spring+garden+data


 * Students collect the the tulip height data in the spring to see which garden is growing best on campus. The results answer the original question the students asked in the fall term. I ask the students to try to explain the results of the data considering the different variables in each garden. **

** Here is a two samples of a student's work: **


 * Jack M **
 * 4/8/11 **


 * 1) ** My results from early April 2011 came really close to my predictions from the fall of 2010, however, they were a little bit off. **
 * 2) ** I think the variables which played a role in the results are the temperature for air and soil. Also I think predators and whether the area is sunny or shady played a role. **
 * 3) ** I have one additional question: How many predators are at each of the different gardens? **
 * 4) ** I think we can improve the gardens by reinforcing the rule that no one should step on it and by doing more work on the weaker gardens. **
 * 5) ** The Middle School Garden and the Lower School Pick-up garden were already blooming. I think the Middle School Garden will flower first based on my observations in the school gardens. **
 * 6) ** I have seen many signs of Spring for instance at home I have plants to the side of my drive way that always bud at the beginning of Spring, and they have already budded. At school the trees at the Lower School circle are budding and are turning pink. **



P H April 11, 2011 Science reflection

1. How do your predictions from the FALL 2010 compare to the results of early April 2011? I think that my predictions were well hypothesized. My number one made it to first but my number two came in last, and my number three came in second. Overall, I think that I did a good job predicting. 2. What variables seem to be playing a role in the results? The variables that seem to be playing a role are the location of the garden and the type of soil. Plants that grow in gardens that get lots of sunlight should grow more than plants that don’t get sunlight. Plants that grow in soil that has lots of nutrients should grow more too. 3. What new questions do you have about the health of each garden? The question I have is how is the soil? We found that gardens that face the same direction didn’t have the same amount of plant growth. That means something else must have affected the growth and I wonder if it was the nutrients in the soil. 4. How do you think we can improve the gardens? One way to improve the gardens would be to make sure they are placed in a place where there is lots of sun. But since you can’t move the garden you can help the soil become more nutritious. One thing I have heard about is using compost in the soil. That is supposed to really help plants grow. 5. Which gardens have plants that are already blooming – you can see the flowers? Which gardens do you think will flower first based on your observations in the school gardens? The Suter garden with western exposure has the flowers that are already blooming. I think that the gardens that will flower first are the ones that have the best plant growth. That would be Crossman Hall NE exposure and Lower School pick-up line. 6. what other signs of spring have you seen around school, home, or anywhere around you? Other signs of spring I have seen around school and home include the flowers coming up all around my house and my mom cutting the flowers and bringing them into the house. Spring is when my dad tries to go trout fishing and the best sign of spring at Haverford is that fact that it is lacrosse season.