Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My daughter is setting up her science fair project following the guidelines from your site: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... v&from=TSW
How Do Roots Grow When the Direction of Gravity Changes?
We are not sure how to set up seed sandwich number 2. It says to place the sandwich horizontally in the pie plate. Does that mean that it should just be rotated 90 degrees, when compared to the vertical sandwich or does it mean that it should lie flat i.e. as a book would lie on a table. If it is to lie flat, then we are not sure why it says to hold it in place with modeling clay. Thanks. Terry

It sounds to me like it should lie flat like a plate on a table. I'm not sure why they say to fix it in place with modeling clay; it may be they just accidentally copy-pasted that from the previous step or they may not want it to rotate (but then it seems as if the pie plate might rotate anyway). It may also be that they want some space between the pie plate and the glass--maybe it's easier to water that way? In any case, I don't think it's very important.

Good luck!

Hello,

I see how the steps are slightly misleading.
I feel that if you follow what the previous post says , it could help[ to clear up the misunderstanding.
Best of Luck!

Hi,
The second plate should lie flat on the table. The modeling clay is used to lift the "sandwhich" off of the surface so that any water present can dry out. I will add some text to the project to clarify this step (I am the project author).
Thanks, Dave