boil the water that will be used. Then, pour exactly 250 ml of water into the 300 ml jars. Label the tubs "75 ml of salt", "35 ml of salt", "20 ml of salt" and "6 ml of salt". Then add the specified salt to the containers of water. Next, add .2 ml of brine shrimp eggs to the water. Repeat for all. Once a week, add a 4 grams of flour to the water for the sea monkey Measure the amount of sea monkeys every 7 days by take 10% (25 ml) of water and counting the brine shrimp, then multiplying that number by 10.

Results:

	Affect	of	Salinity	Levels	on	Brine	Shrimp
	Amount		of		Brine		Shrimp
Amount of salt	Start	1 week	2 weeks	3 weeks	4 weeks	5 weeks	Average	Average of all experiments
Coda 6ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Coda 20ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Coda 35ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Coda 75ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Afemi 6ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Afemi 20ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Afemi 35ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Afemi 75ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mason 6ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mason 20ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mason 35ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mason 75ml salt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Graph:

Coda's Pictures - The water has evaporated, but the amount of salt used is still visible


6 ml of salt	25 ml of salt	35 ml of Salt	75 ml of salt

Conclusion:
Our hypothesis was inconclusive. No brine shrimp hatched, and thus there were no results. There were numerous holes in our experiment, and thus these results make sense. For example, we failed to change the Ph of the water, and the conditions were unsuitable for brine shrimp to hatch in. We also failed to find a way to clean the brine shrimp's water, and the tap water still may have had chemicals in it, despite our boiling of it. Thus, we are that our results make sense, as the gaping holes in the experiment killed all the shrimp.
Our results make sense because all of our brine shrimp died before the could multiply.They were in bad environments or environments that are bad for there survival. By the end of the first week there were no brine shrimp alive in any of the jars. Some of the water levels were too high in salinity for them to live. Other brine shrimp in appropriate salinity level environments were not in clean water.
This study relates to the real world because scientists can see our mistakes and make changes in their experiments. They should use a different organism because brine shrimp are very difficult to take care of and count. When doing an experiment having to do with reproduction of organisms, do not use brine shrimp.
Our lab design was fairly poor. We should have created better environments and methods while caring for the brine shrimp. Despite the strength of our hypothesis, the experiment could have been executed better. The fact that none of our brine shrimp lived longer than one week is a great example of the poor qualities of our planning.
For a follow up experiment, we should have taken better precautions as to the appropriate living conditions of the brine shrimp in their natural environments. Components that would have improved the living conditions of the shrimp are better food supply, equal lighting, cleaner environment, and a more constant habitat overall.
Poll:

Jennie, Sophie, and Zoe

14cindy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:13:17 CST

Testing if the Environment of a Ghost Shrimp Will Effect Its Life Span and Reproduces Using Plants and Rocks to Change the Environment By Jennie Nadel and Zoe Lee-Mcdermott

ABSTRACT: Our group decided to test on ghost shrimp. our hypothesis is that the type of environment a ghost shrimp lives in effects how it reporduces and how long it lives. To keep things constant but also have a variation, We put 10 ghost shrimp in two containers that we bought at Pet Co. In the containers were a divider that let the water flow through the divider so the water was the same for the tank. On each side of the divider we put 5 ghost shrimp. On the right side we placed plants that came with our ghost shrimp when they were first shipped to us and rocks that came with our tank. We have two different tanks so there was more test subjects. We believe that our hypothesis is testable, however we did the experiment in class and on weekends or long weekends we weren't able to feed or clean the water of the ghost shrimp and the ghost shrimp continued to die.

INTRODUCTION: Ghost Shrimp are small transparent shrimp. From our previous research, we found out that Ghost Shrimp need a specific environment for them to thrive. This environment includes plants, small pebbles, and a small cave. The cave is used for the mating of the Ghost Shrimp. Ghost Shrimp prefer to mate inside a cave, which we did not have. This may have been the reason that none of the Ghost Shrimp in our containers reproduced. Ghost Shrimp are a fairly typical pet, and are often used to feed other larger organisms. This specific experiment is important to the real world because people will want to know how to successfully keep their Ghost Shrimp alive.

MATERIALS: We used 2 Lee's Dual Betta Hex container because of its divider so we could keep the water and the environment of the ghost shrimp more constant. Then we took 20 ghost shrimp Mr. Wilson ordered for us and used a metal spoon to put them in the containers. We used the 1/2 bag of the rocks in each right side of the divider of the container. We also used TetraMin tropical fish flakes which promotes cleaner and clearer water. We used 1 flake per day in each side of each tank. We also used pippets to squeeze out the poop from the bottom of the container each day. We also used water 3 drops of water purifier on each side of the divider. Each day we counted and see how many ghost shrimp were left and we recorded it. We used Jennie's iphone to take pictures of the ghost shrimp. We also used a plastic bowl in the science room and the water fountain on the fourth floor to refill the tanks with clean water.

