by Joh

Here is some information to help you get a bit of an idea on Microorganisms

Here is an explanation of how I researched my Hypothesis:

When I Started I did not know very much about my hypothesis, so first I just decided on my target audience; year 5. I then brain-stormed what I all ready knew about my hypothesis and recorded this information in a mind-map. Then I broke my hypothesis in to three key questions; but these were too hard to research so I then broke these up into three smaller points this making it much easier to research. I gave some thought about where to start getting my information I decided that the internet would be my main one because I could not seem to find any books on types of Microorganisms.I started researching each of my smaller points, in a mind-map (one mind map for each key question). I then designed an experiment (below) and created what you are now reading.

Bacteria on some agar

Information!!!

• I have also found out about what is good material for growing Microorganisms and good conditions for growing them. I have learned that: Mould will grow better if it is moist and warm but not too hot; Mould must all ways be moist!! If the mould becomes too wet it will become water logged and then die.
  
• Bacteria is used in food yeast is a bacteria Soy sauce contains bacteria and blue cheese contains mould.
  
• Mould will die if the temperature exceeds 37®c or falls below 5®C.
  
• How to make Agar plates and that agar is a substance that scientists use to grow bacteria and mould.
  
• Microorganisms are microscopic until they grow enough for you to see them.
  
• Microorganisms were first discovered in 1975 by a Dutch man named Anthony van Leeuwenhoek he first noticed them when droplets of rainwater fell under his microscope, he then saw some little things that he later discovered were in and on many other things.
• 
  
• Here is an experiment so you see the microorganisms:

The containers should look like this when you are done:

For this experiment on bacteria you need:

• Four Agar Plates (You can make these with the recipe below)
  
• One slice of bread (Close to its expiry date, but not past it)
  
• One knife (For cutting Bread)
  
• Four square containers with lids
  
• Two shoe boxes (or other boxes of this size)
  
• One spray bottle with water
  
• Two plastic cups (These must be suitable for cutting in half)
  
• One pair of scissors
  
• One sponge
  

The aim of this experiment is to prove or disprove the hypothesis: “Microorganisms grow better in moist, dark conditions”

Step1: Cut the slice of bread into quarters using the knife.

Step2: Get the square containers, the agar plates and the slices of bread and put these into the four containers.

Step3: Leave lids off and expose for two hours.

Step4: For the light samples lightly place the lids on top of the containers and place in a light location.

Step5: For dark samples place in shoebox, but same location.

Step6: For moist samples cut plastic cups in half, add water and cut sponges in half place sponges in the bottom of the plastic cup.

Step7: Also for moist samples spray twice a day.

Step8: Photograph when you spray the samples.

Step9: Make observations when you spray the samples.

Step10: Repeat steps 7, 8, and 9 for seven days.

What you will notice:

• The Moist light will grow the most mould fastest, but the moist dark mould will take around 2 days longer to reach that point but then will speed past the rest.
  
• The dry dark mould was not apparent until later in the experiment when it will almost have taken over the whole agar plate.
  
• The dry light sample grew no mould, but it grew some different coloured bacteria.
  
• The moist dark sample took two days longer to grow as much mould; it then overtook the rest.
  

Recipe for agar plates:

Things you need:

• You must find something that will work as a Petri dish. Rather shallow custard cups covered by a double thickness of aluminium foil works well
  
• Agar-Agar (You buy this from your local health foods store)
  
• Fat Free Beef broth (From your supermarket)
  

Method:

Mix the products half-half in the containers and leave to set at room temperature; when set you have some agar (It is not sterile!!!).

Bibliography:

http://www.science-projects.com/NAplates.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/bacterium/

By Nick

My first Key Element was:

What is side affects?

(I have made a mind map as shown above of what I know)

The snowball affect is when you use the medication and then get side affects so you must buy more medications.

My first focus points are:

What medications have side affects?

My Second key element was:

How much do they cost?

(I have made a mind map below of what I have learnt)

My focus points are:

How much do herbal medications cost?

How much do chemical medications cost?

What is the difference?

I hope that I have helped you to learn more and will be able to be smarter about your health.

By Rachel

My procedure for this topic is:

What you will need:

• Full glass/cup of water
  
• 30cm in length of string
  
• 1 ice cube
  
• Salt
  

Steps:

1. Fill up your glass/cup with normal water and place on a sturdy and flat surface.
   
2. Put the ice cube in the glass/cup and lay your 30cm piece of string over the top of the glass so it is touching the ice cube.
   
3. Put about half a teaspoon of salt on top of the ice and string and leave it there for about 10-20 seconds.
   
4. Slowly lift up both sides of the string until the ice cube is out of the water.
   

My first key question is, “How does the salt stick to the iceblock?” And to answer this question I watched TV and did some research and this is how it happens. When you put salt on ice it actually melts the ice to form a type of sticky glue which is how it all sticks together.

