Variations Lab

Guiding Question: Does the number of peas in a pod affect its length?



Hypothesis:

Looking at the guiding question from a logical point of view, I believe that the larger the number of peas is, the longer the pod will be. However, I am not yet sure why there is a variation in the number of peas in pods. It could be that certain types of peas need to have more peas in a pod, because of the difficult circumstances in the habitat. If the habitat/environment is very difficult for the species to survive in, the plant would probably need much more seeds to reproduce, because not all of them would necessarily be able to grow. However, a reason for different numbers of peas in pods could be as simple as a genetic mutation. Just like there is a genetic difference between pods with wrinkled and smooth peas, there could be a genetic trait that determines whether the pod will have more or less peas.

Variables:

My controlled variable is the unit of measurement (centimeters) that I will be using on all the pea pods. My manipulated variable are the pea pods. I will be measuring different pea pods, to determine their different lengths. Finally, my responding variable is the number of peas in pods. Based on the changes in the pods’ length, the number of peas will also change.

Exploration:

For this lab, I didn’t use very many materials, because the tests were very simple. I basically only used a ruler and different pea pods. I examined them, measured them in centimeters, and then counted the peas in the pods. I also recorded all of my findings, as well as the different interesting observations that I came across.


Record and Analyze:

-TABLE:


                         Length (cm)                           Number of peas

8	7
7	6
8	7
7	8
7.5	6
9	9
7	5
8	8
7	6
7.5	7
6.5	7
7	8
6.8	7
7.8	6
9	9
7.6	7
8	7
8	6
7.5	6
7.5	8

-GRAPHS:

Data Analysis:

               From all of the data that I have collected, I have noticed a few things that I didn't expect at the beginning of the lab. For example, in the pods that were not that long, the peas inside were of much smaller size, when compared to the peas in the pods that were longer. I wasn't really counting on that when I first set up the experiment. 
                I was also extremely surprised with the fact that there wasn't very much variety in the actual length of the pods. Looking at the results that I have gathered, I can see that there wasn't a single pod that I measured, that was smaller then six or larger then nine centimeters. This is a very small difference, only three centimeters. I was expecting the variety to be much larger.
                The results were also really unexpected for the number of peas inside the pods, as well. As I said above, some of the peas were much smaller in size then others, which, previously, I didn't think about at all. It was also quite strange to find that in certain situations, the peas didn't fill up the entire pod. This left me wondering why this could have occured. Maybe, the certain pea plant that the pod was taken from didn't have enough nutrition to produce enough peas. This could have meant the lack of sun or water. However, it could be that some pods are not completely filled with peas because of certain genetic mutations, that cause the pea plants to produce a lack of peas.  However, overall, despite the fact that I didn't really measure the diameter of the peas, I can see from the results in the table that I have obtained, that most peas take up on centimeter of the pod's length.

Conclusion:

From the graphs, the tables, as well the data analysis, I can see that the length of the pods does affect the number of peas that are inside it, but only to a certain extent. Some peas adapt to the smaller size of the pod, and they, thus, grow to be smaller. That is why, in some cases, there can be the same number of peas in two different-sized pods. I have also learned that, when it comes to peas, there isn't a very big variety in pod length. The biggest length difference between the pods was three centimeters, which was quite surprising for me.

Further Inquiry:

Evulating this lab, I do believe that I conducted everything well, and i do not believe that there was much room for error, due to the fact that the actual conducting and gaining results was fairly simple. I did measure the pods as accurately as I could, and it was extremely easy to count the peas inside. If I was to do this lab again, I do think there are a few things that I could potentially improve on. I would deffinitely extend this lab a little bit more, if I was to do it again. This means that I would probably add another component to the examination of the pea pods. For example, I would not only measure the length, but I would also weigh all the pods, before counting how many peas were inside. If I were to conduct a lab, or do a research report, after this lab, I would probably try to find the reason why peas are of different sizes. Is the reason genetical, or is it just simpley environmental (lack of nutrition, etc)...?

Selection and Survival Tortoise Lab

Hypothesis:

I think that, over time, there would be more long-neck tortoises, Despite the fact that the long-neck trait is recessive, the short-neck population would start slowly dying out, leaving the heterozygous and homozygous long-necks behind. This could lead to the birth of new short-necks, but they wouldn't survive for very long, because of the lack of food. On the other hand, the homozygous long-necks would live much longer, and reproduce further.

Punnett Squares:

Round 1:

                                                                     

                  Male

NN	nn
NN	nn

                Female

NN	nn
NN	nn

Round 2:

 Round 3:

 

Round 4:

DATA ANALYSIS:  

Looking at the results my group and I acquired over the course of this lab, I can see that, over the course of several generation the tortoises with short necks started diminishing, despite the fact that this trait is dominant. For example, you can clearly see that, in the great grandchildren's generation, or Round 4, there is only two short-necks left, and they are heterozygous, meaning that, despite having a short neck, they still carry the recessive short-neck trait. This is very different compaaring to the results from the generation of children or Round 2,  where there were olny two long-neck tortoises. This data shows that, as time passed, over the course of several generations, the short-neck turtles started dying out, because they couldn't sustain their trait and their species any longer, due to the severe lack of nutrition. However, the long-neck turtles lived on, because they did have food, despite the fact that the trait they carry is recessive.

If none of the long-neck tortoises mated with each other after Round 4, but there was still no food left for the short-necks, I believe that the exactly same situation would occur. At the beginning, there may be more short-necks, but the lack of food would cause their slow downfall, just like it did in the first four generations that we originally tested.

I believe that there is a lack of food for a certain type or sub-type of a species, there is only three things that can occur. If the lack of food is sudden, meaning that it is caused by a natural disaster, such a tsunami or earthquake, the species would probably go extinct, considering the fact that they would literally have no source of nourishment. However, if the food starts decreasing gradually, the species could either start evolving to adapt to the new habitat or environment, or it could start slowly diminishing, the way it did in this lab.

Sex-Ed Reflection

At the beginning of this unit, which only lasted for about three weeks, I had no idea that we would actually learn as much as we did. I really gained a lot of knowledge on subjects such as diseases, pregnancies, contraception, etc. Many of the information that we learned throughout this unit will be very beneficial for all of us in later life. One of the most important things I learned, in my opinion, is the consequences STI's can have. I had no idea that some of them, such as chlamydia, herpes, etc. Viruses such as HIV can also be fatal in many cases, if not detected on time. It was quite shocking to find out how easy it is to contract certain STI's. Some of them you can get by just simply using the infected person's toothbrush, or sleeping in the same sheetes they did. Over the course of this unit, we also learnt about the different stages of pregnancy, as well as what parts of the fetus develop in certain weeks. For example, the lungs are completely developed at the very end of the pregnancy, so that the baby won't choke on the amniotic fluid while practicing breathing. I also really liked the fact that we not only learnt about the facts and statistics about STI's, contracpetion, etc. but also that the unit was fitted for our age group. In the very last class, the class talked about the pressures of sex that are constantly surrounding us. It was really shocking to see that there are many girls out there who are my age, and already either pregnant or have a child. They rushed into things they were not ready for too fast, and they have to pay the consequences at an extremely young age. It is actually quite sad to see that many of them won't properly experience their teenage and childhood years.
Overall, I really liked this unit, because it was informational, and yet interesting and different from the units we have done before.