METHODS: After class on 1/26 we began our experiment. Zoe and Jennie took 2 Lee's Dual Betta Hex containers and filled it up until there was only an inch left that didn't water. Then we added a half a bag of rocks that came with the Lee's container on the right side of the divider in both tanks. Alos on the side with the rocks we added plants that came with the ghost shrimp when we ordered them. Then we opened the bags with the ghost shrimp in and randomly placed them using a spoon into different tanks and different sides of the divider. Then we added the 3 drops of the water purifier on each side of the divider and in both tanks and lightly stirred it. Then we added one fish flake on each side in each tank for the fish. Every day besides weekends we cleaned out the poop with the pippets and took out half of the water and replaced it with fresh water we took from the water fountain. We added 3 more drops of the water purifier every day as well. When a ghost shrimp died, we took it out with a spoon or pippet and threw it in the sink. Then we counted the amount of living in shrimp in each tank and each side and recorded the data.

RESULTS: Number of ghost shrimp in each tank and each side that are still alive

Date	Tank 1 (Side with rocks and plants)	Tank 1 (Side with no rocks and plants)	Tank 2 (Side with rocks and plants)	Tank 2 (Side with no rocks and plants)
1/26	5	5	5	5
1/27	5	5	5	5
1/28	5	5	5	5
1/29	4	5	5	5
2/1	1	3	5	2
2/2	0	2	5	1
2/3	0	2	5	1
2/4	0	2	5	1
2/5	0	2	5	1
2/8	0	2	3	0
2/9	0	2	2	0
2/11	0	1	1	0
2/12	0	1	0	0
2/17	0	1	0	0
2/18	0	1	0	0
2/19	0	1	0	0
2/20	0	0	0	0

DATA TABLE:

CONCLUSION:

Our hypothesis was fairly good, and testable, although we think that some of our methods could have been executed differently to make our experiment better. The two-tank pattern was good because it shows that there is a difference between the side with no rocks and plants and the side with rocks and plants. If we had had a more regular school schedule during the time of our experiment it might have made our experiment and data more constant. In Tank one the side with out the plants and pebbles thrived, while in Tank two the side with the rocks and plants thrived. This is contradictory because both groups of Ghost Shrimp in the separate environments did successfully in one of the tanks. This may have happened because though the two separate tanks were extremely close in proximity, they were not in the same exact spot. This may have caused some difference but we cannot know for sure. Another thing that may have affected our data is the fact that the food flakes we used do not come in a standard size per flake, and we had to approximate that each side of each tank had the same amount of food per day.

The data that we gathered from each tank, is a little bit contradictory to each other because in each tank a different environment had a more successful living rate. This may have been the case because of the placement of the tanks or because of the difference in food amount. We tried to put the same amount of food in each side of each container, but due to the irregular size of the flakes there may have been some differences. Also, upon receiving the Ghost Shrimp we were not aware of how old each one was. This may have affected our data because if some of them were older, or closer to dying than others, we would have thought that the cause of death was the environment when it might have been old age. Looking at our graph, we see that in average the ghost shrimps that lived in the environment with no rocks lived longer days. But when we look at the graph, It seems that the side with the rocks and plants did better.

At first we thought that ghost shrimp would be good to do our experiment on because they are small, easy to feed, and don't require too much care. Although as our experiment went on, we found that they died very quickly which made it hard to see if our research was right.
We think that our hypothesis should be tested because if people knew how fish lived in certain environment and which ones they did better in then they could help take care of their fish because they would know what environment they did better in.

We were not able to keep the days we fed and cleaned our ghost shrimp constant because we did our experiment in school and we couldn't feed or clean them on the weekend. Also we weren't able to collect the data on weekends. This could effect our exoeriment because we wouldn't know when fish died on a certain day and they could have died because their tanks weren't clean or they starved. Another thing we didn't keep constant was the amount of water we cleaned. We tried to clean about half to 3/4 of the water but we didn't keep it exactly the same.

We think that if we were to do another experiment like this, we would choose different test subject. The ghost shrimp died too quickly and we would also make sure that we recorded our data every day. We also would have different tanks. We didn't have tanks with filters. Tanks with filters are probably better for fish because they clean the tanks better which might have been the reason the fish died. We did not use tanks with filters in our experiment because they were too big to put in school and very expensive. We could also have a follow up experiment if having a filter in the fish tank and not having a filter makes a difference or the type of food we feed the fish effects how the fish live and reproduce.

MORE PICTURES

This is the food we fed the ghost shrimp This is how we set up our experiment in the Science Class

This is the box the container and rocks came in this is the container up close. On the right side is a dead ghost shrimp

these are pipets used to suck out ghost shrimp poop This is a dead ghost shrimp. When they die, they turn translucent clear to a pinkish opaque

Work Done:

Jennie Started the our journal page, started the rough draft of our page, made our page a link, added photos, made work done chart, bought the fish cleaning supplies, brought the extra supplies to school, Jennie, and Zoe bought the containers and food and fish. Jennie took photos of all ghost shrimp in our redone experiment. Jennie and zoe worked on the conclusion. Jennie did the introduction and materials and methods and Jennie did the data table. Jennie and Zoe went during lunch everyday to check on the ghost shrimp, record data and clean and feed the ghost shrimp. Jennie edited the journal page. Did the last two paragraphs of the conclusion. Jennie made the bar graph. Jennie edited the page

Zoe: Zoe did the conclusion, introduction, recorded the data everyday. Zoe made the widget poll. Zoe edited the journal page. Zoe also cleaned out the tank every three days with Jennie, and fed the Ghost Shrimp once a day.

