Earthworms

[Slater52]

We did the science project “which soil do earthworms like best”. We were surprised that the earthworms (20) all chose gravel instead of dirt or dry leaves or potting soil. Any recommendations where to go to learn more and figure out why?

[rlwilliams06]

Hello!

I found a project on science buddies that may provide additional help.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure

Hope this helps!!!

[AmyCowen]

Did those results surprise your student? You note that you used 20 worms... was that all at once? The procedure suggests using (at least) 5 at a time and recording your data after 24 hours. (If you used 20 at a time, were your box and your samples of each type large enough?)

If you haven't repeated the test, your student may want to repeat the experiment to see if you observe the same behavior.

Regardless of what environment the worms seem to prefer, the final step of the project raises a question that your student will want to think about in drawing conclusions and trying to explain why. (Analyzing Your Data, Step 2.c.i https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure)

Keep in mind that it is okay for your student's hypothesis to not have been supported by the results of the experiment -- if that is what happened. Doing the experiment, recording the data, and analyzing the data is the point. It is okay if the hypothesis wasn't supported by the results. The results may lead to new questions (like the ones you are asking) and could (in the future) lead to additional experimentation. But you do want to make sure that the environments were all prepared as described.

I hope you snapped photos, too! They will be useful on the project display board (if required).

Amy
Science Buddies