SIP report

I have finished my report. However, I am still adding finishing touches to refine it further. It has been a challenging process as I tried to compile the information. Nevertheless, it was a rewarding experience as I looked at the results of my very own, very first official experiment. It had been a successful experiment, much to my relief. Writing the report was quite a tedious process because there was just so much information and so much to write about. It was fun though as I looked back at the hard work that had birthed forth from my hands and brains. :D

Properly formatted references

(n.d.). Principles of Underwater Sound Chapter 8. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/fun/part08.htm

(n.d.). Acoustic Monitoring Program: Underwater Acoustics Tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/acoustics/tutorial/tutorial.html

Bowles, A.E., Graves S.K. & Yack, T.M. (2007). Aquatic Noise Pollution from Oil Tankers and Escort Vessels in Prince William Sound, Its Effects and Impacts on the Marine Environment of the Sound: Literature Search from 1980 to Present. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QgmFZNKh8DYJ:www.pwsrcac.org/docs/d0045400.pdf+how+ocean+noise+pollution+aqautic+eggs&hl=en&gl=sg&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjn1jlqTwwVTiAHYd44f16pCFiDf41Ne2d8V9PGCMrvdzHlU6khbejt0ZVhrInagyOSAQOzKP3a6E71HzTsJ8Kk0qh9IlEO31DYFtxs8ophspbXcUS87ujJ5X8oMkcGU43T_S5Y&sig=AHIEtbQEp-8prIn892v0qWFD3we-2RddpQ

Brine Shrimp. Last edited June 15 2011. In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 2, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_shrimp

Desislava, Orlin & Hristo. (1999). Sound & Hearing. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/28170/36.html

How to raise brine shrimp. Last edited February 14 2011. In Wikihow. Retrieved July 2, 2011, from http://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Brine-Shrimp

The Regents of the University of California. (2011). Fossweb: Brine Shrimp. Retrieved from http://lhsfoss.org/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/brineshrimp.html

References

These are all the references I may have used. I am putting it here for easy reference and collation!

http://lhsfoss.org/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/brineshrimp.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Brine-Shrimp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_shrimp

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/acoustics/tutorial/tutorial.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/28170/36.html

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/fun/part08.htm

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QgmFZNKh8DYJ:www.pwsrcac.org/docs/d0045400.pdf+how+ocean+noise+pollution+aqautic+eggs&hl=en&gl=sg&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjn1jlqTwwVTiAHYd44f16pCFiDf41Ne2d8V9PGCMrvdzHlU6khbejt0ZVhrInagyOSAQOzKP3a6E71HzTsJ8Kk0qh9IlEO31DYFtxs8ophspbXcUS87ujJ5X8oMkcGU43T_S5Y&sig=AHIEtbQEp-8prIn892v0qWFD3we-2RddpQ

Time constraints

My trial experiment is the one where I tested the brine shrimp but they refused to hatch up till the 2nd or 3rd attempt where they finally appeared from their cysts! Afterwards, I carried out my actual experiment twice. However, due to time constraints, I am unable to carry it out a third time! The ideal was to carry out the experiment 5 times. If I were able to do this experiment again, I would carry out each set-up more times to increase consistency of data and reliability of results. This is one limitation of my experiment.

Tentative Summary of Research

This is the summary of my research. I am using it in my Data Discussion section of my report. I edited out bits and used them in other sections of my report. Some bits were also unnecessary so I did not use them.

***

The frequency of a sound wave is the rate of oscillation or vibration of the wave and is measured in cycles/sec or Hertz (Hz). Sound waves propagating underwater are alternating compressions and rarefactions (decrease in density and pressure of sound wave) of the water. They travel through the air and get refracted when they pass through a medium with gradually varying properties (e.g. water).

Sound waves are transmitted through water as a pressure waves (repeating pattern of high-pressure and low-pressure regions). Longitudinal and transverse pressure waves cause vibrations of water particles. Low-frequency sounds are classified as high intensity sound that is transmitted by high intensity pressure waves. High intensity pressure waves cause greater vibrations of water particles which pose as disturbances that negatively affect the hatching process of brine shrimp eggs by hampering it.

