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November 27, 2008 | 9:17 AM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Thanks for the input regarding the interpretation of your results. I hope you all continue to investigate questions in science! Regards, Rebecca |
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November 23, 2008 | 11:05 PM |
autumn85
(Team Member)
Rebecca thank you. i think personally the seeds germinated best in the tightly compacted soil because the soil kept the water tightly compressed to the seeds and that the soil was acting as a support for the seed pushing it so to speek to stand tall and giving it more of a challange to get through the soil. |
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November 20, 2008 | 11:29 PM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi Team, Congratulations on completing your research project! These are interesting results and I'm curious to know what you think about them. It seems that the compacted soil was best for germination, though this is not what you had initially predicted. Now that you have your results, why do you think the seeds germinated so well in the compact soil, but not in the loose soil? -Rebecca |
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November 12, 2008 | 11:21 AM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi Team, I think what your teacher and I have been thinking about goes back to your research question. Do you as a team think that soil compaction will affect seed GERMINATION? Germination is usually affected by light, temperature, and moisture conditions, and indicates whether or not a tiny plant begins to break out of the seed coat. PLANT GROWTH is different and may be what you are really after regarding soil compaction. You may want to re-evaluate your research question to make sure you have designed a project that answers your question. Even with a re-analysis of the research question, I think your current experimental procedures will yield the results you need to help you understand the effect of soil compaction on plant growth. I think you all probably have the right idea in mind, but make sure your wording and descriptions truly explain what you are researching. I hope this helps - please let me know if you need any more ideas. Most importantly, be sure to have fun with your project! -Rebecca |
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November 10, 2008 | 6:03 AM |
Jason
(Teacher)
measuring seed germination/growth Hi guys, I'll try to clarify my comments and give your mentor a better idea of what we have discussed. Your question seeks to better understand how compaction of the soil will affect seed germination. My question in class was to challenge you to think about what you meant by "germination of the seed" and how you would measure it. You mentioned that you wanted to measure the height/length of each seed. I still wonder if this is a true measure of "germination". We know a seed has germinated simlpy by wheather or not it breaks out of the seed, correct? You seemed to indicate in class that you didn't know how you would measure when this happened and my suggestion was that it would just push its way out of the soil and then you could count it as having germinated. If you want to know more than a simple "did it germinate or not" then you'll have to clarify what it is that you are interested in knowing and how you will go about measuring it. Maybe Rebecca has something to add or can clarify even better. Thanks and keep at it. MR. K |
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November 9, 2008 | 11:06 PM |
autumn
(Team Member)
Hi Rebecca, i have a question for you and i was woundering if you could help pur team out. our team has to measure the germination growth of our seeds and i dont quite get how to do that. our teacher said something about the soil moving out of the way for the seed to come out and if we use that method of measurement then what are we suppost to accomplish. im confused maybe you could explain it better. |
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November 7, 2008 | 12:18 PM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi Team, I'm glad you have been working on developing and changing your experimental procedures - this is how science works and you are doing a good job! I like the current design testing soil compaction, and I look forward to hearing from you as your experiment continues. What predictions do you have now? Have fun planting on Monday! Rebecca |
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November 7, 2008 | 12:03 AM |
Niki
(Team Member)
Hi Rebecca! Actually the two other girls came up with the name while I was gone, Brokencyde is actually a band =). Sorry we keep changing our questions and procedures around, we're still trying to perfect our experiment. We plan to start planting our seeds Monday, thank you for your advice, it is very helpful and we sure do appreciate it! |
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November 6, 2008 | 9:57 AM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi Team Brokencyde! (By the way, how did you come up with this name? I've been wondering that for a while!) In your experimental design you note that you plan to measure time to germination, which I think is a very good idea. From there, you have a lot of options as to what you are going to measure, but here are a few suggestions: Measuring plant height at regular intervals is one good way to keep a record of plant growth (ex: every 2 days). You could also record the date when the first leaves appear (the ones that grow after the cotyledon), or the size of the leaves over time. Depending on how long you let your plants grow, you could record the number of leaves on each plant at the termination of your experiment. If you had lots and lots of time and space, the best thing to do would be to let the plants live out their whole lives and find out how many seeds each one produced because that is a really important measurement of how 'fit' a plant is. However, you will have to decide how long to continue your experiment since I doubt you will have time in this class to follow your plants all the way through their life cycle. Hopefully these ideas are helpful; please let me know how it is going! Do you have your seeds planted already? If so, have any germinated yet? |
