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December 14, 2008 | 11:24 PM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Interesting Results Hello Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes, Even though the experiment didn't turn out how you expected, it looks like you got a good data set that has gotten you interested in asking more questions about the interactions between plants and mycorrhizae in the future. I think your idea that if you could run a longer experiment to better observe the effects of mycorrhizae on plant growth is a good one and something to try in the future. It can take some time for the relationship to be established. I like the graph you made showing your data. Having the two treatments with different colored lines and a good legend make it clear. Something you might consider adding are the words total or overall to your title, so that it doesn't seem like you just measured the change from week to week and not the overall height of the plants. Also, it would be nice to see how much variation there was among the plants in your treatments. You could graph each one individually or show the standard deviation around the average height measurement for each treatment for each time point. Also, what was the germination success for the seeds in your experiment? In other words, out of your 30 seeds, how many actually grew? Overall, very interesting experiment, TMNT! Good luck with your future investigations! Best, Shannon Straub |
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December 11, 2008 | 7:30 AM |
kev507
(Team Member)
Wrong time The time is really 6:29 instead of 3:29. |
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December 11, 2008 | 7:29 AM |
Kevin
(Team Member)
Logan Our project is due this Friday. |
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December 11, 2008 | 7:04 AM |
Kevin
(Team Member)
Logan Can you change the 2nd and 3rd documents in Our Uploaded Journals from inches to cm. |
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December 11, 2008 | 7:01 AM |
Kevin
(Team Member)
Logan are you online? |
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November 18, 2008 | 3:53 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
How are your tomato plants? Hi Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes, How are your tomato plants doing? Have you noticed any differences between your two treatments yet? I'll be looking forward to hearing about your results. Best, Shannon Straub |
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November 7, 2008 | 3:39 AM |
meghan
(Student, The FireFlames - MHS_F08_P15 · -1)
good question hey guys you have a good question i like it a lot |
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November 6, 2008 | 6:11 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi T.M.N.T., I like you new name! It's very creative. It looks like you have good experimental design and clear idea of the steps you will need to take to collect data for your experiment. I have just one suggestion and one question for you. First, I would suggest moving Step#4 before step #1 because you had your idea for your experiment and hypothesis about what would happen before you designed the steps to take to answer your question. That is the usual order we use in the scientific method - first ask a question, then design an experiment to try to answer it. The question I have for you is this: how could you make your description of your dependent variable more specific? What exactly about the tomato plants may depend on whether mycorrhizae are present or not? Good luck with your tomatoes! Shannon Straub |
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November 6, 2008 | 3:37 AM |
sharpieboy39
(Team Member)
How long we are taking our measurments for We are taking our measurments for 3 weeks and we are giving the same amount of water(150mL), and the same amount of sunlight. |
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November 4, 2008 | 1:13 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Team 14, Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that your experiment is going well so far. How long do you plan to let the tomato plants grow before you take your measurements? It might also be interesting to take measurements at various points during the experiment so you can see if there is a trend over time. Also, do you have a plan to make sure that each pot gets exactly the same amount of water, light, etc.? This will make sure that the only difference between your treatments is the presence or absence of mycorrhizae. Good luck! Shannon Straub |
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November 3, 2008 | 10:57 PM |
Logan
(Team Member)
Going fine. The experiment is going fine. We just finished putting the mycorrhizae in 5 peat pots and leaving just soil in 5 other peat pots. |
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November 2, 2008 | 2:18 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Any Updates? Hello Oakridge Group #14, How is the experiment going? Let me know if you need any help with your experimental design. Best, Shannon Straub |
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October 20, 2008 | 5:13 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Controls Hi Oakridge Group #14, Another thing you'll want to consider, if you haven't already, is how to hold everything else constant in your experimental design except for the variable of interest (presence of mycorrhizae). How will you make sure there are not any mycorrhizae in your control treatment? How will you make sure that the two treatments are exactly the same otherwise? For example, will they each have the exact same size pots, amount of soil in the pots, receive the same amount of water? I'm sure you can think of several others. You may want to make a list of all of the other variables you'll need to hold constant before you begin. I'd love to see a list of what you come up with if you want to post it to the site. Best, Shannon Straub |
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October 20, 2008 | 5:07 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
New Research Question Hello Oakridge Group #14, Your new research question is also interesting. The symbiosis of mycorrhizal fungi and plants is an important one. Sugars produced by the plants help feed the fungi and the fungi help the plants absorb more water and mineral nutrients from the soil than they could with their roots alone. I think that your prediction that the tomato plants will grow more in soil with mycorrhizae is a good one based on this background knowledge. How did you come up with the prediction that the tomato plants will grow exactly 1.5x more with mycorrhizae? You may want to make your prediction more general and just say that the plants will grow more in soil with mycorrhizae than in soil without mycorrhizae. If this is indeed the case, then your results will indicate just how much more the plants grew in the control vs. the experimental groups. Happy Planting, Shannon Straub |
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October 20, 2008 | 1:24 AM |
Logan
(Team Member)
Question Change Sorry but we have changed our question: How much larger will a tomato plant grow (in centimeters) with mycorrhizae than without mycorrhizae? |
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October 13, 2008 | 12:19 AM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hi Oakridge Team 14, Sounds like you have an interesting research question that could have practical applications for gardening. Now I have a couple of questions for you. How do you think the coffee grounds will change the environment in which the seeds are growing? What predictions can you come up with concerning the growth of the plants in your two different treatments? I'll look forward to hearing more about your predictions and experimental design soon and will be happy to answer any questions you come up with along the way. Shannon Straub |
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October 7, 2008 | 10:51 PM |
Shannon Straub
(Scientist/Mentor)
Welcome Oakridge Team 14 Hello Oakridge Team 14, My name is Shannon Straub, and I will be your mentor as you explore seed germination in science class over the next couple of weeks. I am a PhD candidate at Cornell University in New York where I study plants in the bean family. Specifically, I study a genus of plants called Amorpha (their common names are usually false indigo or leadplant). In my research, I use DNA sequences to learn more about the evolutionary history of this group. I also work on the genetics of several Amorpha species that are endangered and help with conservation efforts so that these plants do not become extinct. I am excited to work with you on your seed germination project. One of the best things about being a scientist is getting to ask all sorts of questions and then conducting experiments to answer those questions. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you soon about what kinds of questions your team is interested in asking about seeds. Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions! Best, Shannon Straub |
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October 7, 2008 | 6:34 AM |
Heather
Welcome to Planting Science! Hello Oakridge Team 14, We are so glad you are joining in this science community and the fun of plant investigations. I would like to introduce you to your scientist mentor, Shannon Straub. She will be talking with your team throughout the project. Expect to see a hello from her here soon. I'm sure she'll be happy to share a bit about what she finds so exciting about studying plants, as well as giving you feedback as you plan and carry out your experiments on seed germination. Don't hesitate to ask questions or share your brainstorming ideas. Getting started can be one of the hardest phases. So exchanging ideas with others now is really important. Best wishes as you begin this scientific journey. We are looking forward to sharing this experience with you. Best wishes, Heather Cacanindin PlantingScience Team |
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