Ack: Lally Homans for helping Jennie and Zoe clean the poop out of the ghost shrimp containers. Peto Co. Where we bough the tetra min food and the Lee's Dual Betta Hex container we also used water purifier to clean the water for the ghost shrimp.

Name	Warm Feedback	Cool Feedback
Mira	nice color, and nice experiment	the second to last sentence says that you want everyone to die. i don't think you mean that. (check)
Lily	nice pictures, well-written and informative experiment summary	did you use the same tanks/food for both experiments? You might want to explain how things things could have affected the survival of your fish.
Alex S.	nicely written and interesting. Great pictures.	you didn't really explain how you predicted the environments would affect the fish. There were also a couple sentences worded funny.
Daniele	good pictures, good design.	some of the sentences were worded strangely.
Olivia	good experiment design, nice idea with the dual beta hex tanks	I agree some of the sentences need a little work, and maybe it would be clearer if you separated your results (or just how many died) from your materials and methods and your experiment description. Also, if you had 8 did you put 2 in each side of 2 containers?
Amanda	Great pictures and color!	Maybe you should combine the 2 method sections into one.
Ben	Nice pictures, cool tank.	What was the reason of using plastic plants as opposed to real ones.
Dana	I like the color and I think the experiment design is great!	There are some awkward words and sentences. Consider putting captions under your pictures and one of the pictures is so small I can't see it.
Abby Max Aliza	Its a really detailed description and its also a really nicely designed experiment This experiment seems interesting. Nicely written and I think it was a good idea to fix your experiment.	The two different methods sections make it a little confusing to read and you could maybe add captions to your pictures saying like when they were taken. The sentences are a little short, and you guys could add a little more information to them. Even after you fixed your experiment, there were problems so I think you could work on what a better way to test them would be.
Coda Cindy	Ample pictures and solid experiment design Really well done, designed and written!	Too short; seems to have several part repeated twice It might be easier to read in double spaced.
Gordon	Great experiment, and it would have been fun to find out why your Ghost Shrimp had died.	You should try to elaborate on your experiment a little more.
Dominic Dylan Raina Arielle Peik Emily Afemi Vahimir Venice	Great job. You have great descriptions and details, and I love the pictures. Really detailed pictures and nice description of the materials. I love the pictures. Cool experiment. The pics are great and it is really well organized. The way its planned out is great and the pictures add a nice touch! The pictures are great, nice experiment design. yeah, the pictures are really good and I love your organization. Also, I think the reason why a lot of your organisms died was because they probably didn't have a constant age, which you couldn't really have known anyways. Really good pictures. You really try to let the reader know and understand exactly what you are doing. Great Color and pictures	I agree with Coda, you are a little repetitive. Also, I think you need a title! You have two result sections. I would add labels or captions to the pictures. You should have pics from every one's experiments. Labels on the tanks would be nice and also its a little hard to read you journals due to the enclosed space You should have included captions with the pictures, and you should rephrase some sentences. I think it could have been a little easier to read if it was double-spaced However, you shoud be more clear as to what your actualy methods and materials are. Double spaced?

Alex and Amanda's Page

14cindy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:11:10 CST

Calcium Affects the Life Span and Height of Lima Beans
By Alex Scheman and Amanda Shepherd

Person	Calcium Plant at end of experiment (cm)	Regular Plant at end of experiment (cm)
Alex's Plants	41	39 (drooped over)
Amanda's Plants	43	40 (drooped over)

Abstract: At first, we were going to test Rosy Red minnows and put calcium into the water but by the end of the first day the Rosy Red minnows died. We then proceeded to buy Lima beans and planted two pots of them with 3 seeds in each one. We tested whether the amount of calcium given to Lima Beans affects their life span and growth. We conducted this experiment for two weeks and every day we watered them with 1/2 a cup of water. One pot would just be plain water and the other pot we would put 3 crushed calcium pills into the water. They both grew similar heights but on average the calcium plants were dominating and lived longer. It was a successful experiment and our hypothesis was proven correct.

Introduction: As we speak, there are no current tests in the science community about Lima Beans being affected by calcium. Though scientists have concluded that calcium levels in plants help build their cell wall thus protecting them from predators and bacteria so we decided to test Lima Beans because of that. We thought that the more calcium the plants received, the stronger and healthier they would be. Although Rosy Red minnows would be more interesting, Lima Beans are can also be very informative. From this information we concluded that our hypothesis should be whether the amount of calcium affects the growth and life span of Lima Beans. The results were clearly noticeable so we were able to get our results easily.

Materials and Methods:
First, we placed two small pots in the same place that got a little bit of sunlight. Next, we filled each pot with a bag of Hyponex potting soil, and filled it to the top. After filling the pots, we put three seeds in each pot, evenly spaced, and about an inch deep. Then we labeled each pot "water" and "calcium", indicating that one pot is given just water and the other one is given water with crushed calcium pills mixed in. We watered each pot 1/2 cup of water a day and had one pot have three crushed calcium pills mixed into the water. We took pictures and recorded data every day for two weeks.

