1. By Alex Levy, Maggie Miller, and Lauren Gillott Biology 9 Determining the Rate of Brassica rapa Flower Development with High and Low Nutrient Levels

2. Brassica Includes: Mustard plants Cabbages Broccoli brussel sprouts Cauliflower Turnip Chinese cabbage. Cruciferae family- all of the plants have 4 flowers in the form of a crucifix.

3. Development of Brassica rapa University of Wisconsin Professor Emeritus Paul H. Williams Beneficial traits of Brassica Rapa speed in flowering reproducing quickly small sized easily grown Need to grow: Water Fertilizer Fluorescent light

4. Life Cycle of Brassica rapa Growth Pollination Flowering Reproducing Seeds Dying 6 months  5 weeks The days in the picture are approximate values only

5. Hypothesis and Purpose Hypothesis: the plants with a higher nutrient level will take fewer days to flower than the plant with the lower nutrient level. Purpose: to determine if a plant with a higher nutrient level will flower faster than a plant with a lower nutrient level.

6. Why We Chose the Dependent Variable Days to Flower Different form of measurement

7. Variables Independent Variable: the amount of nutrient in the soil (6 pieces of Osmocote per plant or 1 piece per plant) Dependent Variable: the days that is takes for the plants to flower Constant: temperature, amount of light, amount of water, amount of soil, growth environment (blue boxes), bottles grown in, and time to grow Experimental Group: all of the 96 plants in Ms. Tucker’s 9 th grade Biology classes.

8. Apparatus

9. Synopsis of Methodology Made growth boxes and growth bottles. Planted 6 seeds in a low nutrient soil and 6 seeds in a high nutrient soil. Made a chart in our lab notebooks for height, color of cotyledon, color of stem, and our dependent variable, and days to flower Took measurements for height with ruler by centimeters Once flowers were visible, we noted in days to flower chart that a seed had flowered on the appropriate day This was all recorded in our lab notebook

12. Inconclusive Results Spring Break Days 18 and 20 were added in at random Days to flower should be the same in all plants DATA

13. P = G x E Phenotype = Genotype X Environment Phenotype- appearance Genotype- genetic make up Environment- living situation

14. Conclusion Problems with the Experiment Small mistakes Spring break Plants dying Other things changed than nutrient level

15. Bibliography Encyclopedia Britannica. “brassica.” Encyclopedia Brittanica Online School Edition. Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2010.. “Facts About the Wisconsin Fast Plant.” Garden Guides. Demand Media, 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2010.. “Model organisms.” Worm Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2010.. Soccerstar. “Wisconisn Fast Plants Lab Report.” Scienceray. N.p., 19 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 Mar. 2010.. University of Wisconsin. “Fast Plants Life Cycle Seed to Seed in 35 Days.” N.d. PDF file. - - -. “History of Fast Plants.” Wisconsin Fast Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2010..

16. Bibliography "Brassica Plant Life Cycle." eHow. N.p., 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.. “ Helpful Gardening Tips.” Nature Hills Nursery. N.p., 2007. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.. Misfud, Stephen. Malta Wild Plants. HSBC, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.. "Plant List for Appalachian Flora Class." Etsu. N.p., 2004. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.. “University of Wisconsin.” FanPop. N.p., 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2010..