Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

hi! i am interested but not yet set on this project:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... A&from=TSW

and have questions pertaing it.

1. What are the independent & dependent variables?
2. What category would it qualify under?
3. What would make up the quantitative and qualitative data?
4. What would be the title of my sfp board??
5. What’s the point of doing this project, and how do i make it 1st place worthy?
6. What other projects in the 8-10th grade age group focusing on forensic science, and botany do you suggest? THANKS A MILLION!

ok, so im on what sfp i should do this year and im DETERMIND to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get first place, and im considering these three.

SFP IDEAS






http://www.crystal-clear-science-fair-p ... oject.html



https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p037.shtml





https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p028.shtml

Project #1: Forensic Science: Building Your Own Tool for Identifying DNA

Project #2: How Vines Find Their Spines: Thigmotropism in Morning Glory Tendrils

Project #3: Fear Science Project

PROS AND CONS OF EACH

Project #1: Pros: Definetly very orginal, "smart" sounding (as said by my friends)
Cons: Not very intresting, hard to identify variables, overall kinda confusing, but willing to do it.

project #2: Pros: Did botany and got 2nd place last year, not a lot of competition, overall easy and simple to understand and do.
Cons: Not very "complicated", or necessarily "first place worthy"

Project #3: Pros: Incredibly intresting (or at least to me), easy to explain
Cons: the Sociology department is cut throat competition, complicated logistics wise (how many people)several entries(possibly the most, other than physics)Note:if i do pick this, what do you suggest to make it a first place project(how would you construct a journal, & what would be included in it, journal is major part of sfp)



SO PLEASE PICK THE PROJECT THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER "FIRST PLACE" WORTHY AND LIST THE VARIABLES! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH

Hi Pink Bear,

Welcome back! Congratulations on your second place in last year’s science project. It sounds like you’ve put a lot of work and effort into choosing a project so far.

Here are just a couple of comments that might be helpful. You should definitely pick a project that you are interested in. To have the winning project, you will probably have to do something a little more than what is outlined in the project guide, but once you decide which project you are going to do, perhaps we can help you think of something to make the project idea more challenging and creative:

1. Forensic science. It doesn’t sound like you’re really interested in this project, which involves building an electrophoresis unit. However, this is a great project, and if your only concern is that you don’t understand the variables, don’t worry. We can explain this to you. However, if this is not intrinsically interesting to you, I would recommend doing one of the other projects/.

2. Botany project. You’re experienced in botany, so you could build on your success by doing this project. However, is it going to be warm enough for you to grow morning glories for this project? If not, then you won’t be able to get results. You absolutely need results for a winning science fair project. Since this is a kit, you would need to do more background reading and do something to make the project more creative. But if you like botany, go ahead and pick this project.

2. Fear project. I agree with you. This is an incredibly interesting project. However, in my experience, science projects that involve measuring blood pressure generally do not give good data, and since you will be entering a category with lots of competition, you need to have really good data. Blood pressure is notoriously variable, so I would recommend finding another dependent variable to measure in addition to blood pressure, or instead of blood pressure.

Also, since you will be working with humans, you will need to check with your local scientific review committee and plan to get informed consent from all of your subjects.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... _src.shtml

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ects.shtml

It’s your project and your decision and I think you could be successful with any of these projects. Once you decide, reply to the post, and we’ll try to give you specific suggestions that will help make your project a winner.

Good luck!


Donna Hardy

Hi Pink Bear,


1. What are the independent & dependent variables?

Here is the explanation for independent and dependent variables from the Science Buddies website:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... bles.shtml

As written, the independent variable is the specific color of ink you are testing, and the dependent variable would be the different colors that separate from the ink and the distance traveled from the origin.

2. What category would it qualify under?

What are the choices for categories at your local science fair? This is a basic physical sciences project, but the category could change if you decide to test a different type of sample.

3. What would make up the quantitative and qualitative data?

The quantitative data is the distance that each colored molecule travels from the origin. The qualitative data could be the description of the various colors.

4. What would be the title of my sfp board??

You have time to decide what the exact title will be. The decision will probably depend on the answer to your question number 5.

