Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am working on a science project, and my topic is.."what does the size of a cell depend on".
Do you think this project is a 9th grade level project?
or is it too easy?

Hi d.l

This is an interesting topic, and this could be a suitable project for you, depending on what you do for your experiment. The size of cells of various living organisms ranges from 0.1 micron for a Mycoplasma bacterium to 3 pounds for an ostrich egg, so you have quite a size range to work with.

I recommend that you do more background reading to develop this topic. You want to ask a specific question that you can answer with a controlled experiment. Here are some websites that will help you get started.

Here is some general information on cells:

http://invsee.asu.edu/nmodules/sizescalemod/unit4.htm
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1.htm

The science buddies website includes an excellent guide for doing a successful project:

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

And, here's a project that is related to your topic.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p006.shtml

Please let us know if you have any questions about proceeding with your project.


Donna Hardy

Thanks for the reply.

because my assignment was to get in contact with a scientist..or an expert in this area,
Hope you don't mind me asking, but..are you a scientist?

Hi d.l.

Yes, I am a scientist. The science buddies website is a good way to contact a professional scientist who likes to help students with their science projects. We have volunteers with a wide variety of backgrounds.

The reason that I suggested that you do more background research on your topic is that your topic is too vast to be addressed with one experiment. For a successful project, you will want to ask a question that can be answered by doing a carefully controlled experiment. Have you thought about what question you can ask?

Donna Hardy

hey I had to change my topic
and its "what is the best way to grow plants without soil?"

as a scientist, do you think there are multiple ways to grow plants without soil?

Hi,
There are lots of ways to grow plants without soil! Here are a couple of links to get you started:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2274269_grow-ho ... -soil.html

http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Can_P ... thout_Soil

http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2002/121402.html

Hope this gives you some ideas to kick off your project, best of luck!