25/07/2012 - Photos (THE FINAL POST! I think)

I decided that posting post by post was too much trouble, so I went to Picasa and did up many, MANY albums. I'm aware that some of the stuff are missing (but I was sure I uploaded them!) but chances are, no one's going to look through the junk anyway - they're a whole lot of photos that show seeds, roots, and sprouts. The picture quality is good enough that you can see stuff, but it's not artistic in any way that you would like to look at over 400 photos of weird stuff.

Group C, Experiment 1, Day 3

Group C, Experiment 1, Day 2

24/07/2012 - The Most Extreme Slowpokes

The most extreme slowpokes MUST be photo-uploading.

24/07/2012 - SIP Reflections

Bleah...history SA is tomorrow :(

14/07/2012 - Back with Results

You must be wondering why I'm suddenly inactive (dead) again.

07/07/2012 - Proof of Life

I do have the sinking feeling that many of you think that I'm dead and rotting in a dark alleyway somewhere.

27/06/2012 - And the Bombshell is Dropped

Ehh...today, when I met up with Miss Tan to confirm that I'm on the right track, I found out that I wasn't on the right track at all.

25/06/2012 - Assumptions

So after Miss Tan told the class about assumptions, I tried writing mine up, and yeah, it turned out...bad.

Oh well.

I'm planning on editing this post periodically once I've thought of a new assumption, but so far the assumptions are:

1.       Artificial light does not affect the normal growth of the Brassica rapa.

2.       The Brassica rapa is able to grow normally in cotton wool.

3.       The day in which the water was microwaved/boiled does not matter, so long as the water has been microwaved/boiled.

4.       All seeds receive an equal amount of water.

5.       All seeds receive an equal amount of warmth.

6.       The time of watering does not affect the growth of the plant, as long as the toilet paper is damp.

7.       The weather, including the humidity level, does not affect the growth of the plant.

Yeah, that's all. It's kind of miserable...

21/06/2012 - Week 1 Analysis

...I think I just killed C3 and C4.

20/07/2012 - A Quick Update

I know this must be really sad and all, considering the amount of experiments I did (and the number of times I did them), but I'm going to ditch the sponge part.

13/06/2012 - Back-up Experiment

Phew...last one...

Do you know how hard it is to upload tables in Blogspot? So if you see my tables looking funny, please don't mind them, because they're not looking funny in Word.

Blogspot just likes playing jokes on tables. Haha...ok, that wasn't very funny...

Back-up Plant Experiment:

Aim of Experiment:

To find out if microwaved water affects the germination and/or growth of the Brassica rapa

Apparatus:

·         16 disposable cups

·         Cotton wool

·         16 Brassica rapa seeds

·         Container of 1.6l of microwaved water from main experiment

·         Container of 1.6l of boiled water from main experiment

Steps of Experiment:

1.       Pad each disposable cup with cotton wool.

2.       Set a Brassica rapa seed in the middle of the cotton wool of each cup.

3.       Moisten the cotton wool of 8 disposable cups with microwaved water from the main experiment.

4.       Moisten the cotton wool of the remaining 8 disposable cups with boiled water from the main experiment.

5.       Observe the sponges daily and record observations in journal.

6.       If cotton wool starts to become dry due to evaporation, moisten the cotton wool again.

13/06/2012 - Second Draft of Main Experiment

Plant Experiment #2:

Aim of Experiment:

To find out if microwaved water affects the germination and/or growth of the Brassica rapa

Apparatus:

·         8 yellow sponges

·         8 pink sponges

·         16 Brassica rapa seeds

·         1 500ml measuring cup

·         1 microwave

·         1 1.6l water kettle/boiler

·         1 ruler

·         1 microwaveable pot

·         Tap water

·         2 plastic containers

·         1 laboratory thermometer

·         Plastic foil

Steps of Experiment:

1.       Fill boiler with 1.6l of water.

2.       Measure out 400ml of water with the 500ml measuring cup.

3.       Transfer the measured water into the microwaveable pot.

4.       Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until there is 1.6l of water in the microwaveable pot.