Alex's Results:
Day one through day 5 (Nov. 17th-22nd): Day 6: (Nov. 23rd) Day 6: (Nov 23rd) Plants sprouted:

WATER CALCIUM CALCIUM WATER
Day 13 through day 19: (Nov. 30th-Dec. 5th): Day 20: (Dec. 6th) Last Day:

WATER CALCIUM WATER CALCIUM

Person Calcium Plant at end of experiment (cm) Regular Plant at end of experiment (cm)
Alex's Plants 41 39 (drooped over)
Amanda's Plants 43 40 (drooped over)

Conclusion:
We are confident to say our hypothesis was proven correct. Though they seemed to both have steady growing patterns, in the end the calcium plant lived and the water only planted died. We think the reason the calcium plant lived longer is because it was stronger to stand up right because of the calcium making the cell wall stronger. Also the calcium plants had two sprout first where as the water only one sprouted only one at first. Another supporting piece of information is that the calcium plants stems were also thicker thus making them stronger. The calcium plant also had more leaves. Overall, the calcium plant deemed to be stronger and and all around healthier.

Our results make complete sense. We researched that calcium helps a plant make a stronger cell wall and that makes the plant stronger and healthier. From our pictures and observations it looks like the calcium plant met all of these expectations where as the water plant did not and drooped over at the end. This proves it makes sense because that means the calcium made the cell wall build up and have the plant have a higher survival rate.

This relates to humans very well if we need calcium in the same way these Lima Beans do. Calcium as we know makes our bones stronger and our bones are similar to the cell wall of a plant. The more calcium the plant had, the stronger it was because the cell wall was built up so if humans have more calcium maybe it will make their bones even stronger and our bodies healthier to fight injures and diseases. We would need further research though to prove this.

All around I thought our lab design was decent. We had all the right materials and methods and we were on target but there were many things that were not constant. Since Alex's heater in her building is automatic it dried out the plants easily and because the heaters were near the window she could not put the plants in direct sunlight. Amanda on the other hand had her plants get sunlight and it probably was not as dry as an environment. We would always of course use more test subjects because there were really not enough.

As a follow up experiment we would test whether more calcium in humans affects their health and bone strength. We would also ask this as a question. Also, we would do a similar experiment with edits and more subjects to get more accurate results and feel more confident in our answers. As a question to pose to the scientific community we would ask, if all organisms could get more calcium, would it be harder for predators to kill it and eat it?

Acknowledgments: Alex's mom for buying plants and soil plus attempting to help us out with our original experiment about Rosy Red Minnows.

Who did what:
Amanda: Introduction, Abstract and 3 paragraphs of the conclusion, widget and graph.
Alex: Pictures/results, set up the page, materials and methods, 2 paragraphs of the conclusion, data table.

Journal home page.

Person	warm feedback	Cold feedback
Lucas	The pictures are good	What does calcium do for the plant?
Matthew	I like the design, and nice pictures.	There should be some numbers to go along with he pictures for the results.
Cindy	This is easy to read and you have everything you need to have	You might want to consider putting a little more background especially about the effects of calcium.

our science experiments page

14cindy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:07:12 CST

Lima Bean Experiment
By Aliza, Raina, and Irena

Nature versus Nuture Debate

14cindy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:58:55 CST

Under Construction

This student page contains examples, arguments and evidence related to the "Nature vs. Nurture" debate. Feel free to add and edit as many resources as possible. Do include textual explanations (in addition to multimedia, if you choose) and links to your original sources. Please visit the main Genetics & Biotechnology page for more background.

Designing experiments

aliza14 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:09:43 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Georgina's African VIolet Experiment

georgina2014 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:31:24 CST

Georgina's African Violet Experiment

My Science Fair Experiment

Date: December 2009 - January 25, 2010

Different Methods of Feeding African Violets Affects Their pH Levels How They Will Grow

Abstract:
I experimented on African Violets to discover if fertilizing them through different methods would affect their growth. My hypothesis is that feeding African Violets through different methods of absorption (indirect vs. direct) will affect how they grow, and also determine the pH levels in their soil. I gave my first plant no fertilizer, my second plant liquid fertilizer via water, and my third plant stick fertilizer inserted directly in the soil. There are currently no other experiments in the scientific world that I could find on whether these different feeding methods affect a plant's growth. I wanted to find out if using two different types of fertilizers by Miracle-Gro (dry spike vs. liquid-though containing the same ingredients) made my plants grow differently. The results for all the plants were different and it was easy to see the effects of the fertilization methods.The first plant grew normally but was the smallest, the second plant developed deeper colors in the flowers and had broad, glossy leaf growth, and the third plant had the most leaf spread, almost becoming spindly and losing its flowers. My hypothesis was supported because all of the plants grew differently depending on how they were fed.