5. What’s the point of doing this project, and how do i make it 1st place worthy?

To make this a first place project, you need to do background reading on electrophoresis and understand the science behind the project and to explain this really well in your background section.

You will also need to use your electrophoresis unit to test something other than ink. This could be challenging because most samples don’t have color, so you will need a method to detect the sample. This can be challenging; you need to do more background reading to identify a sample.

Researchers usually use electrophoresis to separate DNA and protein samples. Do a search for electrophoresis for DNA and proteins to find more information on this topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serum_prot ... rophoresis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gel_electrophoresis

6. What other projects in the 8-10th grade age group focusing on forensic science, and botany do you suggest?



I think you have looked at the science project ideas on the website, but try looking again. There are lots of project ideas to choose from:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... deas.shtml

Good luck on making a final decision!

Donna Hardy

haha suprised you remembered me, you were a great help last year! ok, so i decided on doing the fear science fair project, but your right, i can understand that blood pressure is a very sketchy, and hard to really determine(not to mention all the factors that it includes) so what would you suggest? i was thinking of comparing the girls results vs the mens results, to show some contrast. im very open to changing the dependent variable.also, how many people should i test on, and how would i set up my board, last year it was easy because my plant pictures took up the whole middle section and part of my journal(i think thats what set me over the edge in my schools science fair and what got me first place, judges didnt seem as *amazed* at regionals) But now im kinda considering changing the whole project (the ideas not set in stone until this friday)to my runner up, "make your own dna thingy" because it seems a lot simpler logistics wise... PLEASE HELP


THAAAANK YOU!

Hi Pinkbear,

I think I found the project you were thinking about doing. Is this it?

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p024.shtml

Why don’t you do a search on “measuring fear,” and see if you can think of anything else that would be measurable with friends at an amusement park. According to the write up, the students did see if difference in pulse rates with different rides, so maybe it would be possible for you to get results with the project as written. In the setting of an amusement park, it would be difficult to get other measurements while the test subjects are on the rides, but pictures of faces might help. Also I have noticed that on scary rides, that gripping really hard on the rails and screaming really loud can help, but I don’t know how you would measure these dependent variables during the ride. Think about what you can do.

Another way to distinguish this project from others would be do to statistical analysis of the results, but that would require having the data. This project is going to be difficult to manage with just two or three friends at a time, so getting data from 10 friends would be a major accomplishment.

Do you have an amusement park that is going to be open during school time that you can visit? Also, this project could be really expensive.

Let me know if you have any comments.


Donna Hardy

well i asked my teacher, and she said that id need at least 50 test results in the sociology section, and this is getting much more complicated in terms of just getting results soooo, i think ill go with my runner up, what category do you think it would qualify under? thaaaaaaaaank you!

Hi Pinkbear,

Here are some suggestions for you:

1. It’s too early to give up on the fear project. Instead of doing amusement park rides with a few friends, perhaps you could set up a scary scene for Halloween or work with a local haunted house and measure the fear response caused by the experience. You could compare response by age or gender. You would need to get approval from the scientific review committee and you would have to be very organized and efficient, but it would be easier to get 50 data points with this type of experiment.

2. If you can’t organize an experiment by Halloween, perhaps you could design an experiment on arachnophobia, again comparing results with different age groups or by gender. Perhaps you could work with a local natural science museum that features spiders or buy extra rubber spiders before Halloween

With either of these experiments, you could take pictures or videos and document behavior or expressions associated with fear in addition to the pulse rate.

3. Building the electrophoresis cell is a basic physics project. Using the unit to separate molecules could be an organic chemistry or biochemistry project.

Here is an example of an application using electrophoresis to isolate chloroplasts. Read through the details here; there are lots of things to do here and lots of different materials required.

http://nutmeg.easternct.edu/~adams/Reso ... DSPAGE.pdf

Here is a high school level experiment on separation of hemoglobin by electrophoresis:

http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/bi/1995 ... resis.html

Here is a method for separating anthocyanin plant pigments:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10784434

Perhaps you could do a study of plant pigments in a particular tree or shrub as the fall season progresses.

There are many other potential protein separation projects, but most proteins are not colored, so you would need a stain to see your results.

You need to do more background reading to confirm the exact project, but any of these projects would be good. Why don’t you do an internet search for “electrophoresis” and a potential topic of interest. You need to develop this into an application with a real purpose.

