SCIENCE

Our Science Department (Mrs. Dalla Costa, Mrs. Frith (Special Ed.) and I elected
to have each of our children grow Korean Redwood Trees. These trees have a
fast germination period of only 7-9 days, the previously chosen Korean Bonsai trees
would take just over 30 days to germinate. In short, the school year would be over
or nearly over if we tried to grow Bonsai trees, that's the reason for the shift in
plant selection from Bonsai to redwoods.

We've received the seeds and pots, while we still await the art supplies (Elmer's washable
paints) which the students will use to decorate their pots.

Here's the laboratory experiment using Korean redwoods to study the impact of light
levels on photosynthesis. We hope to have each student submit a lab report and enjoy
taking home their Korean redwood tree with a floral/tree design on the outside of its pot.

Korean Dawn Redwood Photosynthesis Lab Page 1 of 1

Indiana State Standards:

Standard 1: The Nature of Science and Technology

7.1.1 Similar investigations may yield different results, are these trivial or
very significant. The final decision may require more testing.

7.2.7 Communication Skills: Incorporate circle charts, bar, line graphs, and
diagrams into writing lab and research papers.

Standard 4: The Living Environment

7.4.4 Cells continually divide to make more cells for growth and repair.
Mitosis is the process by which chromosomes replicate and duplicate
themselves producing 2 new cells from one older one.

Hypothesis: My prediction is that redwood trees will grow best (tallest and healthiest) if they receive
(Pick One: 0, 10 , 12 , 15 , 18 , 35 lux or foot candles of light.


Materials:

50 clean plastic pots Korean redwood seeds beakers
Crayola markers Syringe graduated cylinder
4 light stands or light sources Water
Potting soil (Schultz brand) Metric ruler

Procedure:

1. Clean and scrub each pot with warm soap and water to sterilize all forms of harmful bacteria.
2. Fill each pot with potting soil (note some writers recommend the potting soil be sterilized by passing the soil through boiling water or
superheating it an autoclave oven). Expect only 50 or 40% of the seeds to survive due to its sensitivity to harmful
bacteria. Allow a 3 cm opening from the top of soil line to allow water to flow into the pot without spilling over the top of the pot.
3. Make 4 small holes about 2 cm deep with a pencil. Space these holes .5 cm apart.
4. Using sterilized tweezers (tweezers would be subjected to boiling water for 1 minute),
drop a seed into each of the 4 holes.
5. Place each group of 10 pots into 6 different light environments.
6. Using a light meter, measure and record the light levels of each environment.
7. Use Crayola markers to make artistic designs of a redwood tree on each pot.
8. Observe plant growth daily.
9. The students will set up a data base or chart after measuring the growth of the
seedlings at the end of each week for a month.

They will write their observations regarding these questions in their lab notebook:

A. What is photosynthesis?

B. What are the reactants and products in this reaction?

C. What evidence is there that photosynthesis is occurring?

D. What was the ideal amount of sunlight (lux) to grow redwood seeds?

E. Why is light and chlorophyll so important to the photosynthetic
process?

F. Predict, would using sterilized or boiled potting soil have made a
difference in the growth of redwood seeds? Give a reason.

9. At the end of May, they will chart and graph the results using Microsoft’s Excel
program.
10. Compose a summary to answer questions 1-6 in step 8 using Microsoft Word.

The best reports will be featured in the science showcase in C-wing.
If successful, the young redwood seedlings will be display in Mr. Stankovich's classroom.