Biology Y 8-11

Hetty Lee Y09C Planning = Total = Observing = Comment: Analyzing = Evaluating =

Planning
Aim
The aim is to test the effects of different water, light and temperature conditions on seeds. (We did temperature.)

Prediction & Hypothesis

1) At 5 degrees Celsius, I predict that the beans will be too cold to sprout. This is because the plants rest in the ground until the temperature and climate are suitable for its needs (i.e. enough sunlight, not too dry, not too cold, not to hot). 2) At 20 degrees, the temperature is just right for plants to grow. (The beans do not need soil to grow. They only require water and the right temperature.) 3) At 50 degrees, it may be too hot for the beans to start budding. (They may begin to sprout, since beans require fewer elements than most other plants. However, if they do sprout, they probably wont develop as quickly as the 20 degrees beans, since heat slows the process down.)

Apparatus
y y y y y y y y y 3 beakers Filter paper 30 cm3 of water 60 beans A hot area (50 degrees Celsius) A cold area (a fridge) (5 degrees Celsius) Cling wrap Rubber bands Something to label the beakers with

Safety
1) Make sure the glass of the 50 degrees beaker is safe to touch. 2) Make sure the 5 degrees beaker is not left in the freezer for too long. (The glass may crack)

Measurements
We will be measuring the mass of the seedlings in grams after we have left them out to give them a chance to grow.

Method
1) Place a piece of filter paper at the bottom of a 100 ml beaker so that it fits exactly. Do this with 3 beakers. 2) Put 20 seedlings into each beaker. 3) Fill up each of the beakers with 10 cm3 of water. 4) Put cling wrap on top of the beakers and secure them with rubber bands. 5) Label each of the beakers with the according temperature options (5, 20, 50). 6) Put the beakers in areas that are in accordance with the temperatures (the 5 degrees beaker goes in the refrigerator, the 20 degrees beaker goes on the windowsill and the 50 degrees beaker goes in an incubator).

Fair testing
The amount of water, the size of the filter paper and the type of seeds have to remain the same throughout the experiment. The weights of the beans in the three beakers will obviously vary.

Diagram

Observing
Table Treatment (degrees C) 5 20 50 Observations
The weights were more off than I thought they would be. It probably should be more similar as the scale was very accurate. Also, I thought that the 20 degrees beans would weigh the most. The 20 degrees beans made the most progress in terms of growth. However, the 50 degrees ones started to sprout as well. The 5 degrees beans also got a little bigger.

1 2.56 5.68 5.86

Mass of Seedlings (g) 2 3 2.56 2.56 5.55 5.50 5.70 5.78

mean 2.56 5.58 5.78

Analyzing
Charts
Mean ass f seedlings 6 5.58 5 5.78

Mass of 3 seedlings (g) 2 1 0

2.56

5 20 Degrees (Celsius) 50

Summary
The table and chart show that theres a big difference between the 5 degrees beans and the 20 and 50 degrees beans. According to the weights in the table and chart (which may be faulty), the 50 degrees beans weighed the most. However, in looking at the beans, I noticed that the 20 degrees beans had been larger.

Did your results agree with your prediction?

On the whole, the results agreed with my prediction, except for the fact that the 50 degrees beans had in fact developed and weighed even more than the 20 degrees beans. They match quite closely overall.

Evaluation
How reliable are your data?
The results were pretty similar each time we repeated the experiment. However, the weights differed more than expected (I had predicted that they would stay exactly the same). The biggest changes were from 5.68 to 5.50 grams when we were measuring the 20 degrees beans.

Anomalous results
The only odd result was that the 50 degrees beans weighed more than the 20 degrees beans, although it was obvious that the 20 degrees beans grew bigger.

Explanation
The most likely explanation for the odd result above is that some water was still left on the beans, or that we might have dropped one bean from the 20 degrees pile.

Limitations
1) We might not have dried the beans thoroughly. 2) We might have missed out a bean or two when weighing. 3) We might have miscounted the beans in the beginning of the experiment.

How could you improve the experiment?

The experiment could have been more accurate if we had dried the beans more carefully or recounted to make sure that the number of beans was 20 for each beaker. Also, we could have repeated the experiment or compared results with the others to make sure that our results were not completely off. (Of course, the results would differ slightly every time it was repeated.)

Extension
The investigation could be developed by raising and lowering the temperatures so that the conditions are more extreme for the bean. It could also be extended by testing many similar temperatures so that the results are more accurate and can be compared to one another. The investigation could be continued by testing out the other elements to a plants growth (to see if plants can grow without one, are more dependant on one than another, etc.)