Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I Need to Know what is a good hypothesis for dehydrated potatoe

See the thing about a Hypothesis is that it is what "YOU" think will occur, by asking someone else what they think is a good hypothesis is not your hypothesis.
If you have done enough research you should be able to make an educated guess on your own, and it doesn't matter if you are right or wrong.

In other words this should be done on your own not by others.

Lashay90,

Can you give us more information about what you are trying to do? What about potatoes interests you? Are you trying to dehydrate them, or do you want to work with dehydrated potatoes, or...? If you can give us some more information, we can help.

Hi Lashay90 - As MelissaB said, if you can provide additional information about your project, our Experts may be able to offer some guidance. Thinking through your hypothesis is an important step in the project. You can learn more about the hypothesis statement (and review some examples) in this Science Buddies resource:

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

and this one:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/201 ... thesis.php

While our Experts will not provide the information for you, if you have questions about the hypothesis you are constructing, or need additional clarification, please post here for input.

Good luck with your science project!

Amy
Science Buddies

I Need to dehydrate a potatoe. I Need to use salted water & plain water, but the observations say What will happen if you used a different vegetable? What if you used something other than salt such as vinegar? What will happen to the potatoe bathing in plain water? What will happen to the potatoe bathing in salted water?

Hi Lashay90,

It sounds like you are trying to do this experiment: http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/Pro ... jectID=230

As both MelissaB and Amy have said, the idea is for you to do some background research and make some predictions on your own. Why is it that you are interested in dehydrating potatoes? Do you think the water content of different vegetables will affect the process?

If you are interested in the process of dehydration but need some extra help getting started with your background research, check out these Science Buddies projects that relate to the concept of dehydration and water movement:
Is the Soup Ready? Measure How Much Water is Absorbed by Dried Beans https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p059.shtml
Minding your Mummies: The Science of Mummification https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p022.shtml
You Want Fries with That? The Science of Crispy Potatoes https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p042.shtml
Dried Foods: The Science Behind Making Lightweight Snacks https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p015.shtml

I hope this helps. Try doing some reading, and post back again (in this same thread) if you have some specific questions along the way.

Heather

I need help finding out my constants and variables.

Hi Lashay90,

If you need help identifying your variables, Science Buddies has a great article to help you: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... bles.shtml.

In general, the independent variable is the variable you (the scientist) change. If you follow the procedure in the experiment I think you are trying to do (http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/Pro ... jectID=230), then the independent variable is the type of water. The dependent variable is the thing you measure, which should change in response to the independent variable. Your constants are the things that you keep the same for all of your treatments.

I hope this helps. It will help the Experts reading your posts if you would give us more details about the project you are trying to do and why.

Heather

Thanks.
Is this a good hypothesis: If I put a potatoe in salted water then it will dehydrate.

Hi Lashay90,

Yes, your hypothesis will work for your experiment. You have it in the standard "if...then" format, and you have made a specific prediction.

Now make sure that you have done the background research so you understand why you might expect a potato to become dehydrated in salt water. Try researching terms such as osmosis, concentration, and tonicity. Your teacher is probably most concerned with you understanding the science behind your experiment.

Please post again (in this same thread) if you have more questions as your project progresses.

Heather

I looked up osmosis and this is what I came up with : The salt water went from a high concentration to a low concentration because it dehydrated the potato.
Would this be a good background research ?

My Birthday Was Yesterday !

Hi Lashay90,

Happy birthday!

Lashay90 wrote:I looked up osmosis and this is what I came up with : The salt water went from a high concentration to a low concentration because it dehydrated the potato.
Would this be a good background research ?

I'm not sure that you fully understand the concept of osmosis. Here is the Wikipedia article about osmosis to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmosis. Once you've read this, think about whether the potato is hypertonic or hypotonic to each of your solutions (plain water and salt water). What is moving - the salt or the water? What causes the potato to become dehydrated?

Here is an animation about how osmosis works: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0 ... works.html

Take a look at these things, and please post again if you have more questions.

Heather

I did the actual project and the salted potato shrunk but you could'nt tell if it dehydrated and the plain potato stayed the same.

Hi Lashay90,

Looks like you've gotten some results!

Why do you think the salted potato shrunk? What left the potato to make it smaller?

Think about what substance makes up most of the weight of a normal potato.

Did you try weighing the potatoes before and after the experiment?

Heather

No I didn't weigh the potato before I did the project .

Okay, try thinking about the other things I mentioned, which should help you interpret your results:

heatherL wrote:Why do you think the salted potato shrunk? What left the potato to make it smaller?

Think about what substance makes up most of the weight of a normal potato.