Important things to take note of

These are some important pointers that I have to take note of regarding my SIP report. We went though the pointers in class when Ms Tan went through the rubrics. Also, some information was gathered from my friends from other classes.

1. Methodology must be reproducible

2. Point out control variables that cannot be controlled

3. Variables that we are unable to control should be listed under Limitations

4. Extension of further questions from our experiment

Experimental results

This is the data I collated from the whole experiment. Two beakers (Beaker 1 and Beaker 2) were exposed to the same frequency and conditions at one go. In other words, there were 2 identical set-ups). After which, the data from each beaker was collated over the period of 48 hours. This was to increase the consistency of data and reliability of results, eliminating any other external factors that could affect the results, by increasing the number of times each frequency was tested through increasing the number of set-ups.

The data might look really perfect but that is due to the limitation that I cannot be sure that I added 3000 shrimp eggs into the beaker. That might be more or less because the eggs are too small for me to count and I can only estimate. Therefore, there is a certain room of error in these results. The gap between the number of eggs that hatched from each frequency in the same period of time is clear and distinct with a considerable distance between most.

In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the lower the Hz of the frequencies are, the lesser the total number of brine shrimp eggs within a shorter period of time. In other words, lower frequencies result in slower hatching speed of the brine shrimp. In Fig 2, 171 Hz resulted in 15 hatched shrimps whereas 186 Hz resulted in 19 hatched in the same period of 12 hours.

Experiment videos (evidence)

[After 12 hours] Hatched brine shrimp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp5FxkCs5xQ

[After 24 hours] Hatched brine shrimp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6lUEB79m8

[After 36 hours] Hatched brine shrimp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOF3iFEXK0s&feature=channel_video_title

More photographs of the experiment

The white dots in the photographs are actually hatched brine shrimp.

Experiment photographs (evidence)

Side view of beaker of brine shrimp eggs after 12 hours


Side-view of the beaker of brine shrimp eggs after 48 hours
- The difference in the number of hatched brine shrimp is not clearly visible in the photographs of "48 hours" and "36 hours" Top view of a petri dish of brine shrimp eggs after 36 hours
- I poured out about 200 ml of brine shrimps eggs/salinated water from the beaker into the petri dish, in order to take a clearer and more intimate photograph of the brine shrimp

Side-view of the beaker of brine shrimp after 36 hours

Top view of the beaker of brine shrimp eggs after 24 hours

Another top view photograph of the beaker of brine shrimp eggs after 24 hours

NOTE: The number of hatched brine shrimp cannot be counted from the photographs as some might not have been captured by the camera.

NOTE2: The photographs are not in order but they're all of the same set-up

When I took these photographs, I switched off the lights in the room and placed a flashlight at the side of the beaker. Brine shrimp are attracted to light and would gather at lit areas, hence giving me the opportunity to count them reliably and take good quality photographs.

The photographs here are all of the control set-up (with no exposure to low-frequencies). The set-up just consists of 2 beakers of salinated water containing brine shrimp eggs. No other materials or apparatus were used except the counter in counting the brine shrimp. Two beakers were used in order to increase the number of times the experiment was carried out which would improve the consistency of data and reliability of results.

Photographs of experimental set-up

Photograph of the experimental set-up.

The distance of the beaker and Mac speaker is 5cm. The numbers on the markings are not displayed clearly enough in the photograph due to poor photo quality. However, 5 markings can be visibly counted from the mouth of the beaker to the bottom of the Mac and hence, 5 cm.
Photograph of the hands lens used in the experiment. Courtesy of the school's biology lab.

Photograph of the transparent beaker used in the experiment.

Successful hatching

I followed the method I used in hatching the brine shrimp eggs of my trial experiment. This resulted in successful hatching of all the brine shrimp eggs in my experiment! I ensured that I maintained a suitable level of salinity and type of water (boiled water). I was so worried that the eggs would go back to not hatching again. However, the eggs were of good quality and had not lost its viability so my worries were unfounded. The eggs hatched within just 12 hours and carried on doing so up till 48 eggs. From that point onwards, there was no further hatching of eggs. From the 3rd day onwards, the hatched brine shrimp started dying off because they did not have any food to survive. From the 1st hour they hatched, they were fueled by energy from their eggs. However, once the energy had been used up, they required a pinch of baker's or brewer's yeast or else they would perish.