I hope this helps.

Donna Hardy

What other things could i test in the gel thats pigmented?

Hi Pinkbear,

Do you want to post the links that you found? Here’s what I found:

Here is a project from the Science Buddies website on the analysis flower colors using paper chromatography. This would be an interesting study in plant pigments that would involve some chemistry.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p035.shtml

This is an abstract of a high school science fair project on plant pigment analysis using electrophoresis
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2009/Projects/J0403.pdf

Perhaps you could compare paper chromatography and electrophoresis results for your samples.

For a prize winning project, you need a really good purpose for your project. Here are some examples of plant pigment research projects that include a good purpose. I have included recent abstracts from scientific articles. Try reading these to see if you can understand why the authors were doing the project:

1. Identification of new plant pigment that could be used to develop camellias with blue flowers:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19522813

2. The lab exercise from a college biology class explains how gene activity develops during flower production. You can use electrophoresis to document gene expression in plants.

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/bio183de/La ... nt2_4.html

3. This summary of a long-term research project on a group of plant pigments called betalains includes a list of applications for plant pigments including botanical classifications, new food dyes, remedy for cancer, food and pharmaceutical freshness indicators.

https://www.uzh.ch/oci/ssl-dir/efiles/betalain.pdf

4. This is an article by a professor of food science who describes the health benefits of anthocyanins, the plant pigments found in many plants. Anthocyanins are being investigated as possible natural food colorants or as possible antioxidant food supplements.

5. And, here is an abstract that reports the use of anthocyanin analysis to detect adulteration in fruit juices.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2007-0952.ch010

So, I think this could be a really great project. The electrophoresis cell (and paper chromatography if you decide to include this) would give you the basic tools to obtain data and your selection of the sample type and purpose would give a real meaning to your project.

Generally, there are fewer entries in biology compared to physical science, so I would recommend entering this in a category with fewer potential entries.

Donna Hardy
.

Hi Pinkbear,

Great! You’ve picked a problem to solve using naturally colored plant pigments that should separate with electrophoresis. The colors will just be there and you should be able to separate them into different pigments, or verify that migration patterns are identical or different in your samples.

So, the problem for your project might be to develop a method for testing adulteration in pomegranate juice (or other juice, for example) by analyzing the plant pigments. You would develop an electrophoresis method using a real sample, and then analyze similar juices to show that your method could be used to definitely identify pomegranate juice and differentiate it from other red juices.

I recommend writing down your research question so you will be able to focus on developing an experiment that will answer the question. For example, one possible question is:

“Does pomegranate juice contain real pomegranates?”

You should stop and do more background reading at this point. You need to learn more about:

1.Anthocyanins and other pigments in the juice sample that you select for your project.
2. All methods that have ever been used for anthocyanin analysis
3. Electrophoresis
4. The problem of adulterated fruit juices
5. Development and validation of analytical techniques.

Your project will be based on the history of the subject as found in the scientific literature and your experiment will answer a unique question that has not been asked before.

This project would fit into botany or biotechnology. Look at the history of entries in these categories and enter into the category that usually has fewer entries.

Let me know what your research question is and I’ll have more suggestions.


Donna

URGENT URGENT URGENT
ok im suuuuper sorry but i kinda mind flubbed, i know you might not answer but i really ment this project
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2009/Projects/J0403.pdf.

not the other one... What would be the 'problem" /topic, would the project be under "biotechnology, or maybe even botany ,and is the project basically the same, just inserting plant pigments (will they show up, or would i have to tint them? and what flowers should i test on? )instead of dye?

omigosh though, im really sorry for making you put the effort. thaank you SO MUCH

Hi Pinkbear,

That’s OK. I'm sorry I misunderstood your choice. However,changing projects at this point is not much more effort since it’s still the same basic topic.

Molecular migration of plant pigments is a good project also. Actually, it would be similar to the project which I proposed; however, the purpose and samples would be different.

In this experiment, the results are similarly colored flowers are compared with electrophoresis. The purpose would be to show a possible genetic relationship between flowers based on the type of pigments found. So you would pick several red, purple, pink, or yellow flowers and develop an electrophoresis method to analyze the number of pigments and migration patterns.

