12/06/2012 - The Conclusion of Experiment 1

I'm back. With updates.


Ok, so first, I apologise for my procrastination. I have been caught up in the whole joy and excitement of buying a new laptop. So currently I'm writing on my newly-bought laptop (just bought around four days ago!) and I'm marvelling at how quiet the keyboard is. The light of the screen is relaxing on the eyes, and the computer doesn't overheat as quickly as my previous laptop (which is six years old and has been planning to retire for quite a while) does.

Yup, so anyway, Kumo-san, my new laptop, says hi.

Now, that's enough of the light-hearted things. Moving on will be more updates on SIP.

The sample size has been officially changed to 8 per group; thus, 8 plants for control and 8 plant for the tested variable. Officially, this experiment is one with "varying results", and according to what my Physics teacher had said about such experiments, you should repeat the experiment about 8 times. Each plant is an experiment in its own right; 8 plants would mean 8 experiments.

Unoficially, however, the sponges that I bought went out of stock. For an indefinite period of time. So I could only make do with my 16 sponges...

And again, moving on, I did conduct the experiment on the microwave; however, I stayed in my piano teacher's house for four hours but couldn't get a proper result. I stayed until nearly eight at night, without eating dinner and without even informing my parents, and finally I was forced to leave, without the water in the microwave oven having cooled down to room temperature.

In fact, in an experiment conducted beforehand, I found out that the water in the microwave oven seemed to hover around 33 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius for the last 15 minutes. The last straw was when, somehow, the temperature rose by a degree. Needless to say it wasn't a very fulfilling experience, and I was only left with the other experiment which I conducted with the proper recording and all that.

Currently I'm conducting the experiment where we're testing the amount of time it takes for water to cool down in a boiler. I started it at around seven, but my dad drank the water (the water which I put my laboratory thermometer in! I didn't dare tell him that, and only told him it was for my experiments) and so I had to restart the experiment. I started boiling the water a second time (after tipping the rest of the water away) at exactly 7.11.00. According to my cheap, Casio digital watch.

But hey, digital watches are uncannily accurate.

I'm seeing the possibility of concluding this experiment at around 9 to 10, so I'll be posting another entry then, I suppose. On the other hand, I refined my experimental procedures for Experiment #1.

After 1 week, I realised the sponges were still wet, so yup, more definitions of "moist" and "wet" came in. Now, "moist" means that the sponge "retains no or little water after 1 week, which is the time period in which the Brassica rapa is not watered", while "wet" meants that the sponge "retains much water after 1 week, which is the time period in which the Brassica rapa is not watered". Thus, new procedures have been added, mainly the squeezing out of the excess water in the sponges to end with an approximated value of water which will evaporate after 1 week.

Of course, I'm planning to add extra water to any plants, and then putting it in my journal. I doubt that 200ml, which is the current amount, is enough to last a plant for 1 week.

So, the new experimental procedures, complete with the data and conclusion, are as shown:

Sponge Experiment

Aim of Experiment

To find out the amount of water needed to keep a sponge moist.

Apparatus:

·      3 pink sponges

·      3 yellow sponges

·      1 pail

·      1 basin

·      Tap water

·      1 500ml measuring cup

·      1 plastic foil

Steps of Experiment:

1.       Fill the measuring cup with 500ml of tap water.

2.       Pour the tap water into the pail.

3.       Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until there is 2000ml of water (amount of water is chosen as such seen the water level would be enough for the sponge to be completely submerged).

4.       Fully submerge a yellow sponge in water.

5.       Hold the sponge down in the water to ensure that the sponge is thoroughly soaked.

6.       Remove the sponge from the water.

7.       Hold the sponge such that the excess water drips into the pail. Do not squeeze the sponge.

8.       Place the sponge aside, on top of the plastic foil.

9.       Fill the measuring cup with water from the pail.

10.   Pour the tap water away into the basin.

11.   Repeat Steps 9 and 10 until the pail is completely drained, keeping count of the number of times the measuring cup is filled and the amount of water the measuring cup is filled with each time.