Introduction:
I started my first experiment with pond snails to see if water containing organic fertilizer would affect them, assuming that run-off from fertilized land seeps into ponds. Unfortunately, my pond snails died a week after I started the experiment. I proceeded to experiment with brine shrimp to see if different types of salts (normal table salt vs. French sea salt) would affect the growth of the brine shrimp. Unfortunately, my brine shrimp died within a week of starting this experiment. Finally, I decided to try a plant experiment and chose to work with African Violets. I tested to see if feeding them using different methods of delivering fertilizer to the plant would affect how they grow. The first plant was my control plant, which was watered regularly but did not receive any fertilizer. My second plant was watered regularly and given liquid fertilizer at every watering. My third plant was watered regularly and given two fertilizer sticks that lasted a month. All three plants were placed in a bowl with a layer of stones in the bottom. I watered my plants by filling the bowls with ½ cup of water every other day, which was enough water to reach about ½" above the bottom of the pots they were planted in. All three violets absorbed the water from the roots up. The liquid fertilizer was put into the water, so this plant’s fertilizer was absorbed. I put the dry spike fertilizer stick directly in the soil of the third plant. All of the plants grew differently so my hypothesis was proven true.

Although Ben, Scott and I were in the same group, they wanted to experiment using pesticides. Because I have a small dog, a young nephew and my sister was pregnant, my parents did not want to use pesticides in our house. Mr. Wilson thought it would be fine for us to do different experiments.

Materials and Methods:

The "Rapitest"
pH soil tester

First, place small rocks or pebbles at the bottom of the three same size bowls. Label each African Violet plant: the first plant is labeled No Fertilizer, Control, the second plant is labeled: Liquid Fertilizer, and the third plant is labeled: Dry Spike Fertilizer. Place your the labeled plants in the bowls in an east facing window. Take photographs of each of the plants to show what they look like at the start of the experiment, and continue to photograph them on the day you record your weekly data. Place two Miracle-Gro food spikes directly into the soil of plant no. 3 at the beginning of the experiment (plant no. 3 will not get any further fertilizer). Give plant no. 2 one drop of liquid Miracle-Gro fertilizer mixed in with its water everytime you water it. Water all of the plants with a standard 500ml measuring cup, with the same amount of water, 1/2 cup, every other day by putting the water in the bowls for the violets to absorb from the bottom up. Once a week for 4 weeks, test the pH level with the of each plant’s soil with the, "Rapitest pH soil tester". Begin your log and record all water amounts and pH tests results beginning on the first day.

Data Tables:

Amount of Food Given to Each Plant Each Day

Day	Control Plant, No Fertilizer	Liquid Fertilizer Plant	Dry Spike Fertilizer Plant
1/3/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o and 2 Food Spikes
1/5/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/7/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/9/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/11/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/13/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/15/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/17/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/19/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/21/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/24/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o
1/25/2010	1/2 Cup H2o	1/2 Cup H2o and 1 Liquid Food Drop	1/2 Cup H2o

African Violets Soil pH Levels

Day	Control Plant, No Fertilizer pH levels	Liquid Fertilizer Plant pH levels	Dry Spike Fertilizer Plant pH levels
1/3/2010	6.5	6.5	6.5
1/10/2010	6	5.5	6.5
1/17/2010	5.5	6.0	>6.0, <6.5
1/25/2010	6.5	>6.0, <6.5	>6.0, <5.5

pH Levels Graph

Observations:
Over the course of four weeks the African Violets each grew differently. My first plant, the one with no fertilizer grew, (@ 10.375" across) but never became richer in color, did not have much leaf growth, and the plant lost blossoms. My second plant, the one with liquid fertilizer, had the best flower growth. The flowers became a deeper hot pink, had more sparkle to them, and the leaves spread out evenly (@12.5"), grew thick and became very glossy. The leaves of the last plant, the dry spike fertilizer one, became a darker green and spread horizontally from side to side, about 14 inches. The leaves on this plant became spindly, however, and the blossoms failed. It was harder to determine the significance of the pH levels of the plants as it changed and appeared to reverse itself from plant to plant during the course of the experiment. Each plant started with a pH level of 6.5, but each grew more or less acidic over time. All three plants had a pH level of 6.5 on day one, but the second plant (liquid fertilizer) grew less acidic over time, while the third plant (dry spike) appeared to become more acidic. The control plant grew more acidic during the middle of the experiment, but tested at 6.5 again after four weeks. If there was some fertilizer mixed in with the soil that dissolved over time, it could account for the difference in pH levels.

Conclusion:
I am confident that my hypothesis was proven correct. All three plants grew differently depending on how they were fed, and I think the data supports my hypothesis. The findings of this experiment are important because it helps people know which way of watering and fertilizing is better for their plants. It could also help fertilizer companies develop better fertilizers. Normal watering with no fertilizer leaves a normal growing plant. Watering with liquid fertilizer from the roots up results in a deeper, richer color in the flowers and a healthier plant overall. Finally watering with dry spike fertilizer, which is stuck straight into the soil of the plant, results in a lot of leaf spread and the loss of blossoms. If I could redo my experiment I would make sure I watered them everyday and I would use different rocks for the bottom of the plates. The rocks I used were uneven and caused the plants to sit a little bit crooked in their plates. This might have affected how much water they could absorb. I also forgot to water my plants one day in the last week, so that might have affected my results. For a follow up experiment I think it would be interesting to see if using more liquid drops, and less dry spike sticks, would change how the plants grew. It would also be helpful to figure out how many liquid drops, and dry spike sticks it would take too overdose the plant, killing it. I also thought there might have been some fertilizer in the soil that the plants came in, so this could have affected the growth results and pH levels as well.