5.       Transfer the microwaveable pot into the microwave oven.

6.       Turn the boiler and the microwave oven on.

7.       Switch off boiler once the water has finished boiling.

8.       Reheat the water in the microwave oven once the timer ends.

9.       Repeat Step 8 five more times; thus, the water would be heated 7 times.

10.   While waiting for the boiled and microwaved water to cool down in their respective locations, separate the 16 sponges into 2 groups of 8 each, with each group having 4 pink sponges and 4 yellow sponges.

11.   Set each Brassica rapa seed into the centre of the sponge.

12.   After 5h has passed, measure the temperature of the microwaved water.

13.   After 6½h has passed, measure the temperature of the boiled water (commence boiling 1½h before commencing microwaving of water).

14.   If the temperature of the water has not reached 35°c and below, allow water to cool down. Make reference to previous experiments on estimated waiting time.

15.   When boiled and microwaved water has cooled down sufficiently, transfer the boiled water to a plastic container while the microwaved water to the other.

16.   Soak a group of sponges in microwaved water.

17.   Lay them out on the plastic foil.

18.   Soak the second group of sponges in boiled water.

19.   Lay them out on the plastic foil.

20.   Observe sponges daily and record observations in journal.

21.   If the surfaces of the sponges become dry due to evaporation of water, soak the sponges in water again.

22.   Repeat Steps 1 to 19 a week later.

13/06/2012 - Flawed Main Experiment

Plant Experiment #1:

Aim of the Experiment:

To find out if microwaved water affects the germination and/or growth of the Brassica rapa

                           

Apparatus:

·         8 yellow sponges

·         8 pink sponges

·         16 Brassica rapa seeds

·         1 500ml measuring cup

·         1 microwave

·         1 1.6l water kettle/boiler

·         1 ruler

·         1 microwaveable pot

·         Tap water

·         2 plastic containers

·         1 laboratory thermometer

Steps of Experiment

1.       Fill boiler with 1.6l of water.

2.       Measure out 400ml of water with the 500ml measuring cup.

3.       Transfer the measured water into the microwaveable pot.

4.       Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until there is 1.6l of water in the microwaveable pot.

5.       Transfer the microwaveable pot into the microwave oven.

6.       Turn the boiler and the microwave oven on.

7.       Switch off boiler once the water has finished boiling.

8.       Reheat the water in the microwave oven once the timer ends.

9.       Repeat Step 8 five more times; thus, the water would be heated 7 times.

10.   While waiting for the boiled and microwaved water to cool down in their respective locations, separate the 16 sponges into 2 groups of 8 each, with each group having 4 pink sponges and 4 yellow sponges.

11.   Set each Brassica rapa seed into the centre of the sponge.

12.   After 5h has passed, measure the temperature of the microwaved water.

13.   After 6½h has passed, measure the temperature of the boiled water.

14.   If the temperature of the water has not reached 35°c and below, allow water to cool down. Make reference to previous experiments on estimated waiting time.

15.   When boiled and microwaved water has cooled down sufficiently, transfer the boiled water to a plastic container while the microwaved water to the other.

16.   Measure out 200ml of microwaved water.

17.   Water a sponge with the measured water.

18.   Measure out 200ml of boiled water.

19.   Water a sponge with the measured water.

20.   Repeat Steps 15 and 16, and 17 and 18, alternately.

21.   Take note of watering time of each sponge.

22.   Observe plants daily.

23.   Repeat Steps 1 to 20 a week later.

24.   After 3 weeks, conclude the experiment.

Conclusion:

Due to flaws in the experiment after actual try-outs, the experimental procedures are scrapped.

13/06/2012 - Microwave & Boiling Experiment

Microwave & Boiling Experiment

Aim of Experiment:

To find out the amount of time water takes to cool down to room temperature after being microwaved or boiled.

Apparatus:

·         1 microwave oven

·         1 1.6l water kettle/boiler

·         1 laboratory thermometer

·         1 500ml measuring cup

·         Tap water

·         1 microwaveable pot

·         1 microwaveable bowl (for trial experiment)

Steps of Actual Experiment:

1.       Fill measuring cup with 1.6l of tap water.

2.       Pour the measured amount of water into the microwaveable pot.

3.       Place the pot into the microwave oven.

4.       Set the timer to default.

5.       Start the microwave oven.

6.       If timer ends, and the amount of water does not reach boiling point of 100°c, continue the timer until a temperature of around 100°c is achieved.

