Research Page for Sisters Middle School, Team 1
The Sweets

Our research question is:

Will buckwheat grow at the same rate in any conditions of liquid?

Website Guide, Student Research Guide, Suggested Resources, Supplemental Materials

Tue 5/31/2005 10:33 AM - T1: The upload of our journal is complete. Analysis and Conclusion Only Hayley and Taryns seeds sprouted. Taryn put her seeds in pepper in dark space. Hayley was doing the regular one so we could compare it to our other seeds. If we were to do this project again, we would make accurate measurements for the seeds growth, and try our seeds in maybe a dark sapce or a different substance to see what the growth is.
Wed 6/1/2005 7:27 AM - Dr. Gordon Uno: I noticed that you set up a control (Hayley’s experiment), which is important because now you can compare the effects of the different additions (salt, baking soda, pepper + dark).
Taryn’s combination of pepper and dark creates a bit of a problem, what scientists call “confounding”. How can you tell what part of the effect is due to the dark and what part of the effect is due to the pepper?
You had nice descriptions of what happened. Now, suppose you wanted to have real numbers for comparisons, something you could put on a graph or a histogram – how might you do things differently? You said that if you did it again you might make accurate measures of seed growth, but what about seed germination? How might you measure that? Do you have any idea why salt and baking soda stopped your seeds from germinating, while the pepper did not? What happened when you added pepper to water, and how was this different from what happened to the salt and baking soda?
Wed 6/7/2005 2:46 PM - Dr. Gordon Uno: I enjoyed following your experiment on sprout growth in different liquids. You did a fine job recording observations in your journal and thinking of ways to refine your study. These are essential skills for good science. Good luck in your future science experiments.