I formatted the table in Microsoft Word and plotted the data directly into it. Therefore, there are no rough notebook photographs or rough data collation work whatsoever.

Final aim and hypothesis

My previous aim and hypothesis are as follows:

Aim: To find out if different levels of low-frequency sound waves (ocean noise pollution) emitted by the human's marine activities affect the hatching rate of brine shrimp

Hypothesis: Different levels of low-frequency sound waves (ocean noise pollution) emitted by the human's marine activities affect the hatching rate of brine shrimp

However, I have decided to refine it to make it less of a "yes, no" question but more of one that would allow for greater research. In other words, I would like to change it to a "How" question. Another point is the words "hatching rate". Rate is a rather vague term and does not accurately define what I would like to measure. The dictionary's definition of rate is " A quantity measured with respect to another measured quantity" which is not how I am going about with my experiment. Therefore, I am changing it to "speed".

Therefore, my new aim and hypothesis are as follows:

Aim: To find out how different levels of low-frequency sound waves (ocean noise pollution emitted by human's marine activities) affect the hatching speed of brine shrimp.

Hypothesis: The lower the level of low-frequency sound waves (ocean noise pollution emitted by the human's marine activities), the slower the hatching speed of brine shrimp eggs

Revised experimental procedure

Since I have to set up two set-ups testing the same frequency at one go, I have revised my experimental procedure.

Materials and apparatus

1. Artemia (Brine Shrimp) eggs
2. Macbook with the app, Tone Generator X
3. Hands lens
4. Counter
5. 2 transparent beaker
6. 160g of sea salt
7. Boiled water
8. Science journal

Procedure

1. Place 2 beakers in a semi-lit room
2. Pour 1000 ml of boiled water into each beaker
3. Add in 20g of sea salt into each beaker
4. Place the speaker of the Macbook directly above the mouth of both beakers
5. Switch the software, Tone Generator X, on to 186 Hz at the volume level of 80%
6. Add in half a teaspoon of Artemia (brine shrimp) eggs
7. Check the set-up with a hands lens at every 12-hour interval and use the counter to count the number of eggs that have hatched
8. Record down in my journal the number of eggs that hatched
9. Repeat steps with 171 Hz, 259 Hz and 223 Hz

[Video] Successful trial experiment

I am elated! After several failed attempts, the brine shrimp have finally hatched! This is a video of the successful hatching of my brine shrimps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daPWk3hEzLA&feature=channel_video_title

New experimental aim and hypothesis

Aim: To find out if different levels of low-frequency sound waves (ocean noise pollution) emitted by the human's marine activities affect the hatching rate of brine shrimp

Hypothesis: Different levels of low-frequency sound waves (ocean noise pollution) emitted by the human's marine activities affect the hatching rate of brine shrimp

Research

This is the raw research I've found. I will be summarizing it and using it in my report.

***

Artemia (Brine shrimp) are a food source for crustaceans and fish. Cultured brine shrimp feed on yeast, wheat flour, soybean powder or egg yolk. Sea, aquarium or kosher salt and pH of 8-9 is required for the eggs to hatch. Their young hatch out of cysts, which are metabolically-inactive, at the optimal temperature of 25 to 27 degrees Celsius (room temperature). Artemia eggs take about 24 to 48 hours to hatch. Crustaceans, like Artemia, do not have ears. They have tiny hairs, called mecanoreceptors, on their shell that respond to physical stimuli such as water movement, vibration or touch by sending a message to the nervous system. A type of mechanoreceptors that respond particularly to vibration or changes in water pressure are called "hearing hairs". Some crustaceans use noise for orientation.

Sound waves propagating underwater are alternating compressions and rarefactions (decrease in density and pressure of sound wave) of the water. They travel through the air and get refracted when they pass through a medium with gradually varying properties (e.g. water). Sound waves are transmitted through water as a pressure waves. High intensity sound is transmitted by high intensity pressure waves. These pressure waves cause vibrations in the water and hence, affect the hatching process of brine shrimp eggs.

