Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello Experts! I am an independent high school student (Grade 12 age 16) planning to conduct a controlled plant physiology experiment. I live in an area with no local laboratory for people my age or English fluent science teachers, so I ended up designing this home experiment that I think would be considered rigorous. I am investigating the interactions between thigmomorphogenesis and etiolation. I already have majority of my physical materials ready, here is a list of most of them. pots, seeds, uniform lighting, a microscope and a 28-day schedule across 4 distinct test groups with 5 plants per group. Because I am working completely alone, I want to learn how to properly track my data, manage my control variables and format my findings so that I can eventually submit this project to a peer reviewed high school journal like JEI (Journal of Emerging Invistigators). The experiment’s design goes as followed:
4 groups, two recieve a high shared level of light (I’ll calculate via an app and admit to slight inaccuracy) and the other two recieve light from the same source but at a higher level (to cause etiolation). One of the plants in the strong light group and one in the low light group would be disturbed daily around the top meristem to trigger thigmomorphogenesis. This would allow me to try and count the difference using my microscope to determine if thigmomorphogenesis causes plants that have etiolated to counter the effects of etiolation. The plant I’m testing is Sativum lepidium over the course of 28 days (or just a multiplication if 7 like 35 if the timeframe is too small). Could an Expert help review my experiment’s design to ensure my logic is sound before I plant my seeds?

Hello,

Thank you for posting about this interesting experiment!

I have a couple of questions about the design of this experiment.

First, what are you measuring to evaluate the occurrence and timing of thigmomorphogenesis?

Second, what are you measuring to evaluate etiolation?

Third, what will you be measuring in the controls that do not receive the disturbance? Do you have a measure of the absence of thigmomorphogenesis?

I also highly recommend that you apply the disturbance to at least 5 plants for each experimental condition. This number of plants receiving the disturbance in each condition is crucial so that you can show the variability of the response to the disturbance with plants subjected to the same experimental conditions.

Hopefully other experts here at Science Buddies will chime in with their suggestions!

Please let us know if you have more questions and best of luck!

Madeline