2644 - CSUN ScholarWorks - California State University, Northridge

2750
journal of Student Research Abstracts · 51
DOES HYDROPONICS YIELD TALLER CORN PLANTS
James A. Pong and Steve DeGusta (teacher). John F. Kennedy High School, 6715 Gloria Drive, Sacramento,
CA 95931.
For this investigation the heights of two groups of com plants, one grown in potting soil and the other grown
hydroponically in vermiculite, were compared. All of the plants were grown from seeds in individual pots.
Each group was comprised of twenty com kernels. For all the plants that grew, twenty in the hydroponics group
and ten in the potting soil group, they were measured daily for a week. Each pot was watered with 3 ml of
nutrient solution made from Miracle Grow every day. I thought that the hydroponics group would grow at a
faster rate than the other group in the same period of time because a substrate, in this case the vermiculite contains
no impurities or soil-borne pest like in soil or dirt. On the last day for recording data the plants in the soil
had a greater average growth than the hydroponics group. By using statistics, I discovered that there was no
significant growth difference between com plants grown in potting soil with plants grown in vermiculite
(p>0.1).
2751
GROWTH INCREASE IN DUCKWEED DUE TO POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE.
Cameron M. Pong and Steve DeGusta (teacher). John F. Kennedy High School, 6715 Gloria Drive,
Sacramento, CA 95831.
I hypothesized that potassium phosphate would increase the growth of the number of leaves in duckweed.
I used a concentration of 0.04ppm (parts per million) of potassium phosphate in a 300ml solution of water as
the experimental. I also grew a control group in 300rnl of water without the 0.04 concentration. Both groups
contained 10 duckweed plants. The # of leaves for each plant was recorded and the growth over a two week
period of time was compared between the two groups. Water was refilled daily to compensate for evaporation.
The control group had a total growth of 5 leaves. The experimental had a total growth of one leaf. The difference
in the two groups was compared using chi squared and was equal to 2.667. The p value from the chi
squared calculation was between 0.2 and 0.05. The results from this were inconclusive. The results of the chi
squared test neither rejected or accepted the null hypothesis, that the two groups were assumed to be the same
with any difference due to chance. The p value was in the between range reject and accept so neither was applicable.
The inconclusive p value was due to the lack of significant growth. Both groups did not grow as much
as I had initially expected. I think that the lack of growth is due to the amount of light that the both groups
were exposed to. Neither group had any light directly on them. The light that they got came from skylights and
ceiling lights in the room.
2752
MEMORY AND MEMORY TRANSFER ABILITY OF PLANARIANS.
Eric Ho and Steve DeGusta (teacher). John F. Kennedy High School, 6715 Gloria Drive, Sacramento, CA
95831.
This experiment began by testing whether or not planarians could be conditioned to always tum one direction
when placed in a two-way maze. Five planarians were randomly chosen to do the maze. One at a time, a
planarian was placed in the y-maze. When it reached the end one branch, it had to make a decision to go either
left or right. I chose for them to go right. So every time it turned left, I delivered a negative stimulus in the
form of an electric shock. A 6v battery hooked up to electrodes on the maze allowed me to do so. If planarians
could in fact remember, then next time it should not want to go left and in tum go right. Each planarian
ran the maze ten times a day for five days. There was a noticeable increase in the total number of right turns