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.