1. Life Science Carl E. Lewis. “Sweet Potato” November 28, 2007 via flickr. Creative Commons.

2. Objective  To learn about and understand life sciences and growth processes.

3.  The class will be broken into groups of 3.  Each group will receive a potato.  Each group member will be assigned a job  Recorder  Measurer  Feeder

4.  There will be one control potato for the class that will be fed with tap water.  Each group will pick a different source of food for their groups.  Ex: pop, coffee, salt water

5.  The Groups will receive a potato, 4 toothpicks, and a jar.  With the pointy side of the potato down, push the 4 toothpicks in crossway 2/3 the way up the potato.  Place the potato in the jar with the toothpicks resting on the jars rim.

6.  Fill the glass almost all the way to the top with a mix of ½ water, and ½ of your variable substance.  Write your variable name on a piece of tape and stick it to your jar.  Place jar on the window ledge. Romulusnr. “Mason jar” November 27, 2006 via flickr, Creative Commons

7.  On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday progress of both the control potato and group will be recorded.  The stems, leaves and roots that grow should be measured, counted, and recorded on a provided chart and labeled by date. Date# and Length of Leaves # and Length of Stems # and Length of Roots 10/1/090, 0 cm 10/3/090, 0cm1, 0.5 cm2, 0.5 cm 1 cm

8.  After measurements are taken the person whose job is to feed the plant will carefully fill the jar with water to replace the water that was absorbed by the potato. 1. 2.

9.  After 4 weeks of progress the final recordings will take place.  # of roots, stems, and leaves should be counted, measured, and recorded for the last time. Date# and Length of Leaves # and Length of Stems # and Length of Roots

10.  After all the data is gathered, the group will create 3 charts ( 2 bar, 1 line) to show the potatoes progress.

11.  The 1 st chart must include the date of observation, and length of roots that grew.  The 2 nd chart will show the progress of stem lengths.  Both charts should include data points from the control as well as the group potato.

12.  The 3 rd chart will be a line graph  It will have 4 separate lines (different colors). One will represent the progress of the control potato and the other will be the results of the group potato.  The lines will represent the progress of the stems and the roots.

13.  Once the charts are complete each group will turn in a short write up  Included will be:  Alternate food source.  Final # of stems, leaves, and roots.  A comparison of your results to the control results  Conclusion of why you think your plant did or did not grow better.