| Conclusion |
Does that differ in different environments? Yes, the usefulness of an adaptation varies depending on where the organism is. For instance, a saltwater fish has adapted to excreting water constantly to prevent salt poisoning, whereas a freshwater fish is adapted to hold onto water for as long as possible to retain a healthy amount of salt. If a saltwater fish is placed in freshwater, they will die from hyponatremia because of how much salt they pass, whereas a freshwater fish in saltwater will die from salt poisoning because of the build-up of salt.
What are possible explanations for our results? A possible explanation for the results we got is looking at the variables in each bottle. The seeds in bottle A, which was our control subject, grew a considerable amount but weren't massive. Bottle B had by far the biggest plants, peaking at around 11 inches. Bottle C, which had the most seeds and therefore the most competition, had the smallest plants.
How do the data we collected and our reasoning with scientific ideas support our claim? The data we collected supports our claim because it shows that certain environments can make an organism's life harder or easier, no matter the adaptations. For instance, the plants in bottle B grew biggest because of the abundance of nutrients and lack of competition. Compare this with the plants in bottle C, which were all small due to a lack of nutrients due to competition, and we can see that a hostile or overpopulated environment can completely render an adaptation invalid.
What future experiments could be done to expand on the results of this experiment? I think having multiple kinds of seeds in a bigger container would demonstrate how biodiversity and resource scarcity works in the natural world. The experiment helped demonstrate how genetics work on a smaller, controlled scale, but I think having multiple plants in a bottle would help display the practical application of genes in the wild. |