I don’t know what flowers you would test. Do you have any flowers locally available that have similar colors? You want to test as many as possible.

You would still need to do the background reading that will develop the scientific basis for your research question and the experiment that will be used to answer the questions.

Except, instead of investigating the problem of adulterated fruit juice, you need to learn more about:

4. The chemistry of pigments found in the flowers that you choose.
6. The use of plant pigment analysis to determine the relationship of different flowering plants.

1, 2, 3 and 5 would still apply to this project.

This is more of a basic botany project now, rather than biotechnology.

Donna

Hi Pinkbear,

I'm sorry you have been sick. I hope you are feeling better.

I hope your whole research paper is not due by tomorrow, but if it is, I would recommend explaining why it is important to study anthocyanins for your background information and include some techniques that are used to study anthocyanins.

Here is a link for what should be included in a research paper from the Science Buddies website. I think you have some information on your topic, so if you follow this format, you will include everything that should be included.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... aper.shtml

The Wikipedia article has basic information on anthocyanins and has lots of research papers that you could use in your bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocyanin

Go back to my post from September 6 and look at the links under 4 and 5. These sources list the reason for studying anthocyanins and would give your project a real world reason for being done. Anthocyanins have a potential benefit for human health, for food coloring, and for studying the relationship between different plants.

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ss01/anthocyanin.html

DNA and anthocyanins are very different molecules and your project will not deal with DNA at all. Electrophoresis is a technique that is used for DNA separations, and your project will involve separating anthocyanins, which are the plant pigments that are responsible for red, pink, purple, and blue colors. I have done some additional background reading on this topic, and I don't think that electrophoresis will work well for separating anthocyanins. There are a couple of methods that are probably not suitable for you to use because they require special equipment and are very expensive. These are called high pressure liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis. However, you should be able to use paper chromatography for your analysis and this is a classic method for separating the anthocyanins.

Here are a couple of links that describe paper electrophoresis. Basically, you extract the dye from the flower, and place a small dot on one in the paper and then develop the paper by letting an organic solvent travel up the paper by capillary action. This is a technique that you would be able to do:

http://www.biochemj.org/bj/083/0637/0830637.pdf

This paper probably has the best protocol that I have found so far:

http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/cpr/data/lib ... of_red.pdf

So, don't order the electrophoresis kit. You are going to need other supplies.

Also, please post your project deadlines for the science project and try to work at least one week ahead so you will have time to do a really good job on each assignment. With science projects, communicating the information to others is a really important part of the project, but this takes time to do a really good job.

Good luck on getting your assignment done! I will post more information over the week-end. Let me know what flowers you have available to work with.


Donna Hardy

Hi Pinkbear,

How are you? Did you get your assignment turned in?

As promised, here is some basic information that will be helpful for you to understand your project. You need to read as much as possible and become a subject matter expert on anthocyanins.

This site explains the chemistry of anthocyanins and shows a typical molecular structure. The important points here are to notice that the molecules have three 6-carbon rings with alternating single and double bonds. This is what causes the color of the pigment. Anthocyanins also have a sugar molecule (C6, H11,05) attached.

http://www.demochem.de/p26_anth-e.htm

Here is a recent research paper on anthocyanins in wild bananas. Please note the format of the paper and the techniques used the study the anthocyanins. This is an example of a research report on a topic that is similar to your project, and you can use it as a source of ideas. It includes a procedure for extracting the plant pigments and measuring the stability with different pH’s and temperature.

http://www.resplantbiol.com/getarticle. ... =5&artid=2

pH is a very important concept to understand for your project because anthocyanins will have different colors at different pH levels. Here is an explanation of pH, or concentration of hydrogen ions, from the Science Buddies website:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... cale.shtml

Here is an example of a project, which uses the anthocyanins from purple cabbage to make pH paper:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p041.shtml

You will probably be doing paper chromatography to analyze your samples for this project. Here is an example of a project on paper chromatography. Be sure to read and understand the background section of this project:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... background

Unfortunately there is no kit available to purchase for a paper chromatography science project, but here is information for obtaining the supplies you will need. You should check with your teacher and ask if any of the materials are available through your school

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... rces.shtml


Now, here are some questions for you to think about.

