Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

How do i make my project more scientific?? Im in an honors 8th grade science class and my teacher/football coach expects a lot out of my project... Im doing a project to do with Vine Grafting.... I have access to everything agriculture as my parents own ag companies........ Please HELP!!!!!

SBik2,

I think we're going to need more information about what you're doing in order to help you. What is it that you want to know about vine grafting? What were you planning to do for your project? If you tell us this, we'll be able to help you better.

You probably also want to read this, about the scientific method, if you haven't already: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... thod.shtml.

MelissaB wrote:SBik2,

I think we're going to need more information about what you're doing in order to help you. What is it that you want to know about vine grafting? What were you planning to do for your project? If you tell us this, we'll be able to help you better.

You probably also want to read this, about the scientific method, if you haven't already: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... thod.shtml.

What id like to do is add something to my vine grafting project ie(like adding chemicals to the grafting process) I know what im doing with the grafting but id like to add something to it

SBik2,

Okay. In that case, I'd suggest one of several possible topics:

1. Does concentration of Chemical X affect success of vine grafting?

2. Does using both Chemical X and Chemical Y increase success of grafting more than either Chemical X and Chemical Y alone?

And so on. What you want is a question that allows you to make predictions that you can then test by adding various chemicals and concentrations of chemicals to your vine grafting. For example, if the concentration of Chemical X does NOT affect the success of vine grafting, we would expect grafting to be equally successful at three different concentrations of Chemical X. Conversely, if it DOES affect the success of vine grafting, we might expect to see low success at a low concentration and high success at a high concentration.

I hope this helps--feel free to ask more questions if you need more help!

MelissaB wrote:SBik2,

Okay. In that case, I'd suggest one of several possible topics:

1. Does concentration of Chemical X affect success of vine grafting?

2. Does using both Chemical X and Chemical Y increase success of grafting more than either Chemical X and Chemical Y alone?

And so on. What you want is a question that allows you to make predictions that you can then test by adding various chemicals and concentrations of chemicals to your vine grafting. For example, if the concentration of Chemical X does NOT affect the success of vine grafting, we would expect grafting to be equally successful at three different concentrations of Chemical X. Conversely, if it DOES affect the success of vine grafting, we might expect to see low success at a low concentration and high success at a high concentration.

I hope this helps--feel free to ask more questions if you need more help!

Wow thanks! I like that.. But im wondering is this project a restricted project that needs forms since it uses chemicals?

You could also test the effects of hot water treatments (or "thermotherapy") on grafting success and / or growth of the vine. There are a lot of possibilities there.

SBik2,

You'll need to ask your teacher or the people who are putting on the science fair. I suspect it depends on what chemicals you're using. They should be able to tell you if you tell them what you plan to use.