Acknowledgements:

My mom and dad for helping me with my ideas and helping to photograph my plants.

Home Depot - Where I bought my African Violet plants.
Ace Hardware - Where I bought all the plant food (fertilizer) and the pH tester
Michael's - Where I bought the rocks for the bottom of the plant plates.

My African Violets on the day I began the experiment.

Week 2 pH level testing movie (please look at the size of the plants)

Lily --- The level of detail is amazing and the data tables and pictures are great (I love how they're laid out on the page). ---You need a graph (in the results section along with the data tables).

Lally, Gordon, Phillip

Phillip14 — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:23:07 CST

The Amount of Light Affecting the White Cloud Mountain
Minnow's Reproduction.

Abstract:
Our group experiment tested weather or not the reproduction of fish would differ in the amount of light that they were given. We hypothesised that the amount of light that the minnows were given did not affect the reproduction of of the minnows. To test out our hypothesis we set up an experiment. Each of us had two tanks that had six fish in them. Every tank was provided with the same temperature of water, same food, and had gravel and fake plants. One tank was put under a lamp desk and was in a light environment from morning to night. The other tank was fully surounded by black construction paper that was taped onto the sides and the top. The test ran for one month and we all recorded any important information that we noticed. We concluded that our hypothesis was proven correct but there is much evidence that our hypothesis is incorrect. (by phillip)

Introduction:

For our experiment, we wanted to see if lighting changes would affect the reproduction of White Cloud Mountain Minnows. For our experiment we had a tank of six minnows in the light without covered walls. And for the other group we had a tank with black construction paper covering the sides of the tank and a sheet black construction paper put on top of it to prevent any sunlight that would enter a tank. Each fish would be fed six flakes of Omega one Freshwater Fish flakes every two days. After a 4 week period we would search the tanks for any eggs that could have been laid in either tank. (by Gordon)

Materials andMethods:
The first step in our procedure was getting the 36 white cloud mountain minnows and all the supplies needed (which we bought at the New World Aquarium store on 38 street). Once all of this was done the tanks for the fish needed to be set up. Each of us had two 7 1/2 cm L, by 5 cm W, by 5 cm H tanks. The tanks were filled up about 3/4 of the way with water. (about 1,225 ml of water or five cups in each tank) After that one teaspoon of aquarium sea salt was added. Then one ml of stress zyme+ and stress coat+ were added to each tank. The salt and the chemicals were stirred by a spoon to mix with the water. Then a small coat of red and green gravel was put on the bottom of each tank and two fake plants were put in each tank as well. Six fish were then put into each tank. The two fish tanks were placed near each other but were treated in different environments. We put one tank under a desk lamp and one tank was fully covered with black construction paper around the sides, taped on, and the top of the tank had a none tapped sheet of construction paper lying on top of the tank.Every other day the white cloud mountain minnows were fed six big flakes of fish food. We also put thermometers in the water every three days to check to see the water temperature and see if it was OK for them. The water in the tanks were also changed once a week. Every other day we recorded any observations that we saw in the fish tanks and looked especially to see if they laid any eggs (by Phillip and Gordon).

(posted on by Phllip)

Result Description:

	Light Tank (Reproduction)	Dark Tank (Reproduction)	Alive (fish)	Dead (fish)
Phillip	0	0	12	0
Gordon	0	0	10	2
Lally	0	0	1	11

Light Tank (Reproduction) Dark Tank (Reproduction) Alive (fish) Dead (fish)
Phillip 0 0 12 0
Gordon 0 0 10 2
Lally 0 0 1 11

(Results from Phillip)
The fish in the tank receiving light were pretty calm and seemed to be doing OK. They ate fine. There was no reproduction though.

The fish in the tank that were in darkness were OK for the first few days. Later in the experiment the fish started not to move much and at other times got restless and moved very quickly. They seemed to be scared. They ate fine. Also there was no reproduction.

(Results from Gordon)
Almost all of the fish were living at the end of the experiment, nearing the end, 2 of the fish in my dark tank died.
There was no reproduction

(Results from Lally)
In the first week, my fish were fine. They didn't do anything, except for when I touched the tank. Gradually they began to die in the third week. First, only one of the fish died who was in the light tank. Then the rest died in the light tank too. A week later, five of the fish died in the dark tank. Recently, the last fish died in the dark tank a few weeks after the experiment. I noticed that while the fish were dying, their scales were deteriorating in different places on their body.

Conclusion
For our experiment, we tested if the type of light affected the minnow's reproduction. There was a tank of six minnows in light, and the same for a tank in the dark. Our hypothesis was that the type of light does not affect the minnow's reproduction. In the end, our hypothesis was correct for none of the minnows layed any eggs. However, while changing the water every week, we could have dumped out eggs that had been layed. We could have put all of the females in one tank and all of the males in the other tank, prevent any possibility of reproduction. We also do not know what the age of minnows were. They all could have been three months old, while it takes a six month old white cloud mountain minnow to be able to reproduce. The gender of the minnows were also unknown. We are sort of confused why the minnows did not make eggs, but the questions above have to be known to do this experiment correctly.

