| Explore | We know that the cells of plants have cell walls, while we do not. We also know plants use photosynthesis. From our research in this class, we have discovered that celery only has veins one side and that the celery will absorb whatever liquid it is placed in, the liquid will then travel all the way to the leaves of the celery. What is the composition of plant cells? How does this affect their growth? |
|---|---|
| Research Question | How does acidity affect the composition of the cells in the celery? How does the amount of water in a celery stalk affect how bent it is? |
| Predictions | We predict that the more the acidic the water is the more the celery will bend because the acidity will cause water to leave the celery stalk. We also predict that the celery stalk that is not in a beaker of water will bend more than the celery stalks that are in beakers of water. |
| Experimental Design | Process for experiment with water: 1. Start with 4 600ml beakers 2. Label beakers control and 1-3 3. Control beaker will have no water 4. Beaker 1 will have 100ml, 2 will have 300ml, 4 will have 500ml 5. Place a celery stalk (7 inches) in each beaker 6. Observe the bend of each celery stalk by the curve by just looking at it and also measuring the curve with a protractor 7.Record measurements in excel sheet 8.Find SE and Average in Excel sheet Method for Acidity experiment: 1. Fill 5 cups with 4 oz of water 2. Add 20 ml of lime juice in one, 20 ml of lemon juice in another, 20 ml of dish soap in the third, 2 tablets of antacid in another and leave one with just water for the control 3. Test and record the pH level of each cup 4. Place a stalk of celery (7 inches) into each cup 5. Leave celery in the cups for two days 6. Record the curve of each celery stalk with a protractor |
| Conclusion | Based on the results of our experiment we believe that the acidity of the water has an effect on the composition of the cells in the celery stalk. From our first experiment of placing the celery in a cup of water with red food coloring, we knew that as the celery absorbs the water it travels all the way to the leaves of the stalk through the veins on the outside of the stalk. When placed in water with different pH levels, the celery that was in more basic water bent more than celery that was in acidic water, except for the celery in the lime juice. We believe that the basic solutions caused the celery to bend more because they caused the cell wall in the celery stalk to change shape. In the experiment with just water, the celery that was in 100 ml bent the most, which implies that too much water can make the celery stalk not bend as well. We think this could mean that there was too much water in the other containers for the celery to absorb and thus it stayed straight. In the container with 100 ml, the celery stalk absorbed all the water, keeping it hydrated, but when there was no water left to absorb it began to bend more the excess water in the stalk. Our results seem to support our original hypothesis, however, more experiments and a closer examination of the cells of the celery are needed to understand exactly what is causing the changes that we observed. |
| Investigation Theme | CEL |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate Students |
| School Name | Emporia State University |
| Session | Fall 2018 |