7.       If timer ends, and the amount of water is over 100°c, steadily decrease the timer until a temperature of 100°c is reached.

8.       If timer ends, and the amount of water is around 100°c, move on to boil water in the boiler.

9.       Fill the boiler with 1.6l of water.

10.   Start the boiler.

11.   Once the boiler has stopped boiling the water, open the boiler.

12.   Measure the temperature of the water in the boiler.

13.   After every half hour, measure the temperature of water in the boiler.

14.   After every two and a half hours, measure the temperature of water in the microwave oven (see microwave trial experiment [above] for more details).

15.   Conclude experiment when the water reaches room temperature.

Data of Actual Experiment:

Microwave Oven – Actual Experiment

Default time = 4min 40s (maximum time)

Amount of water used = 1.6l

Room temperature of water = 29.5°c

Timer (4min 40s)	Temperature	Comments
2.18.45 p.m. – 2.23.25 p.m.	55°c	·
2.25.21 p.m. – 2.29.01 p.m.	71°c	·
2.29.54 p.m. – 2.34.34 p.m.	76°c	·
2.35.19 p.m. – 2.39.58 p.m.	90°c	Possible anomaly
2.41.02 p.m. – 2.45.42 p.m.	89°c	·
2.46.58 p.m. – 2.51.38 p.m.	94°c	·
2.53.01 p.m. – 2.57.41 p.m.	97°c	·

Note: Time lags between the timings given are used for opening and closing the microwave, and measuring the temperature of the water.  

Time	Temperature of Water	Comments
5.28.31 p.m. – 5.29.10 p.m.	42°c	·
7.59.10 p.m. – 7.59.34 p.m.	34°c	·

Note: The time recorded is time taken between opening and closing the door of the microwave oven.

Boiler – First time

Time taken to boil = 3min 57s

Room temperature of water = 31°c

Temperature after boiling = 99°c

Note: After some of the water was accidentally drunk by my family, the experiment restarted.

Boiler – Second time

Time taken to boil = 3min 52s

Room temperature of water = 31°c

Temperature after boiling = 98°c

Time	Temperature of Water	Comments
7.15.07 p.m. – 7.15.47 p.m.	98°c	·
7.45.47 p.m. – 7.46.32 p.m.	82°c	·
8.16.32 p.m. – 8.17.20 p.m.	71.5°c	·
8.47.20 p.m. – 8.48.05 p.m.	62°c	·
9.18.05 p.m. – 9.18.46 p.m.	56°c	·
9.48.46 p.m. – 9.49.30 p.m.	51°c	·
10.19.30 p.m. – 10.20.16 p.m.	48°c	·
10.50.16 p.m. – 10.50.51 p.m.	45°c	·
11.20.51 p.m. – 11.21.29 p.m.	43°c	·
11.51.29 p.m. – 11.51.56 p.m.	41°c	·
12.21.56 a.m. – 12.22.28 a.m.	39°c	·
12.53.28 a.m. – 12.53.07 a.m.	37.5°c	·
1.23.07 a.m. – 1.23.32 a.m.	36°c	·
1.53.07 a.m. – 1.53.32 a.m.	35°c	·
Total time: 6h 33min 25s

Note: The time recorded is time taken between opening the boiler and closing the boiler. 

Conclusion:

Due to restraints in equipment, there will be a difference between the temperatures of microwaved water and boiled water. However, it is noted that due to random errors the temperatures of water vary as seen above; thus, the difference is ignored.

Conclusively, the amount of time taken for 1.6l of water to cool down to around 35°c would be 5h in a microwave oven, and 6h 33min 25s in a boiler, which, when rounded to the nearest half hour, would be 6h 30min. It has also been determined that 6h 30min would indeed give 35°c in a boiler, as seen in the main experiment (below). Temperatures of around 35°c is accepted as the microwave trial experiment suggests that heated water continues to maintain a temperature of 35°c for a period of time in a microwave oven; thus, the experiment for the boiler is concluded once water reaches a temperature of around 35°c.

Part of the experiment has been recorded down; the part on the boiled water. The part on the microwaved water was added in today when I did it along with the main experiment.