My focus points for key question no.1 is, ‘Could you freeze a cherry and do the same procedure?’ No you can’t for when you put the cherry in the glass it sinks so you have to put it on a plate and do the procedure just as you would do in a glass of water,
but because the cherry has not got a layer of ice around it the procedure doesn’t work for there is no ice for the salt to melt and stick with. No.2 is, ‘Could you freeze a piece of bread and do the same procedure?’ My experiment with the bread didn’t work for when you put the object in the water it goes soggy straight away leaving no ice for the salt to bond with, and no.3 is, ‘Could you freeze a leaf and do the same procedure?’
The leaf also didn’t work for the exact same reason as why the bread didn’t work. To answer all those focus points I did experiments.

Now to my second Key Question which is, ‘Would it matter if you were to put something on the ice cube before or after you put on the salt?’ And the answer to that is, sometimes as you will find out why in my focus points. No. 1 is, Bicarbonate Soda? When you put the bicarb on before the salt it doesn’t matter for when you put it on in the 10 to 15 seconds that you have to leave the procedure for it eventually dissolves leaving no effect on the procedure. When you put the bicarb on after the salt it doesn’t effect the procedure either No. 2 is, Citric Acid, when you put the citric acid on before you put on the salt the procedure still works for as I found out the citric acid does exactly the same thing as what the salt does which is, that when you put the citric acid/salt on the ice cube it immediately starts to melt the ice to form a type of sticky glue, so when I put the citric acid on after the salt as expected it still didn’t effect the procedure for the exact reason as before. No. 3, Cornstarch, when you put the cornstarch on the ice before the salt the procedure doesn’t work for when the cornstarch is put on the ice it forms a gooey layer leaving no was for the salt to get past and bond with the salt. When the cornstarch is put on after the salt it doesn’t affect the procedure because even though the cornstarch still forms a gooey layer, it is formed ontop of the salt so the salt is still able to do its normal job.

My last Key question is ‘Does it matter what type of string you use?’ And the answer to that is yes it does matter what type of string you use as you will find out in my focus points. No.1, Cotton, Cotton doesn’t work for it is too thin and weak to carry the weight of the ice cube therefore meaning that it cuts through the layer of salt until it reaches the surface. No.2, Shiny rope, Shiny rope does work, because the string has a rough surface the string lets itself cling to the salt and ice cube. No.3, Plastic string, Plastic string doesn’t work because the string doesn’t have a rough surface therefore it is not able to cling to the salt and ice cube like the shiny rope.

I hope I taught you about my topic and that I proved my hypothesis to you.

By Amanda

You might not have ever heard of the term “coral bleaching” but that is what I’m about to explain.

First I will ask some questions and answer them to lead to the conclusion.

1. Why does coral bleach and how does it? The answer is: the observation of the coral turning white is believed to be caused by one of the polyps (animals) dying; the ones responsible for the colour in the coral.

2. What is coral and does it matter what temperature it is in? The answer is: coral is a living creature made up of polyps and they live in all different temperatures and different types of coral suit different temperatures but most corals like warm tropical places.

3. What is a weather event and how many have bleached coral? The answer is: a weather event is when there is a dramatic change in wind strength, temperature and humidity. Apparently there have been two major coral bleaching events in the last 100 years, and both occurred during an El Niño event. An El Niño is a warm ocean current that sweeps through the sea.

My conclusion is that coral bleaching is caused by weather events but not all weather events, only the El Niño event. And not all El Niño events bleach coral.

By Marnie

By Morgan

My Hypothesis: Oranges have a higher level of Vitamin C than other common fruits and vegetables.

By Alex

Most people believe that oranges have the highest level of Vitamin C. When you have a cold, people often tell you to have a glass of orange juice for the highest dose of Vitamin C. I decided to research whether oranges had the highest level of Vitamin C compared to other common fruits and vegetables.

After searching the internet, the best data source was from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) National Nutrient Database for Vitamin C. First, I underlined all the fruits and vegetables. Next, I compared fresh/ raw fruits and vegetables to frozen, cooked or canned fruits and vegetables. I also compared fruits to fruit juices. I created a number of data tables to compare the Vitamin C levels these various ways.

After analyzing the data tables, I discovered that sweet, red, raw, peppers had the most Vitamin C of all the fruits and vegetables at 283.1 mg/cup. Of the fruits, strawberries had the highest level of Vitamin C (97.6 mg/cup). I also found that 1 cup of fresh orange juice (124mg/cup) has more vitamin C than a raw orange (95.9mg/cup). Interestingly, apples only had 4.4 mg/cup. Another interesting fact is that canned orange juice had 5.46 times the amount of canned lime juice even though they are both citrus juices. After strawberries and oranges, papaya (86.5mg/cup) and kiwi (70.5mg/medium kiwi) had the next highest levels of Vitamin C.