1. What is your research question? This is going to be the key for designing a really good experiment.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... tion.shtml

2. What type of flowers (or other colored plants) do you have available to use?

3. Do you have any questions about the background reading material? Can you answer the following?

-what causes the color of anthocyanins?
-what is the purpose of the sugar molecule on the anthocyanin molecule?
-what is the effect of changing pH on the color of anthocyanins?
-what is the best way to extract the anthocyanins from flowers?
-what is Rf in paper chromatography?
-using paper chromatography, how will you compare results from different samples?
-what is your independent and dependent variable?
-why can’t you use electrophoresis to separate anthocyanins?

Please let me know if you have questions. I know that there’s lots of chemistry and new information for you here, but I need to make sure that you understand the basics before you continue. It’s very important to understand the science behind your project because this will help you design a better experiment.

When is your next deadline?

Donna Hardy

yikes actually thats kinda a HUGE problemo... Is it 100% impossible to test on an aragose gel chamber, because my teacher gave me an extenstion until monday. I already got the kit, and half my paper is on the process of gel electrophoeris. haha ohhh snap, thats a problem... thanks!

Hi Pinkbear,

Don’t worry. This is not a problem. This is just a challenging moment in your science fair project and you need to decide what to do.

Since you have been researching electrophoresis, you know that it is used to separate charged molecules like proteins, DNA, and artificial dyes. Anthocyanins are neutral molecules and are usually separated by organic solvents based on their relative polarity. I don’t think electrophoresis will work well for separating anthocyanins.

Here are some possible solutions:

1. You just need to change molecules. So do an internet search and look for a project that involves separation of molecules that are charged. DNA and proteins are colorless, so you will need a stain to detect them in the agarose gel, but that’s a solvable problem.
Since you have already invested in the electrophoresis kit, you really should go ahead and use it, but you need a meaningful project to work on.

2. You could write up your paper with the background information on electrophoresis and plan to do the anthocyanin separation. However, knowing that this method is not optimum for separating these molecules, you would have to start a backup plan. Please do an internet search and look for an electrophoresis method for anthocyanins. You will find a method called capillary zone electrophoresis, but this requires a special instrument and the capillaries are very expensive. However a search of the scientific literature will certainly help clarify the matter and perhaps give you more information to include in your paper.

Probably, the most important thing to do at this point is focus on finishing your paper. Depending on what you decide to do for your experiment, you may need to make extensive revisions in the future based on your pilot experiments.

Donna

what flowers do you suggest i test on?
thaaaaaaank u

Hi Pinkbear,

You will need a steady supply of flowers to test and you will want to pick flowers that are readily available. Anthocyanins deteriorate with age, so you need fresh flowers to test, so you will have to let me know what might be available. Here are some possibilities.

What is blooming in your geographic area now? I live in a mild climate and we will have roses that will be in bloom until January and many other flowers blooming all winter. There are public gardens and botanical parks that might be able to supply unusual flowers with permission. Camellias will start blooming in November and different varieties will be in bloom all winter.

Do you know a local florist? I think it would be expensive to purchase lots of flowers, so do you know a florist who could provide short dated flowers at a nominal or no cost?

Do you have any neighbors that grow flowers? Usually gardeners who grow flowers are willing to share if you ask in advance. What varieties of flowers would be available?

I would suggest analyzing flowers that have a similar color, for example, all red, all blue, or all purple flowers. This would make an interesting and colorful project.

Or, do you live in an area where the trees have good fall colors? Perhaps you could compare the anthocyanin content of leaves of different varieties of trees that change colors during the fall.

Or, maybe you could do a fruit and vegetable project. Perhaps compare the anthocyanins in purple cabbage, plums and eggplant, or strawberries, red apples, and pomegranates.

I recommend that you do a pilot project as quickly as possible to find out how many flowers you will need for your project. One of the papers I saw noted that results were better if a large quantity of concentrated flower extract is used. This might require more than one flower.

Also doing a pilot experiment will help confirm if the electrophoresis method is going to work, or if it needs to be optimized. Be sure to run the control sample with food coloring as described first to make sure your electrophoresis unit is working and that you are operating it properly. If this works, then try one flower sample, perhaps a red carnation.


