the report!

and its done!!

i have finished my report!!

it feels so good to have finally gotten it over and done with :)

no more srp to worry about!!!

hahaha, goodbye blog, for the last time :)

alison

xox

and its done :) well, almost :)

my experiment is over!! ive taken photos of it every three days, and the differences between the seeds in the last few days is very big.

the photos are above. i haven't uploaded all of the sugar-seeds because they all look pretty much the same.

researching

i have started writing my report :)
i started writing my introduction but i wasn't sure how to go about it SO i looked up some of the science reports ms. zhang gave us in class. they really helped! the one about aloe vera started out with some research about aloe vera, so i thought i would do the same with mine.

since im using sugar as a substitute "fertilizer" so to speak, ive researched what normal fertilizers contain. here's a good site i found.

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/fertilizer.html

its really handy and explains the components of fertilizer.

on top of this i researched the effect sugar has on humans which, as most people know, causes them to be hyperactive. this is because sugar releases energy in the form of carbohydrates into our body :) here's a really good website that explains all this:

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4728406_sugar-affect-human-body.html

i got a definition for sugar from here:

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=sugar

"Sugar is a white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative."

basically, in my introduction, im just linking the two together; Sugar is a stimulant as is fertilizer. The conclusion ive drawn for my hypothesis is: sugar stimulate plant growth like a fertilizer.

That's all im going to do for tonight. im just glad ive made a start on it :)

somethings not right

hey everyone.

its almost been a week since i began my experiment, and they still haven't started growing!! i dont know what to do because the experiment only goes for 2 weeks :S
im really starting to worry about it now hahah.

also, ive been noticing that greenish-blue spots have been appearing on the seeds which have been watered with the sugar. the cotton balls containing the seeds with 50% sugar are almost fully green. its starting to creep me out...

ill upload photos soon :) maybe someone can help me haha.

alisonnn xox

And it begins...

YAY! my experiment has finally begun :) im so excited.

ive set up the cups along a windowsill in my kitchen which is where my dad leaves his seeds to germinate. he said they should normally start growing within three days, but being winter it would take longer. oh well, we'll see what happens :) ill keep everyone posted on what happens.

The Method

I have done everything else for this blog submission except for my method. So, here it is :) Enjoy!!

Aim: To investigate whether the addition of sugar when watering a seed effects the speed of growth of the plant.

Hypothesis: The plant with the most sugar will grow the fastest.

Equipment and Materials: 4 polystyrene cups, a permanent marker, 8 pea seeds, cotton wool balls, sugar, water, measuring cup, ruler and sunlight.

Method:
1. The polystyrene cups were labelled using the permanent marker. One was labelled "normal", the next "10%", the third "25%" and the last "50%".
2. The 4 polystyrene cups were each filled to about halfway with cotton wool balls.
3. 2 pea seeds were placed in each cup, just on top of the cotton.
4. Using the measuring cup, 40mL of water was measured.
5. The water was poured into the cup labelled "normal".
6. Step 4 was repeated.
7. 4 grams of sugar was mixed with the 40mL of water.
8. This solution was poured into the cup labelled 10%.
9. Step 4 was repeated.
10. 10 grams of sugar was combined with the 40mL of water.
11. The solution was poured into the cup labelled "25%".
12. Step 4 was repeated.
13. 20 grams of sugar was mixed with the 40mL of water.
14. This solution was poured into the cup labelled "50%"
15. The 4 cups were then placed in an area which received alot of sunlight.
16. A photograph of the experiment was taken.
17. Steps 16 was repeated every 3 days for 2 weeks, observing and taking note of the difference in the growth of the seeds.
18. The results were recorded in a table, stating how many days the seeds took to grow (days) and whether or not they grew at all.


Thats it :) i wasn't sure whether or not to get our a ruler and measure the seeds, or just note the effects the sugar has on the plant. But as you can see, i decided to go with the ruler. If there are any problems, im sure ill be able to make slight changes. Also, ive based the hypothesis on the fact that sugar makes a person more "hyper" and their brain and body to work faster. Hopefully it will have the same effect on a plant.

Alison

a new idea

I've finally talked with ms zhang!!! hahaha yeah I haven't really been in class much lately, so I haven't gotten much of a chance to talk to her. But the other day she asked if anyone wanted to talk to her or ask anything, so I did. Basically i was on the right track when I said i should get rid of some variables. I asked ms zhang about the "inconclusive results" and she explained that my results may not be accurate or give a final answer. That clears alot up!!!
so, what to do about that...?
well, ms zhang said I should just test the effect of adding something to the water in different percentages, if that makes sense. For example, adding sugar. To
the first seed I might add 10% sugar the water, to the second maybe 25% and so on. over the days I could just monitor and photograph the experiment, seeing if the sugar has any effect.
so that's my new idea :) I think I'm going to stick with it, as it'll give me clearer and conclusive results. Thanks ms zhang!!!!