Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi i'm in 8th grade and trying to do a project on regeneration of planaria, but I don't want to use magnets. I already ordered a 30 group of planaria. Please help

Hi,

This is a great project.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p018.shtml

The project outline in the Science Buddies website gives you a basic outline of a possible project, but you can easily adapt it to an independent variables other than magnets. While you are waiting for your Planaria to arrive, why don’t you do some more background research and pick a topic that you would be more interested in studying.

You could pick an herbal supplement, for example. Here is a project that describes using Golden Seal:

http://www.super-science-fair-projects. ... jects.html


Here’s a project on caffeine. Please notice the use of the null hypothesis in this project, which is an excellent method for evaluating results.

https://www.msu.edu/~gittinsj/planaria/planaria.html

Here’s one on the effects of pollution:

http://www.super-science-fair-projects. ... oject.html

I’m sure that you can think of a unique idea that will make this a worthwhile project.

How are you planning to measure your results?

Best regards,


Donna Hardy

thanks but I need the project to be tested and written about on science buddies. And i dont want to spend $40 on magnets

Hi,

You definitely don't need to spend $40 on magnets; you can design a much less expensive project. In the Science Buddies project, the magnets are used as the independent variable. Since you have ordered the Planaria, you should plan to do a similar experiment, but you can adapt the project by selecting a different independent variable to use. I had suggested that you investigate the effect of herbal supplements, caffeine, or pollution and I gave an example or reference for each of these topics. You could also test the intelligence of Planaria by designing a maze and train your Planaria to go through the maze. You could find out what kind of food they prefer (cat food or dog food). You could test their response to light or change in temperature. There are lots of possible projects to choose from, but you need to develop your own idea.

I recommend that you do more background reading so you can select the specific topic that you want to investigate.

Is there another topic you are interested in?

Here’s information for doing a science fair project:

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

You are at the background reading stage of your project. You need to look for information that will help you identify a specific question that you can answer by doing a controlled experiment.

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

How are you going to take care of your Planaria after they arrive =?

Let me know if you have any questions or if you’re still not quite sure what to do next.

Donna Hardy