Looking at the vegetables, I was surprised to find that a cup of sweet, red, raw peppers had nearly three times as much Vitamin C as a cup of raw oranges. I discovered that sweet, red, raw peppers had 1.2 times as much Vitamin C as sweet, red, cooked peppers, so cooking reduced the level of Vitamin C. Another interesting fact is that a cup of sweet, red, raw peppers had 43.6 times as much Vitamin C as raw carrots. After the red and green peppers, cooked broccoli had the highest level of Vitamin C (101.2 mg/cup). Another interesting fact is that canned mixed vegetable juice had more Vitamin C than canned lemon juice. Lastly the tomato (a fruiting vegetable) had slightly less Vitamin C when canned (21.6mg/cup) than when raw (22.9mg/cup). In most cases cooked fruits and vegetables have less Vitamin C than raw fruits and vegetables. However in the case of broccoli the cooked broccoli had more Vitamin C than the raw. This happens because we receive more Vitamin C from eating cooked broccoli than raw broccoli because humans absorb the Vitamin C better when it is cooked (even though raw broccoli has more Vitamin C).

I did some further research on the impact of cooking, processing, and storage on Vitamin C levels by looking at www.whfoods.org. I learned that:

• About 25% of Vitamin C can be lost by cooking or steaming fruits and vegetables for a few minutes.
  
• Vitamin C is very sensitive to water, air and temperature.
  
• Cooking fruits and vegetables for 10-20 minutes may result in reducing the levels of Vitamin C by more than half.
  
• When fruits and vegetables are canned and then reheated only one third of the original Vitamin C may remain.
  
• Freezing and unthawing of fruits and vegetables may also result in 25% of Vitamin C may being lost.
  

In conclusion, I disproved my hypothesis as my research showed that oranges do not have the highest level of Vitamin C of common fruits and vegetables. I was surprised that red peppers had so much. It was also surprising that apples had such a low level of Vitamin C, as you always hear people say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” It was also interesting that broccoli had a higher level of Vitamin C than strawberries. My research also showed that (other than broccoli and cauliflower) raw, unprocessed and uncooked fruits and vegetables had higher levels of Vitamin C. So the next time you have a cold, have a cup of sweet, red raw peppers for a big dose of Vitamin C (6.29 times the recommended dietary allowance for 9-13 year olds)!

Source: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/ accessed 16-09-2009.

How to prepare broccoli to retain its nutritional value, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=64, accessed 22-09-09.

Oregon State University, Linus Pauling Institute, Micronutrient Information Center, Vitamin C, http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/, accessed 17-09-2009.

The Vitamin C Content of fruit of the world, Natural Food – Fruit Vitamin C Content, www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_vitamin_c.htm, accessed 15-08-2009.

The World’s Healthiest Foods, Vitamin C, www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?pfriendly+1&tname=nutrient&dbid=109, accessed 15-08-2009.

US Department of Health and Human Services, Food Sources of Selected Nutrients, Appendix B-9. Food Sources of Vitamin C, www.health.gov/DIETARYGUIDELINES/dga2005/document/html/AppendixB.htm, accessed 15-08-2009.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18, Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid (mg) Content of Selected Foods per Common Measure, sorted by nutrient content, www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/srl8w401.pdf, accessed 15-08-2009.

You become what you eat. What’s in There? Vitamin C in fruit juice, www.chemheritage.org/educationalservices/pharm/chemo/activity/vitaminc.htm, accessed 15-08-2009.

Many things help to make a plane fly.

I have learnt some very interesting things including:

• Fixed wings
  
• Propulsion, controls, tail of the plane and fin at the top of the back of a plane
  
• Air pressure, wings, thrust,
  lift,
  drag and weight
  
• Thrust is an engine that pushes plane forward.
  
• Lift is caused by thrust causing a plane to go up
  
• Drag helps the plane’s balance. If it has more drag, the plane would go slow. If it has less drag, the plane would go faster.
  
• Weight is that the plane is up the air and pulls down to earth in a runway.
  

To help me understand I also went to International Airparts Warehouse at Warriewood and met Mr Neil Macgowan who is the Manager of the Aircraft Engineering Department. He showed me some Rolls Royce turbo engines and aircraft wings and explained how these worked to me.

Below are some examples of Turbo Engines and how they work

Website

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Turbojet_operation-_centrifugal_flow.png

I also went to their hanger out at Bankstown where I was able to go inside some aeroplanes and helicopters and look at controls, different tails, fins, wings, and propellers of planes that help planes to fly.

I also did some experiments with paper planes which helped me to understand propulsion. Throwing the paper plane is the propulsion (thrust) that is needed to push the plane forward and the way the wings are shaped helps lift the plane.

In summary a plane needs propulsion or thrust (engines) to propel a plane forward. Other things include drag and lift and many other things that are mentioned in my hypothesis results.

Mr Soper I hope you like my hypothesis and you learnt some more about how planes fly. I really liked doing this and want to learn lots more about planes.

From

Devon