Conversations - use this space to communicate about this project
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March 23, 2010 | 10:42 PM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Finishing up Hello, I just wanted to check in to see how the business of finishing up your research is going. I'm looking forward to hearing about your final results and conclusions. |
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March 11, 2010 | 8:58 PM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Good information Good work on investigating what sugar does! I think you have your answer about why the sugar-coated seeds aren't growing. It's good to know that your other plants are coming along. It looks like this may be a good time to find out more about how cocoa is made and what kinds of chemicals are present in it that may have an affect on the growth of seeds and seedlings. If you haven't already done so, you may want to start taking some photographs of your plants if you can. Having visual information is a very useful way to record your results as they happen. Your project is coming along well. |
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March 11, 2010 | 12:00 PM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
research results I did some research, and it turns out that the sugar changes the osmotic effect which causes less water to reach the roots. That will kill the plant. |
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March 11, 2010 | 11:55 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
... Well, one of our team-mates took the seeds home over the weekend to watch them. Turns out he wasn't watching them as close as we wanted him to. Over the four days that he had them, they grew alot! The regular ones grew to an average of 7.8 cm., the cocoa ones grew 3.5 cm., and the sugar ones didnt grow at all. I will do some research on what the sugar did. It only molded. |
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March 8, 2010 | 10:19 PM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Don't be discouraged Hi, Neon Peguins! It can be frustrating when an experiment isn't going just the way you want; every scientist has this problem sooner or later. What is important is that this gives you some real thinking and learning opportunities, and that's what scientific investigation is really about. Let's look at your experimental set up for a second -- you originally put your seeds, treated or untreated, in damp paper towels. On one occasion you dampened the towels, and this was after your initial set up of the experiment. Have you added moisture periodically, when the towels begin to look dry, or have they stayed moist? Seeds do depend on regular and enough moisture in order to be able to grow well. Now, about your treatment groups -- your cocoa-covered seeds are moldy, but you have growth in at least one case. Can you think of anything about the cocoa itself that could contribute to growing mold? If you aren't sure, you might want to see if you can do a little research about how cocoa is produced and what kinds of molecules you might expect to be in processed cocoa. Your sugar-coated seeds aren't growing. Why might sugar actually keep the seeds from sprouting? Can you think of any natural situation where the concentration of sugar in a water solution actually draws more water away from other tissues and into the sugar solution? Before you get discouraged about your seeds, you need to look again at your research question. Your project doesn't talk about growing the "best" seedlings or the tallest or anything like that. Your project talks about investigating what will happen with the various growing treatments. You are finding that out. As you see how your seeds respond, you need to do some research that might help explain why what is happening is happening. Then you will be able to address your reseach question with some answers that make good sense; that's what all of us are looking for when we do research. |
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March 8, 2010 | 6:00 AM |
cheesenuggett15
(Team Member)
Actually, our cocoa seeds have only one growing, while the rest of the cocoa's are super moldy. The sugar ones are still extremely shiny, but no growing yet. Finally, the regular ones are barely growing. I don't know why they aren't growing. We have been giving them lots of sunlight. It is making me really mad because we are trying really hard, but Mrs. Hamilton is going to fail us because our plants aren't growing. |
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March 4, 2010 | 9:13 PM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Differences in growth So, both your cocoa-treated seeds and your untreated seeds are growing while the sugar-coated seeds are moldy but not growing. Do you have any thoughts on why the sugar-treated seeds might not be growing? Do you know what kinds of nutrient differences there might be between sugar and cocoa? Does one have more components that are water soluble than the other? How might that affect the ability of your seeds to absorb water? It doesn't seem that mold is all that much of an issue because you say the cocoa-treated seeds are also at least a bit moldy. What parts do you see emerging from your seeds now that some of them are developing into seedlings? |
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March 4, 2010 | 5:55 AM |
cheesenuggett15
(Team Member)
comment the only growth we are seeing is that the cocoa ones are sort of sprouting and the sugar is molding the regular 0nes are growing and thats all we see. |
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March 2, 2010 | 6:03 AM |
cheesenuggett15
(Team Member)
RE:GSF Actually we have mold on a few of our seeds that have been rolled in cocoa powder, but nothing else. And now that you brought it up our teacher has been having the whole class keep a graph to record your observations. |