White cloud mountain minnows are a very common fish. Our experiment, although it did not have useful results, is advantageous for the rest of world. Hypothetically speaking, let's say that the minnows in the dark made eggs. This information could be good for other people to know. If a pond is exposed to sunlight most of the year, and more fish need to live in it, our experiment would be appropriate to use. If we were to do this observation again, many more facts would have to acknowledged. Like we said before, the age and gender would have to be notified and for change reasons, we probably should have put more fish in each tank. Also, testing minnow's growth from type of light would have been interesting too, but we would have had to keep the fish longer. (by Lally)

Ack: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Cloud_Mountain_minnow

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/wcmm.htm

http://www.biocrawler.com/w/images/c/c8/White_Cloud_Mountain_Minnow_1.jpg

http://travel.mongabay.com/china/600/china_103-7011.JPG

Name:	Warm Feedback:	Cool Feedback:

Lily, Arianne, and Arielle

lily2014 — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:49:32 CST

Lily's, Arielle's, and Arianne's Marigold Experiments

Key:
Lily=, Arielle=, Arianne=

Date of 1st Experiment: November 16th, 2009- January 9th, 2010

Abstract:
In our experiment we tested Marigolds. Our first experiment was to see if marigolds could grow indoors in the winter. We hypothesized that they could. We filled pots with soil, planted marigold seeds, then put the pots in the window that gets the most sunlight in the house. We recorded the growth of the plants throughout the experiment. The marigolds did grow but died in one group member's experiment and was infested with bugs and turned yellow for another.

Introduction:

Marigold flowers, or tagetes, are native from the southwestern part of the United States through Mexico and South America. Though the species is not native to these countries, there are also African marigolds and French marigolds. They have green leaves, and white, golden, orange, yellow, and red heads. Marigolds are used to help heal scars and their musky, pungent scent repels slugs and other insects from plants (there are also some that have been bred to be odorless). They are also still widely used in the Day of the Dead celebrations. Marigolds need plenty of sunlight and well- drained soil to bloom, and a warm climate to bloom into winter. Gardeners can have beautiful flowers in the spring, summer, and fall, but what about in winter? Growing Marigolds in these conditions can be useful to other potential marigold owners who wish to have these beautiful plants indoors during the winter.

Materials and Methods: We each had two identical pots, and in which we put .83 liters of Scotts Premium Potting Soil. Then we dug two small holes at the top of the soil (about 2.54-3.81 cm deep) in each pot and inserted two marigold seed pods about 3.81 cm into the soil. On the first day of the experiment, we gave both pots .24 liters of water. Every three days we gave each pot .12 liters of water. We put the pots next to our windows so they could get as much light as possible. We observed and recorded how many marigold sprouts were in each pot every time we watered them, and at the end of the experiment we recorded the approximate average height of the sprouts in each pot.

Results:

Lily's, Arielle's, and Arianne's marigolds all sprouted. Then, after a week, Arianne's plants began to start dying. Both Lily's and Arielle's plants continued to grow at about the same rate. During the last couple weeks of the experiment, Arielle's plants started to turn yellow on the leaves and then were infested by leaf hoppers.

Data Table:

Plant Owner	Average Number of sprouts in pot 1	Average Number of sprouts in pot 2	Average sprout height by end of experiment (cm)
Lily	28	17	12.8
Arielle	26	24	10.16
Arianne	12	9	6.31

by: Arielle

Graph: by Lily

Lily's Plants:
These are some photos that Lily took of her plants during and at the end of the experiment:

------Lily's Marigold Experiment:Dec. 9th, 2009)-------------Lily's Marigold Experiment At End (Pot B)-------------Lily's Marigold Experiment At End (Pot A)

Arielle's Plants:
December 5th

We apologize that there are no pictures of Arianne's plants.

Conclusion:
We concluded that marigolds can grow in the winter, but they grow very slowly. In our next experiment we will need to use a grow lamp so the marigolds to grow fast enough to finish the experiment in the given time. As of the end of the experiment, none of the marigolds in any of the houses had grown flowers.

The experiment had flaws that if they were fixed would make for a much more accurate experiment. If all three participants in the experiment had the same exact environments it would produce much more consistent and accurate results. Also, if the experiment was done in a more sterile place the plants would have been much less susceptible to things that skewed the data (leaf hopper bugs, other plants, unknown plant viruses, or pets). Also, we needed to put more soil in the pots because there was not enough soil to hold the water and it was difficult for the plants to reach the sunlight when they were so far down in the pot.

Here is a poll for people to vote on! (by Arielle)

Acknowledgments: Mom for helping me take care of my plants (Lily). Cats for not eating my Marigolds (Arielle). My mom for not throwing my plants away when they started to smell.

