Final Project Resources

IDEAS FOR YOUR FINAL PROJECT

Your experimental subject could be a plant:

• do you have enough existing plants to have 5 per group?
• can you plot off sections of your grass?  
• leafing of trees
• purchase many small plants
• plant from seeds
• look at germination rates or successes
• Make sure you're testing something meaningful.

Your experimental subject could be an animal

• a pet (a measurable behavior)
• crickets or brine ship from the pet store?
• You must properly care for animals during and after the experiment!

Your experimental subject could be humans

• athletic performance
• senses
• other measurable variables (heart rate, temperature, CO2 output etc.)
• in the past students have tested hair and nail growth and strength
• stay away from preference surveys and psychology or sociology experiments!

You could expand upon or test things related to labs we've done in class

• Osmosis
• DNA extraction
• Yeast metabolism
• 
  

You could do some biochemistry experiments using enzymes

• enzymes in meat tenderizers and pineapple and some detergents
• saliva (enzymes that break down starch)
• the breaking down of hydrogen peroxide with catalase enzymes.
• lactase enzymes found in digestive aids and also enzymes in products such as beano.

Foods are a popular thing to experiment with.

• ripening rates
• browning
• rates of decay, molding

Microbiology

• bacterial growth, observed under microscope
• observed with spectrometer (see me)
• using petri-dishes and counting colonies (you would need to purchase these or utilize a local lab)
• Yogurt, cheese or sauerkraut making?  Experiment with different methods.

Environmental surveys and analysis (get outside!)

• leaf bags left in streams...evaluate insect populations
• lichen location on rocks and trees, Link to lichen project information
• weed surveys
• effectiveness of re-seeding efforts
• wild bird feeding preferences or observations (make sure you have a control survey and a test survey)

Consumer testing and mythbusting:

• Is there a claim you want to test dealing with a biological system?
• 5 second rule?  Fruit fresh?  

Utilize local laboratories and equipment

• Do you know someone who has access to a lab and equipment at ISU or the hospital?
• Are you willing to call someone you don't know? (See me, I can give you some ideas and get you started.)
• At Poky we have spectrometers, CO2 detector, Soil test kits and other supplies.  Just ask and we can see if we can make it work.