Donna Hardy

Hi Pinkbear,

How is everything going with your science project? Have you done any experiments yet? Please post if you have questions.

Donna Hardy

ok its experiment time! ive had to focus on a lot of other school stuff , and now that its over w/ time to focus on my sfp. based on what the kit comes with, and how it co-insides w/ my project, what other materials do i need? thaaaaaaanks!

Hi Pinkbear,

I understand; it’s hard to get all of your school work done, but I’m glad you are going to focus on your sfp again. Before you continue, you need to write down the question that you are going to answer by doing your project. What is your question? This will help you decide how to design the experiment.

I assume that you will be trying the electrophoresis gel box for a flower pigment project. But you need to decide what to focus on. Read back at earlier posts, and decide what specific topic you want to investigate. This is what will make your project unique.

Have you received your kit yet? When you do, I would recommend doing a trial run with food coloring as described in the project outline. This will give you experiment in working with the unit and verify that your unit is working properly. Let me know what happens.

Donna

ok, so im thinking of doing my project today or tomorrow, im thinking of teting on some brightly colored geraniums
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gge ... C&first=36

and getting other plants of the same genus. im thinking of testing 4 flowers, each three times. i purchased the kit, and im worried i dont have enough agarose and buffer to do three experiments. since i can remove the gel, i was thinking of preserving the gel and using it as a model in front of my sfp. Where should i go from here?

thank You, and happy holidays

Hi Pinkbear,

Welcome back. Happy holidays to you also! This is great weekend to work on your science fair project.

You have an excellent idea. I agree that you can probably save the agarose and reuse it. Since you are doing an original project with unknown results, I suspect that you will need to do a few runs to obtain good results with the electrophoresis cell, so preserving the agarose will be helpful.

After you have run a gel, carefully transfer it to an open container and add deionized water. In time, the water soluble pigments should diffuse out of the agarose. It will probably be helpful to mix the water and gel gently occasionally to expedite the diffusion process. And, you may need to change the water 3-4 times. Once the gel is clear, you can let it dry briefly and remelt it to make a new gel.

If this does not work, you can buy more agarose. Agar is an ingredient sold in Oriental grocery stores and it is available from Carolina Biologicals. The grocery store product will not have the same purity as the laboratory grade material, however, the lab agarose is a fairly expensive item.

http://www.carolina.com/catalog/search- ... SearchForm

Now, before you set up too many gels, please look at the structure of the plant pigments found in geraniums. Look at the charge of peonidins, cyanidins, and anthocyanins. Do these molecules have a negative or positive charge?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peonidin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanidin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocyanin

Now, look at the structure for a Red dye # 40, common food dye. What is the charge (negative or positive) of this molecule? What is the charge of the other food coloring molecules you are planning to try?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allura_Red_AC

In electrophoresis, molecules will migrate towards the oppositely charged electrode. Negative molecules are attracted to the cathode and positive molecules to the anode. Do you expect the food coloring molecules to migrate in the same direction as the plant pigments? You need to run at least one food dye to verify the electrophoresis box is working properly . What are you going to do to ensure that your geranium samples migrate through the gel?

Donna Hardy

Awesome! i checked how much agarose i have (4 grams) and it seems to be suffecient for my 3 (and tester) trials! i got some diffrent colored geraniums together in that bright pigmented pink, a peach, a red, and a light pink. Will the specimens be visible in the gel? Thanks!

Hi Pinkbear,

The plant pigments will be visible in the gel. The samples will become diluted as they diffuse and migrate in the gel, so you need to start with very concentrated samples. How are you going to extract the pigments from the petals?

Also, how are you going to measure your results?

Donna

i added some alchohol with petals from the flower, and grinded them up. i tried the chamber out, and it works, with dye. i did my samples and am waiting for the alchohol to evaporate, but i dont know how much time to give them, and what its suppose to look like when the alchohol evaporates? Ill be running my 3 trials, measuring how long the band for each sample in cms, and finding and recording the averages. Thaaaaaanks!


also, since im testing the same exact species of geranium, differing in color, what exactly would be my problem? "Does the pigment of a flower affect the size of dna fragments?"