12.   If amount does not reach the 100ml markings, round to the nearest 100ml.

13.   Subtract the final amount from the initial amount to get the amount of water absorbed by the sponge.

14.   Repeat Steps 1 to 13 on the other 2 yellow sponges and the 3 pink sponges.

15.   Leave wet sponges on plastic foil for a week.

16.   After 1 week, wring out excess water in the sponge into the measuring cup.

17.   If amount of excess water does not reach the 100ml markings, round to the nearest 100ml.

18.   Subtract the amount of excess water after 1 week from the amount of water absorbed by the sponge to get the amount of water that will moisten the sponge for one week.

Data:

Sponge	Amount of Water Left to nearest (100ml)	Amount of Water Absorbed in Sponge (to nearest 100ml)	Amount of Excess Water after 1 week (to nearest 100ml)	Amount of Water that will Moisten the Sponge for 1 week (to nearest 100ml)
Y2	500ml + 500ml + 300ml + 300ml = 1600ml	2000ml – 1600ml = 400ml  400ml	173.3ml (to 1 d.p.)  200ml	400ml – 200ml = 200ml
Y3	500ml + 400ml + 300ml + 446 ml = 1646 ml	2000ml – 1646 ml = 353 ml  400ml	166.6ml (to 1 d.p.)  200ml	400ml – 200ml = 200ml
Y4	500ml + 500ml + 400ml + 385 ml = 1785 ml	2000ml – 1785 ml = 214 ml  200ml	50ml	200ml – 50ml = 150ml  100ml
P2	500Iml + 500ml + 300ml + 335 ml = 1635 ml	2000ml – 1635 ml = 364 ml  400ml	146.6ml (to 1 d.p.)  100ml	400ml – 100ml = 300ml
P3	500ml + 500ml + 300ml +378 ml = 1678 ml	2000ml – 1678 ml = 321 ml  300ml	126.6ml (to 1 d.p.)  100ml	300ml – 100ml = 200ml
P4	500ml + 500ml + 300ml + 385 ml = 1685 ml	2000ml – 1685 ml = 314 ml  300ml	140ml  100ml	300ml – 100l = 200ml

 Note: Blogspot does not support fractions and approximation signs. As such, I will be walking you through how to read the table. For example, please look at the row "P4". The first cell will most likely have fractions, so please don't mind if the sums don't add up. The second cell will also have fractions; don't mind if the sums don't add up. The second number, in this case "300ml" after the "314ml", is the approximated value. In the third cell, the second value would be the approximated value. Looking at "Y4", the special case, in the last cell the second value, "100ml", would be the approximated value, since it should be to the nearest 100ml.

Conclusion:

Experiments conducted on yellow sponges showed that most sponges yellow in colour needed 200ml of water to keep them moist throughout 1 week. Experiments conducted on pink sponges showed that most sponges pink in colour needed 200ml of water to keep them moist throughout 1 week. As such, it is concluded that most sponges, whether yellow or pink, need 200ml of water to keep them moist throughout 1 week.

Yup, so that's all for now. I'm going to eat dinner, measure once more, update in the word document, then do my stuff for half an hour, then measure, then update...ok, you get the idea.

I'll probably update again later, with results on the experiment, but if I don't, expect them sometime later in the week. It's not much, just that I didn't update because I was procrastinating.

Oh, and I'll also be starting the main experiment tomorrow. I know the experimental results for the current experiment aren't exactly satisfactory, but I have to hand in the laboratory thermometers in Term 3 Week 2, and I'm planning on maintaining the same watering time. This means the CCA days are out, because I wouldn't be able to water then, and Friday is out, because I'm supposed to return the thermometers on the day. This leaves me with only Wednesday, and I'm not going to hand in some experiment with only two weeks of experimental data. Definitely not. So even if my results for the current experiment aren't exactly satisfactory, I have to begin tomorrow, whether I like it or not.

Unfotunately, I don't exactly like it.