Frequency is the number of cycles/waves a sound makes per second. It is a periodic vibration and a property (subset) of sound that determines pitch. It is measured in Hertz (Hz). Low-frequency noise refer to sounds below 200Hz. Broadband source levels are the sum of the acoustic energy over all of the frequencies generated by the source. Lower frequencies result in higher intensity sound waves that cause greater vibrations of the water.

The world's oceans are mostly polluted with low-frequency sounds due to boats, ships, underwater industrial activities, or seismic military and scientific explorations. I intend to test broadband source levels of:

• Ships- 186 Hz (noise generated by a large tanker ship)
• Ships- 171 Hz (noise generated by a tug and barge aka tugboat)
• Seismic survey- 259 Hz (noise generated by airgun array)
• Military sonar- 223 Hz (noise generated by U. S. Navy tactical mid-frequency sonar, center frequencies 6.8 to 8.2 kHz)

Prawns [shrimps] are very sensitive to sound, just like many fish, and hence, ocean noise have potential impacts on them in the marine ecosystem. (Lovell et al. 2005). Such low-frequency sounds have shown to have detrimental, lethal effects on marine life, damaging their hearing and interfering with their feeding habits and other life cycles such as reproduction.

Hard materials, such as plastic, are dissimilar to the air that sound waves move through and hence, the walls reflect most of the sound waves and little is absorbed. This would cause a reverberation, prolonging the music and diffusing it to all parts of the tank. Therefore, plastic is an ideal material for the tank.

Consultation with Ms Tan

Yesterday, I consulted Ms Tan regarding by SIP project. The following was what we discussed:

• Instead of testing the effects of music on brine shrimp (heavy metal, pop, country and classical), I should test on the effects of different audio frequencies on the hatching rate of brine shrimp. Such a research would have great environmental advantages in marine conservation.
• Upload photographs/drawing of set-ups
• I do not have to photograph the brine shrimps of each set-up at every 12-hour interval unless there is a significant change in number. I just have to photograph the set-up at the start of the experiment.
• I have to get a counter from the Bio lab to help me count the brine shrimp more quickly and accurately. With each brine shrimp that I see, I will just have to click the counter. After counting all the brine shrimp, I can check the counter for the number of clicks that I have logged.
• I could go to the Bio lab to photograph the brine shrimp with a microscope-cum-camera so that I could track its hatching progress at every 12-hour interval more clearly as the pictures would be enlarged.
• I should carry out each set-up twice to ensure greater accuracy of results and consistency of data collected. For example, I should set up two set-ups testing 171 Hz at the same time.

Brine shrimp hatching: Success!

The brine shrimps have finally hatched! It turned out that there was a problem with the eggs and not the hatching conditions. The eggs that I got had probably rotted and lost their viability. Hence, I went to an aquarium shop to buy new brine shrimp eggs, imported from Germany. They hatched in less than 24 hours! I can properly start on my experiment now.

Still not hatching

The torch did not have much effect on the hatching rate of the brine shrimp. It did not heat up the water much so I have left it in a heated room. However, even when the temperature of the water was around 25 degree Celsius, the brine shrimp eggs did not hatch so I am inclined to believe that Reason No. 2 or 4 could have been the cause of the problem.

Problem with experiment

I have encountered a problem with my experiment. The brine shrimp would not hatch!

I have repeated the experiment twice but the brine shrimp did not hatch even after 3 days.

There are a few possible reasons for this:

1. Not enough heat

Brine shrimp need an optimum temperature of 26-28 degrees Celsius to hatch

Solution: Place a torchlight near it (?)

2. Inadequate salt

I used table salt but after checking some websites, they recommended sea salt as table salt contained additives.

Solution: Buy sea salt

3. The eggs could have rotted

This is highly unlikely as I used eggs from the lab but it is still a possibility. Brine shrimp eggs usually rot after 2 years.

Solution: Buy new brine shrimp eggs

4. Baking soda

I read on some websites that baking soda should be added to table salt to increase the salt content.