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November 5, 2008 | 10:42 PM |
Niki
(Team Member)
Do you have any suggestions on what we should use to measure the seed growth? |
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October 30, 2008 | 7:09 AM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hello! I'm glad you have decided to use multiple banana pepper seeds for your different soil types. You'll get much better information from your experiment this way. One thing I'd like you to think about - you are planning to use germination time as a method of determining which soils are 'better' for seeds. However, the soil (and the nutrients in it) doesn't provide all that much to the plants until their roots begin to grow as they seek nutrients and moisture. Do you think using germination time will test what you are wanting to test (effect of soil type)? If so, let me know why, if not, do you have any suggestions as to what measurements you could add to your experiment? Maybe you are already planning to do this already, but let me know! I hope everything else is going well for you all! -Rebecca |
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October 27, 2008 | 10:08 AM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hello Team, I am looking forward to finding out what conclusions you come to at the end of this project. I think you have a good plan testing plant growth in different soil types. I would suggest that you replicate the seeds and soil treatments in your experimental design. That way you can get an average over your measurements and not just rely on a single plant for each seed and soil treatment. I know this will make your project bigger, but it is really important. Since your research question centers around soil type, you could focus on that and use just one or two different types of seeds in order to cut down on the number of plant pots. Also, have you decided what measurements you are going to use to determine which plants are more successful in your soil treatments? Finally, what is your watering and sunlight regimen going to be? I look forward to hearing from your team again. Have fun! -Rebecca |
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October 23, 2008 | 11:11 PM |
ashli
(Team Member)
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October 23, 2008 | 10:59 PM |
Niki
(Team Member)
Quote of the Day I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” |
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October 23, 2008 | 10:55 PM |
ashli
(Team Member)
joke of the day knock knock whos there? orange...... orange who? knock knock whos there? orange orange who? knock knock whos there? banana banana who? orange you glad i didnt say orange! HAHAHAHAHA! |
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October 23, 2008 | 1:16 PM |
Rebecca Anderson
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi Team! Hello Brokencyde, I'm excited to be your mentor this fall and look forward to working with you as you continue to develop this project. Dr. Hemingway's comments will be especially helpful to you as you narrow down your research focus. If you are planning to test which soils make plants grow 'better', determining which traits you are going to measure will help you stay on the right track. What is different about these soils that would make you think that one type would make the plants grow better? I'll be in touch with you again soon! Rebecca |
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October 23, 2008 | 9:31 AM |
Dr. Claire Hemingway
Sorry that you haven't heard from your mentor Hello Brokencyde, I wanted to drop you a note as your mentor has not been able to. I've had a chance to read over your Research Journals and I like your honest thoughts! You've got some interesting starting answers to the seed questions posed. You are very lucky to have Mr. Keeler as a teacher. I would like to follow up on one of the points he makes below about having two separate questions. Tell us a bit more about what what plants growing faster means and what growing better means to your team. What sort of observations and/or measurements could you record to answer a question about growing faster or about better? If you choose to answer a question about germination, rather than growth, what observations and/or measurements might you be interested in? It is getting interesting now! Either Rebecca or I will be in touch again soon. Dr. H |
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October 22, 2008 | 5:40 AM |
Jason
(Teacher)
Writing good scientific questions. Hi guys. Just wanted to remind you of a few things we talked through in class about writing good scientific questions. Specific, significant, and something you can collect data around are the three areas we use to write questions that are answerable through the scientific process. As I read your question it looks like you have two seperate questions. You should narrow yourself down by picking one or the other. After you've chosen one you still need to ask: Are we specific, significant, and what data (information) will we need to gather to help us understand the answer to our question. Both of your questions currently look pretty general. You may not be able to learn everything about the mechanisms used to break dormancy or why they know when to break dormancy in the fall, but you can investigate some of the factors involved with this process. Keep at it! Mr. K Don't forget to upload some team picture to represent your team! Autumn I still need you to upload your research journal as soon as you can. |
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October 7, 2008 | 1:26 AM |
Heather
Welcome to Planting Science! Hello Marion Team 1, Welcome to this online community of plant science researchers! Are you ready to get started? You should be thinking of a team name and talking about your research ideas. You can share them here with your scientist mentor, Rebecca Anderson, from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Rebecca will help out with your project and provide feedback and insight along the way. Don't forget to upload a team photo! We look forward to seeing where this research journey takes you. Best wishes, Heather Cacanindin PlantingScience Team |
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