Name:	Warm Feedback:	Cool Feedback:
Mira	Great! sounds interesting.	more info is needed.
Alex S.	Great start. Good hypothesis and gave a lot of information on the experiment. nice visual on the pictures.	you need to explain your results better. i wasn't sure if you put one pot inside or one pot outside because you need to compare them if your testing if an indoor environment affects the growth. Also, why didn't you use results/pictures from other peoples besides lily's?
Daniele	Cool experiment, captivating.	The experiment needs better explanations.
Olivia	Very nice pictures, and I like how you guys are going to continue growing your flowers even after the experiment ends	You should put all of your measurements in metric form. I agree with Alex, you should have other results and pictures from the rest of your group members.
Irena	yeah, the pictures are in good quality and there was good info for lily	i think you should add everyone else's results because only seeing a third of the results can be kind of confusing
Jennie Nadel	Good Hypothesis, The pictures are really good. Very easy to understand and read	I am confused about what you changed between marigolds A and B. Explain your results a little better.
Ben	Yours stayed alive, impressive. Good writing.	Was there a control group, one growing outside as opposed to one growing inside. You need one outside to compare the results otherwise you don't know if it's normal or not, your just growing plants if you don't.
Abby	Nice Hypothesis and pictures	You should explain your experiment a little better. Im not sure where you put the plants and other details like that
Max Aliza	Good Hypothesis and good experiment idea I like your experiment and what you wrote is really interesting.	You should have maybe had a few more test subjects, and there should be a little more detail. I think you should add some more to the conclusion so you can explain the outcome in more detail.
Mason	Clear hypothesis and very clear pictures.	I did not understand what the different groups were and what you were testing. The experiment needs to be more clear.
Sophie	Good pictures. Good hypothesis and ideas	It was not very clear and the pictures are good, but it would be cool to see other pictures
Coda	Well written and solid design	Possibly requires more solidly labeled paragraphs; no conclusion
Gordon	This was very well written	You might want to add a conclusion
Dominic Dylan Dana Emily Henry	Very impressive experiment and pictures! Really interesting experiment. nice experiment and great pictures. You also wrote a lot of details. Great pictures, nice hypothesis Good Pictures	You need a conclusion! (Seven paragraphs) You need a title. You need a list of Materials and label each paragraph No conclusion Conclusion is only 2 sentences
Scott Cindy Matthew Alex P.	I like this experiment. It seems like an experiment I would like to do The page is really good and detailed, nice pictures. I really like the design and the pictures and the video! Great pictures and video.	Unfortunetely, there is no conclusion as stated many times before. You should have added more test subjects to attempt to eliminate chance. Good idea but it needs work. You do need more of a conclusion. The conclusion might need some work, but it's great! I do not see an introduction and the last few sentences of the materials and methods do not belong there.

Evidence of Evolution

2014angel — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:31:07 CST

This student page contains evidence of evolution: past, current & in the laboratory. Feel free to add and edit as many pieces of evidence as possible. Do include textual explanations (in addition to multimedia, if you choose) and links to your original sources. Place your name next to anything you add to this page. Please visit the main Evolution page for more background.

This student page contains evidence of evolution: past, current & in the laboratory. Feel free to add and edit as many pieces of evidence as possible. Do include textual explanations (in addition to multimedia, if you choose) and links to your original sources. Place your name next to anything you add to this page. Please visit the main Evolution page for more background.

As you can see in this picture, a monkey is over time evolving into a everyday human. It shows mutation and variation within millions of years.

A quiz on evidence of evolution. It deals with topics from vestigial structures to clovers. It quizzes only on topics that were learned this semester in class.

This a a picture of finches and their beaks. This pertains to evolution as we did a case study on beak sizes and how they relate to natural selection in the birds, with ones with smaller beaks being unable to eat certain berries, which limited their food source. This caused more of them to die off as their food was decreased.

This picture shows an example of sympatric speciation.
These creatures are not separated by any geographical
barriers and live in the same area/environment.The two
organisms, in this picture, are attracted to different fruits
and because of this the creatures do not see one another
often and do not reproduce with one another. This is an
example of habitat isolation. Sympatric speciation is a big
part of evolution and shows us ways of how new species
can be formed over time.

Sympatric Speciation (Habitat Isolation)
by: Phillip14

This Evolution Tree proves that the theory of evolution is true. It shows that all organisms that live, or have lived, came from one common ancestor. Zoe 1/12/10
ack:http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thetech.org/genetics/images/news/evolutionTree.gif&imgrefurl=http://evahscientist6.blogspot.com/&usg=__ASePWLk08AB0g2YYliJXboZlpuo=&h=303&w=250&sz=15&hl=en&start=16&um=1&tbnid=SteQvFPINPC8UM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Devidence%2Bof%2Bevolution%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 for the image

This is the embryo cycle of a dog, bat, hare, and human. It shows that they are very similar. Especially in the earliest stages.

Homology Theory- Evidence of Evolution

One piece of evidence for evolution is homology. Homologies are similarities between different organisms. For example, a whale's fin, a cat's paw, and a humans arm have the same bones. Homologies can also occur in DNA. Some organisms that are very different can have some very similar genes. Humans and mice have about 80% identical DNA.This supports the theory of evolution because the reason they have these similarities is that the evolved from a common ancestor.

Evolutionof the Horse

This show the origins of the Horse. This ancestors lived over 60 million years ago and this photo shows the similarities in the bone structure between them. Every horse to alive originated from the Eohippus, and this helps prove the theory of evolution.

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