Solution: Buy baking soda

I am going to test Reason Number 1,2 and 4 first as they seem the most likely.

Experimental procedure

This is the experimental procedure I came up with from my own research of websites on care and methods of successful hatching of brine shrimps. I visited many leisure websites to read up on how various brine shrimp hobbyists manage their brine shrimp and what conditions would best encourage the optimal hatching of brine shrimp.

Materials and apparatus

1. Artemia (Brine Shrimp) eggs
2. Music player
3. Hands lens
4. Round bottom trough
5. Air pump
6. 360g of sea salt
7. Water

Procedure

1. Place the trough in a semi-lit room
2. Pour 1000 ml of lukewarm tap water into the tank
3. Add in 20g of sea salt
4. Switch on the air pump
5. Place the music player directly above the mouth of the trough with its speaker directly over the water surface
6. Switch it on to rock music at the volume level of 80%
7. Add in half a tablespoon of Artemia (brine shrimp) eggs
8. Check the set-up with a hands lens every day to count the number of eggs that have hatched
9. Record on the piece of paper at what hour the eggs hatched
10. Repeat steps with pop, classical, metal, country and no (control) music

SIP Project Proposal

APPENDIX D

Science Investigative Project

Project Proposal Form

Name:

Chim Sher Ting ( 3 )

Sec 2/10

Topic of investigation :

Effect of different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, metal, jazz, country) on the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch

A	Observations made
	My friend was doing a mini Science project on the effect of music on plant growth. She set out 3 different groups of plants with one group as the control (without music), the second group had classical music played to them for 2-3 hours a day while the third had rock music played to them for 2-3 hours a day. She ensured that all other variables were constant. After one week, the plant in the room with classical music showed the greatest growth, followed by the group in the room without music and the plants in the room with rock music fared poorly, showing that rock music is detrimental for plant growth. After seeing this, I wondered if such a concept would apply to animals too and decided to try it out on Artemia eggs.
B	Research Question
	Do different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, etc.) affect the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch?
C	Hypothesis statement
	Different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, etc.) affect the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch.
D	A short summary of research done on the area of investigation
	Artemia (Brine shrimp) are a food source for crustaceans and fish. Cultured brine shrimp feed on yeast, wheat flour, soybean powder or egg yolk. Sea, aquarium or kosher salt and pH of 8-9 is required for the eggs to hatch. Their young hatch out of cysts, which are metabolically-inactive, at the optimal temperature of 25 to 27 degrees Celsius (room temperature). Artemia eggs take about 24 to 48 hours to hatch. Sound waves propagating underwater are alternating compressions and rarefactions (decrease in density and pressure caused sound wave) of the water. They travel through the air and get refracted when they pass through a medium with gradually varying properties (e.g. water). Sound waves are transmitted through water as a pressure waves. High intensity sound is transmitted by high intensity pressure waves. These pressure waves cause vibrations in the water and hence, affect the hatching process of brine shrimp eggs. Hard materials, such as plastic, are dissimilar to the air that sound waves move through and hence, the walls reflect most of the sound waves and little is absorbed. This would cause a reverberation, prolonging the music and diffusing it to all parts of the tank. Therefore, plastic is an ideal material for the tank. Different genres produce different amounts of vibration or different frequencies and amplitudes of sound waves. Rock and metal has higher frequency and hence, causes more vibrations of the water.
E	Bibliography (Please refer to RS Students’ Handbook in RS Folder on Inet regarding APA Style Format)
	(n.d.). Reflection, Refraction, and Diffraction. Retrieved on May 26, 2011, from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/u11l3d.cfm Bbyrd009. (2011). How to raise brine shrimp. Retrieved on May 26, 2011, from http://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Brine-Shrimp Caudill, S. (2010). How do frequencies have an effect on plants?. Retrieved on May 26, from http://www.ehow.com/about_6630375_do-frequencies-effect-plants_.html#ixzz1NSBOH1ij

Finalized SIP idea

This idea was accepted by Ms Tan, who was glad that I was doing an experiment concerning brine shrimp! I am glad that I finally have an approved/confirmed idea which is interesting and intriguing!

Research question: Do different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, etc.) affect the the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch?