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March 1, 2010 | 9:26 PM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Growth so far Your seeds have been growing for about 4 days at this point, so it may be a little early to draw many conclusions just yet. Seeds like beans are more typically planted in garden soil, where the seeds are exposed to all kinds of organisms that may affect seedlings' growth. Botanists now understand that many plants benefit from forming cooperative relationships with some molds and other kinds of fungi; these relationships are called mutualisms because both partners in the relationship benefit from the situation. Are your untreated/regular seeds growing any mold? If all of your seeds are getting a bit moldy, you may want to open the bags that they are in and let everthing air out for a little while before closing the bags back up. This will help reduce the amount of moisture, something that mold needs even more than do seeds. Don't forget to close up your bags after a certain amount of time is over because you want to make sure that everything does not dry out so much that your seedlings can't survive. If you do this, be sure that all of your bags are open for the same amount of time, and you record the day and time that you do this. You shouldn't have to worry about doing this every day. Make sure to write down your observations each day. Sometimes experiments don't go just the way we plan, but there is always something useful to be learned. |
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March 1, 2010 | 5:47 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
progress not much has happened so far. The cocoa ones have gotten a little moldy. The sugar ones are a bit less moldy but are very shiny. the only ones that has grown is the regular ones (those haven't grown much either.). We think that the cocoa is killing the plants. |
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February 26, 2010 | 5:52 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
RE: Starting research We are putting them in a plastic bag, and there wasn't any room by the direct window so we put it close, but not too close. Well, that is a coincidence. We appreciate your suggestions. Have a great weekend also and we have enjoyed your help in this project. |
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February 25, 2010 | 9:40 PM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Starting research Are you growing your seeds in paper towels only or are they in towels in sealed plastic bags? I'm a little concerned that your paper towels and seeds will dry out too quickly, especially on a sunny windowsill, if you don't have them enclosed somehow. If you do put your seeds in the paper towels in clear plastic bags you also need to be a little careful about not giving your plants too much sunlight -- the bags will heat up and cook your seeds if it gets too sunny. Can you set your seed growing apparatus near the windowsill but not in direct sunlight? Once you get your growing conditions adjusted, you should do fine. Seeds do take a couple of days to start sprouting. I think you will see some results when you come back after the weekend. It will be interesting to see the differences in growth between sugar, cocoa, and untreated conditions. Have a great weekend! I'm enjoying working with you. |
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February 25, 2010 | 7:28 AM |
Heather Hamilton
(Teacher)
Cocoa Don't forget to update your research question:) |
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February 25, 2010 | 6:16 AM |
cheesenuggett15
(Team Member)
Project Ideas And Updates We have been looking at everything that could help the growth of the seeds. we decided in giving the plant the most sunlight it could possibly get so we have it located next to a window. Hopefully this will help the seed growth and just in case we dampened the paper towels again. Mitchell, Riley, and I (T.J.) are excited to see the results. What are your thoughts on are experiment? How do you suggest we make it better? I would just like to thank you for being our scientist for this project and giving us your spare time, i know that I appreciate it ( I don't know about Riley and Mitchell do). |
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February 25, 2010 | 5:39 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
So far Not much has happened. Im not surprised because we planted it yesterday. |
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February 24, 2010 | 6:05 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
Change in experiment!!! We dont have access to cinnamon, so we are going to use coco powder instead. I think that the result will be much different because coco powder is very processed and cinnamon is more natural. Either way, i still think that the sugar will dominate (in height) over the coco powder. Also, we will soak it in water for 25 seconds each (including the controlled ones). |
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February 24, 2010 | 5:32 AM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Seeds Hi, Neon Penguins, I agree with Ms. Hamilton that using 10 seeds in each situation is a very good idea. If you have enough seeds you may want to make another group (a replicate) of each of your growing set ups. That would be 60 seeds total. If you can't do that, then divide your groups into two batches of 5 seeds each; it will still give you an entire set of replicate treatments. Do you know why it is always considered a good idea in scientific investigations to have replicates? In order to get the cinnamon or sugar to stick on your seeds, rather than just falling off, I would suggest that you soak the seeds in water just long enough to get the seeds wet, then roll them in the cinnamon or sugar and transfer the seeds to your paper towels. Make sure you decide how long you will soak the seeds and then time and record just how long you are going to soak the sets of seeds. You will want to make sure that your untreated seeds get the water soak for the same amount of time, too. Why should you do that? |
