Science Inquiry Project Due: 3.10

A science inquiry project was assigned last week. It basically consists of a written piece of work containing the following elements:

1. Question- Students create a question that can be investigated; that they are interested in that is related to our current topic of life science.

2. Prediction- Students make a prediction as to the outcome of their question.

3. Materials- Students list all of the materials needed in order to carry out their inquiry.

4. Procedures- Step by step instructions as to how they went about conducting their inquiry. It should be of sufficient detail that the inquiry could be replicated with ease; similar to a recipe.

5. Explanation- A. What happened? B. Why do you think that happened? C. Answer your question and address your prediction.

Example:

Question: I wonder if a bean seed will sprout better in water or Coca-Cola?

Prediction: I think it will sprout better in Coca-Cola.

Materials: Two bean seeds, some water, some Coca-Cola, some paper towels, two clear plastic containers.

Procedures:

1) I soaked the seeds in water and Coca-Cola in separate containers overnight.

2) The next day I put the seeds in paper towels moistened with either water or Coca-Cola and kept them in sealed plastic containers.

3) I kept the containers on the desk of my room so I know they were both at the same temperature and got the same amount of light.

4) Every morning at 7:00 a.m. I would open the containers to observe the seeds and check for growth. Also I checked to make sure that the seeds were still moist, I added either water or Coca-Cola as needed.

5) On the 2nd day I noticed both seeds were getting bigger.

6) On the 4th day I noticed that the one soaking in the Coca-Cola was producing a little white sprout.

7) The seventh day was the last day of my observations. I measured the growth of the bean sprouts.

Explanation: I noticed that the bean that was soaked in the Coca-Cola grew a sprout that was 2 cm. long while the bean that was soaked in the water only sprouted 1.5 cm. This matched my prediction. I think this happened for two reasons. I think Coca-Cola is sugary and maybe that gave the bean more energy. Also I have heard that Coca-Cola is acidy so maybe it broke through the tough outside shell of the bean seed quicker than the water did. Maybe Coca-Cola should tell farmers about my discovery and they could sell more Coca-Cola!

Students may present their results to the class, take photos, mount them on a presentation board, take a video of their project to present to class, make a podcast of their inquiry, etc. However, none of these is required. All that is required is a written piece similar to above.

I have asked the students to check with their parents before using any materials.