Hypothesis: Different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, etc.) affects the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch.

Independent variable

Genres of music

- Pop

- Classical

- Country

- Metal

Controlled variables

Volume of music, number of hours the eggs are exposed to music, horizontal distance of the music player from the surface of the tank, temperature of water, volume of water, type of container/tank, area the tanks are placed at

Dependent variable

Time taken for Artemia (Brine Shrimp) eggs to hatch

The Sea-Monkeys kit sold in Toys R Us is around $30 but has lots of suitable equipment to grow brine shrimp. However, I cannot use the eggs provided by the kit as they are instant eggs. In other words, they will hatch once placed in saltwater. Components of the Sea-Monkeys kit: Ventilated lid, built-in magnifiers and a molded bottom sea-scape. Comes with a 32-page illustrated instruction booklet, feeding spoon and three packets: #1 Water Purifier, #2 Instant Live Eggs, and #3 Growth Food

I can get the Artemia eggs from the school laboratory as they have a huge supply there. The brine shrimp will be quite small when they hatch so I intend to use a handlens to magnify them. Another option is to bring them to school during the holidays and look at them under the microscope.

Idea #8

The 4th research question in my previous blogpost was accepted by Ms Tan but with reservations. It would be a tough idea to carry out as I would have to attempt to grow fungi at home and there was a chance that the fungi would not grow due to undesirable conditions. Fungi require stringent conditions to grow, such as the optimum temperature of 15-27 degrees Celsius, and these conditions would be difficult to maintain over the long period of time needed to grow fungi. Another alternative was to buy fungi but fungi is difficult to buy. The farms I emailed to buy fungi did not reply and the fungi that they sold were along the lines of Japanese mushrooms which was costly and more suited for human consumption than science experiments. Therefore, I decided to come up with another SIP idea to consult Ms Tan about.

Research question: Do different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, etc.) affect the the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch?

Hypothesis: Different genres of music (rock, pop, classical, etc.) affects the time taken for Artemia (Brine shrimp) to hatch.

Idea #7

Research question: Does the angle of the surface on which live mushroom (fungi) grows on affect its direction of growth?

Hypothesis: The angle of the surface on which fungi grows affects its direction of growth.

Independent variable: Angle of surface (cardboard)

- 90 degrees

- 180 degrees (flat)

- 45 degrees

Dependent variable: Direction of mushroom (fungi) growth

Science: Biology and Physics

- Concerns the growth of organisms (fungi)

- Testing if gravity is a factor in the direction of fungal growth as the

Brief Research:

- Fungi grow in a wide range of habitats, including extreme environments such as deserts or areas with high salt concentrations

Benefit of research:

- This is to increase farmers' awareness of ground elevation when growing mushrooms to ensure that they will reach optimal growth and will not break along the way

- Clear worries of farmers if they were to grow their mushrooms or other fungi in confined areas at angles.

Another 3 ideas

My first 3 ideas were rejected because of their feasibility and difficulty level. I have typed out the reasons why they were rejected in red in the previous blog post. Because of this, I have thought up another 4 possible research questions to consult with Ms Tan.

#1

Research question: How do different carbonated drinks (Coca-Cola, 7-up, Sprite, etc.) affect the rate of corrosion of a stimulated tooth(chicken bone)?

Hypothesis: Coca-Cola results in the greatest rate of corrosion of a stimulated tooth.

Independent variable: Type of carbonated drink

-Coca-Cola

- Pepsi

- 7-Up

- Sprite

- F&N

Dependent variable: Rate of corrosion of a stimulated tooth

Controlled variables: Type of container they are kept in, amount of carbonated drink the "tooth" is submerged in, type of stimulated tooth (chicken bone)

#2

Research question: How does the pH level affect the growth rate of common Singapore household mould (aspergillus, penicillium, etc.)?

Hypothesis: The more acidic the pH level, the higher the rate of mould growth.

