The Effects of Microgravity on the Growth of Ryegrass Seeds - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Effects of Microgravity on the Growth of Ryegrass Seeds

Springfield Public Schools

Florence M.

Gaudineer

Middle School

Springfield, NJSlide2

7th Grade Team From FMG

Co-

Principal

Investigators:

David Ares

Jeremy Dash

Daniel Munoz

Co-Investigators:

Timothy Burns

Antonio

Nacci

Teacher Facilitator:

Mrs. Alison Gillen, FMG Middle SchoolSlide3

Research

Question

What are the effects of microgravity on

the growth

rate of

R

yegrass seeds?

I

n

the absence of gravity, what direction will the roots

and/or stems grow?

What We Know

Seed roots respond positively to gravity

Stems respond negatively to gravity

Ryegrass

seeds will germinate in 5-12 days on

Earth;

will that be the same in

microgravity?

Concentrated

s

alt solution can be a fixative to stop the growth of seeds.Slide4

Why This Is Important

This is a good topic to

experiment on

because plants are such an important element

in our

ecosystem, and if we can

understand how

they grow, we can start to grow plants in space.Slide5

Salt Solution

For a fixative, we used

salt,

as it triggers a hormone in the seeds which prevents it from growing. This discovery was made by

José

R.

Dinenny

, PhD Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology.

We were able to communicate with him. He was able to tell us the salt concentration we should use.

Seeds with salt solution

Seeds without salt solution Slide6

Hypothesis

If we send R

yegrass

seeds up into microgravity and give them only water, then the

grass seeds would

grow the same, because water is

a

primary signal for

the germination process. Slide7

The Fluid Mixing Enclosure

The

type of tube we are using is a

Type

3

FME:

Seeds In Growth Chamber

Water Salt Solution Slide8

Materials

The materials we are using

in the experiment are

cotton gauze, Ryegrass

seeds, water, and

concentrated salt solution.

The cotton gauze in

our growth chamber allows

the seeds to stay in place.

The salt will stop the growth

of the seeds at the end

of the experiment. Slide9

On The ISS

Nine days before the seeds come back down to

Earth

the astronauts will

release

the water clamp

,

that will start the

R

yegrass seeds growth. Then, five days after that, the

astronauts will

unclamp the concentrated salt solution into the seeds

. That will stop their growth so that nothing changes on their journey home. Slide10

Expected Results

When we performed the same experiment in the classroom, the seeds grew down towards the bottom of the tube. They also stayed very moist during the duration of the test. Since the seeds react positively to gravity, in microgravity we might see the roots possibly grow in many directions.

We expect the growth of the seeds to be about the same length because water is the biggest factor of the germination process.

We will also plan to see if the seeds remain the same color as the seeds here on Earth Slide11

Back Home

While the experiment is underway in space, we will be performing the same experiment on Earth

When

the seeds

come back,

we will compare the seeds that were in space with the ones that stayed on

Earth

. We will compare them

by:

Color

Mass

Length of the grass/stemThe length and direction of the rootSlide12

Acknowledgements

José R.

Dinenny

, PhD Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant

Biology- Technical Advisor

Funding Sources:

Springfield Public Schools

CASIS (Center for The Advancement of Science in Space)-

SSEP National

Partner