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

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

 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

 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

 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.

 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

 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

 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

 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

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

 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.

 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.

 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.