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February 24, 2010 | 3:50 AM |
potofgold
(Student, Lifted Research Group of Rice - MMS_S10_W21 · -1)
I think your guys research question is very interesting i hope to learn the results of your conclusion. |
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February 23, 2010 | 6:27 AM |
Heather Hamilton
(Teacher)
Adding seeds Hi guys, I think this is an interesting idea. What in nature do you think might be similar to the changes you are putting in place? Include for specific set up information in your experimental design including a list of material you will need. Please increase the # of seeds in each experimental group to at least 10. |
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February 23, 2010 | 6:08 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
Details Well, we are going to use green bean seeds because they would be easy to roll in sugar and cinnamon. Also, we are going to plant it in a paper towel so we can check the growth as it grows. I dont know how we will measure how much we use. Do you know how we could do that? |
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February 22, 2010 | 6:52 AM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Experimental plans Hi, Neon Penguins, So, your plan is to take seeds -- do you have a particular kind in mind? and roll some in cinnamon and some in sugar, plant them and see which ones will grow higher. Have you thought about how to expose your seeds to the same amount of cinnamon or sugar? It's a good idea to use the same amount of the two materials you are testing so that you reduce the variables you might have to account for. Are there any things that you could use to stick the cinnamon or sugar in place that might also help when it comes to getting the seeds to sprout? Another thing to think a little bit about and decide on will be just how you want to grow your plants. You can plant them in soil, but you will need to figure out how to get your seeds planted without removing the sugar or the cinnamon. Sometimes researchers look at growth just in the early stages of a seed sprouting. For that kind of work you could grow your seeds on a moist paper towel enclosed in a plastic bag and measure each seed's progress by sliding the paper towel out, taking your measurements, and putting the seedlings back in the bag. Either way will work, but each method can tell you something about your plants' growth that the other way doesn't. So, my advice right now is to decide how you will apply the same amount of sugar to each of your sugar-coated seeds and how you will apply the same amount of cinnamon to each of the cinnamon-coated seeds. Remember that the cinnamon-coated seeds should also have as much coating as the sugar-coated ones. Also, decide which way of growing your plants you are going to use and figure out how you will plant your seeds. The planting part may be something that your teacher has some specific ideas about so check with her to make sure that your plan is okay. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you decide to do. |
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February 22, 2010 | 5:58 AM |
cheesenuggett15
(Team Member)
nothing hello, we are about to set up our experiment. so we would like some advice so if u have the time it would be great if u could email us back. |
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February 19, 2010 | 5:23 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
Experiment plans! Ya, our plan is to roll seeds in cinnamon and sugar, and then see which one will grow higher. We think that the sugar will give it some nutrients, and energy that will make it grow higher. The cinnamon was just to see the reaction. Do you have any advice for testing it? |
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February 19, 2010 | 3:15 AM |
Dr. Nancy Cowden
(Scientist/Mentor)
Hello Hey, I'm glad to meet you. It sounds like you are an enthusiastic group, and we should have a good time working together. Have you thougth about what you want to investigate in relation to seeds? Sometimes just talking about whatever comes to mind can be the start of a really interesting exploration. |
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February 19, 2010 | 12:50 AM |
PS team
Welcome to PlantingScience! I am happy to welcome you to this community of plant researchers. Your team has the opportunity to be mentored by a scientist to help you develop and perform your own research project. The mentor's role is to encourage and guide you through the scientific process of discovery. The more you share your ideas and research information online, the more your mentor can help. Your scientist mentor for this project will be Dr. Nancy Cowden from Lynchburg College. Please introduce yourself and post some possible research topic ideas to get a conversation rolling. These resources are available to help you get started: Thinking Like a Scientist / Working Like a Scientist Designing Experiments Guide to Using A Spreadsheet Best wishes as you start this scientific journey. We are all pleased to share this experience with you. Have fun! Sincerely, The PlantingScience team |
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February 18, 2010 | 6:29 AM |
nancy15
(Team Member)
hello Wazzup!? my name isnt nancy, its riley. so if you call me nancy, i will send myra the crazy, camel obsessed person. (not really). just dont call me nancy. so whats your name. I will explain our expirement in the next blog. peace out homie! |
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February 18, 2010 | 6:25 AM |
cheesenuggett15
(Team Member)
greeting hello there we come in peace. we are from washington not dc but the rainy one its a pleasure to meet you and i hope we continue to blog back to each other so we can keep in touch |
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