2644 - CSUN ScholarWorks - California State University, Northridge

2686
journal of Student Research Abstracts · 23
EFFECT OF MAGNETIC FIELDS ON THE PRODUCTION OF CARBON
DIOXIDE BY SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAEDURING FERMENTATION.
Joe Ho Tam and Steve DeGusta (teacher). John F. Kennedy High School, 6715 Gloria Drive, Sacramento,
CA 95831.
The problem investigated was the effect of magnetic fields on the production of carbon dioxide by
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, baker's yeast, during fermentation. Magnetic fields have been found by the EMF
RAPID program to indirectly promote cancer. I hypothesized that the magnetic fields, produced by standard
bar magnets 6"Xl/2"Xl/4" (Argus WLS-44375-10), will cause cancerous growth, and therefore more yeast
cells will be present. Then the volume of carbon dioxide produced by the yeast exposed to magnetic fields will
be more than the volume produced by the control. I set up ten trials, each with a 25mL yeast/sugar suspension
in a 50mL tube, one with two bar magnets and the other with index card paper of the same size as magnets on
each of two sides. The tubes were left for 24 hours. After the elapsed time, using a technique involving water
displacement by carbon dioxide, I measured the production of carbon dioxide during a 20 minute period. The
results from both the original experiment and a modified one showed that my hypothesis was false because the
p-value in both were greater than 0.1. This showed that the magnetic fields had no effect on the carbon dioxide
production by yeast.
2687
THE EFFECTS OF AN INCREASE IN VITAMIN B 12 ON THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC
RATE OF EUGLENA UNDER DIFFERENT COLOR WAVELENGTHS.
Lue Yang and Steve DeGusta (teacher). John F. Kennedy High School, 6715 Gloria Drive, Sacramento, CA
95831.
The purpose of this investigation was to test whether adding an increased dosage of an essential growth vitamin
increases the rate of photosynthesis of euglena gracilis under different wavelengths; assuming that the
growth rate has a direct relationship to the production rate of photosynthesis. 250 meg each of vitamin B 12 was
added into four 25 ml cultures of Euglena. The four cultures with the vitamin B 12 were then placed in red, blue,
green and white light by adding food coloring, with white light having no food coloring. In doing so, we can
determine if vitamin B 12 increases the growth in each color more or less than just the light treatments alone.
Four other cultures (controls) were given the same light treatments, but without the vitamin. The cultures were
allowed to grow for a couple of days. Random samples from each culture were placed on a hemacytometer and
the numbers of cells in 1 sq. mm were recorded for six days. From statistics, the green and white groups had
a p value between .2 and .05. Both the red and blue groups had a .05>p>.01 therefore rejecting the null hypothesis
and stating that the variation between the cultures treated with vitamin B 12 and those without were due to
the vitamin treatment. However, from the data collected, the high dosage of the vitamin treatments did not
increase the growth rate of Euglena, but rather slowed or decreased it because the total numbers of cells in all
the cultures with vitamin B 12 were less than those without the vitamin. However, this decrease in cells was not
necessarily the result of an overdose in the vitamin. It may be that the fillers holding the vitamin affected the
growth of euglena.