Dependent variable: Growth rate of mould

Independent variable: pH level

Controlled variables: Amount of water placed in the containers with the mould, type of container, amount of light exposed to the mould

Method to measure mould:

1. Trace out the outline of the mould on tracing paper

Place it on a graph paper

Count the number of 0.1x0.1 square cm grids in which the mould covers more than 90%

#3

Research question: Which of the most common substances used (Bleach, vinegar, detergent, baking soda, grapefruit seed extract) in getting rid of mould is the most effective?

Hypothesis: Grapefruit seed extract is the most effective in getting rid of mould.

Independent variable: Substances used

Dependent variable: Amount of mould left

Rough outline of the method I'll be using for this experiment:

1. Scrape and place mould the size of a 50 cent coin on a plastic sheet

2. Pour a cup of bleach into a spray bottle

3. Pour 10 cups of water into the same spray bottle

4. Shake thoroughly

5. Spray it 3 times on the mould

6. Wait for 5 minutes

7. Wipe the mould 10 times back and forth with a cloth

8. Outline the remaining mould with tracing paper

9. Place it on graph paper

10. Count the number of 0.1x0.1 square cm grids in which the mould covers more than 90%

#4

Research question: Does the angle of the surface on which live mushroom (fungi) grows on affect its direction of growth?

Hypothesis: The angle of the surface on which fungi grows affects its direction of growth.

Independent variable: Angle of surface (cardboard)

- 90 degrees

- 180 degrees (flat)

- 45 degrees

Dependent variable: Direction of mushroom (fungi) growth

Science: Biology and Physics

- Concerns the growth of organisms (fungi)

- Testing if gravity is a factor in the direction of fungal growth as the

Brief Research:

- Fungi grow in a wide range of habitats, including extreme environments such as deserts or areas with high salt concentrations

Benefit of research:

- This is to increase farmers' awareness of ground elevation when growing mushrooms to ensure that they will reach optimal growth and will not break along the way

- Clear worries of farmers if they were to grow their mushrooms or other fungi in confined areas at angles.

First 3 ideas

I had spent some time researching for SIP and thinking of possible research questions before coming up with 3 research ideas. All I have to do now is to consult Ms Tan regarding the feasibility of the ideas.

#1

Research question: How does the speed of appearance of mould (sign of decomposition) compare with chicken nuggets from different international fast food outlets (Wendy’s, Carl’s Junior, MOS Burger, McDonald’s, Long John Silver, Popeye’s Chicken, Burger King)?

Hypothesis: The chicken nuggets from MOS Burger would be the fastest in showing signs of mould whereas those from McDonald’s would be the slowest.

Independent variable: Type of chicken nuggets

Dependent variable: Speed of appearance of mould

Controlled variables: Type of container the nuggets are kept in, amount of water placed in the container, amount of light the set-ups are exposed to

Materials:

1) Nuggets

- Wendy’s 5-piece Crispy Chicken Nuggets

- Carl’s Junior Chicken strips

- MOS Burger Chicken nuggets

- McDonald’s McNuggets

- Long John Silver’s Giant Chicken Nugget

- Popeye’s Chicken’s Louisiana Nuggets

- Burger King’s Chicken Tenders

2) 7 plastic food containers

3) 7 small sponge cubes

#2

Research question: How do different liquids (coffee, tea, soda, water, flavoured water, fruit juice) affect the health of a stimulated tooth?

Hypothesis: Soda will have the greatest effect on the health of a stimulated tooth while water will have the least effect.

Independent variable: Type of liquid

- Coffee

- Tea

- Soda

- Water

- Flavoured water

- Fruit juice

Dependent variable: Health of stimulated tooth (chicken bone)

- Brittleness

- Colour

- Rate of corrosion

- Texture

Controlled variables: Type of stimulated tooth, amount of liquid, time submersed in liquid

#3

Research question: How does the amount of fat in cheese affect its rate of decomposition?

Hypothesis: The greater the amount of fat, the faster the rate of decomposition.

Independent variable: Amount of fat in cheese

Dependent variable: Rate of decomposition

Controlled variables: Ingredients of the cheeses used, temperature they are stored at, type of container they are stored in, amount of light they are exposed to

Concerns: 1) The amount of fat in the different cheese differ by only one to two grams

2) Must all the other factors of the cheese be the same (protein, carbohydrates, energy level)?