Experimental Design Diagram

November 29, 2010

A Re-look at my procedure:

1. Go to your plot of land
2. find a starting point right on the water and take a sample.
3. Label the sample
4. back up 10 feet and take a sample exactly 10 ft away.
5. Label the sample
6. repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have reached 40 ft away from water
7. take all of your samples and put them into small cups
8. measure the cups and record your data
   
   
   
9. put the cups into the incubator  and leave there for a week
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. remeasure the cups and divide your first data with the second data.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. Record your percents
12. DO G-J of the EDD
    
    
    Conclusion 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    1. 1. 
          

    
    
    

    1. 1. Our Data does not support our hypothesis. We thought that in the woods there would be more moisture because the sun cannot reach the soil as easily, when in reality the field had way more water than the woods. The woods had a barrier between itself and the pond. This prevented flooding throughout the woods. The pond was on the same elevation as the field, so flooding happened quite quickly.

    
    
    

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         If you look at the picture above you can see that my plot (#1) was for sure at one point a pond or lake. That would explain when my percents of water in the soil is so much hight than aubrey's (#2) which was a forrested area. The data table supports this because my data(the purple line) has way higher percents than aubrey's (the blue line.) This shows that my plot of land is way more susceptible for obtaining water. 
         If I were to do this experiment again I would have done it over a period of time instead of just one day. I would have done the trials once a week, instead of once. Another fun experiment would be comparing the moisture in the field on days it rained compared to days it did not rain.
    

    

    
    
    
    
         We also want to keep an eye on the field by the pond, and see it is considered a wet meadow. A wet meadow is a seasonal wetland that has water logged soil. This would change our conclusion because if it was a wetland it would have more moisture than a regular field.
    
    
    
    
    
    http://www.unep.or.jp/Ietc/Publications/Freshwater/FMS7/13.asp
    
    
    
    
    
    
    This whole underlining pazazz is making me mad! Why won't it ununderline?!?!?! I DON'T KNOW!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

November 22, 2010 @ 5:00

(visit #7)

weather: overcast, rained earlier  

temperature:65 degrees F

winds: 5 mph

length of day: 9.31 hours

Today when I went to my plot it was very gloomy and dreary. There was no sun, and everything looked dark. There was a lot of mud from the rain, but I didn't notice any flooding from the lake, which I was expecting. I still heard some birds, although I did not see them, nor any other wild life. In the post below I answered my question for the EC, and also asked a few more. 

Me on my plot of land

Very dark and cloudy today :(

A closer look at my plot:

sinks?

What is this? I noticed it has changed colors in the past few weeks 

Finally, our little bridge is above water!

Why is this branch red? What makes it red?

There's lots of random junk laying around...

EC: tannins: comes from the technical word 'tanning.' It is found in tree bark, wood, leaves, and roots. They are usually found in yellowish or light brown masses like powered, flakes or sponge. 

http://www.herbs2000.com/h_menu/tannins.htm

The website below describes tannins in an area a lot like mine. It looks like the "pollution" i saw could easily be tannins. The tannins most likely came from the wetlands around the pond, and made its way into the water. The tannins could also be from the neighboring woods. Tannins create a yellowish or brownish color in the pond. Tannins are most easily described as decomposing organic materials. 

http://pearl.maine.edu/windows/community/Water_Ed/Color/Co_whatisit.htm

November 15, 2010 @ 4:05pm

(visit #6)

weather: chilly, partly cloudy 

temperature:53 degrees F

winds: 0 mph

length of day: 9.45 hours

Woah! It has been a long time since i've last visited this place. It has definitely gotten colder. The air has a more sharp frigid feel to it than it has in the past. Getting closer to winter and the first real snow fall for sure. For as cold as it was the sun was sure shining. I got some beautiful pictures of the sun. The sun created a golden tint on everything; the ground, the water, and the trees. I didn't notice any wildlife, except a lone bird or two in the sky. I did notice that the water looked a bit polluted :( 

October 25, 2010 @ 4:17pm 

(visit #5)  

weather: fair, cloudy 

temperature:67 degrees F

winds:5 mph

length of day: 10.37 hours

After the previous nights rain the water was super high again. The field was swamped, and it was hard to find places to walk. The trees in the woods were bare this week. Its amazing how one week the trees can be so full of color, and the next to bare and dead looking. It was fun to listen to the dead leaves crunch beneath my feet. I found a big fuzzy caterpillar in the woods today(: It was a lot of fun to play with. I also saw a bird off in a distance. it was pretty big, but I'm not sure what kind it was. Also, there were clowns. Who woulda known. They were spying on me. It was kinda creepy, but no worries they were just young boys. What can you do with them?!?! haha

October 11, 2010 @ 4:15pm 

(visit #4)  

weather: sunny

temperature: 78 degrees F

winds: 8 mph winds 

length of day: 12.12 hours

Another amazingly warm day for October. I'm loving the sun. Today when I went to my plot of land it was really flooded. More flooded than it has ever been, which is weird because we haven't had heavy rain lately. Today I heard it frog, but couldn't find it :( I saw a few fish in the pond and thought that was cool. They were about the length of my hand. I also saw that water bug again, and am really curious as to what it is. 

You can tell that it is October when your in the woods. There are shades of red, yellow and orange everywhere. Walking through the woods I could hear the dead leaves below my feet. 

September 30,2010 @ 4:20pm 

(visit #3)  

weather: cloudy, not alot of sun

temperature: 65 degrees F

winds: 8.1 mph winds 

length of day: 11.47 hours

Today when I went to my plot of land I noticed that the water levels from the last storm had down a little bit, but it was still pretty flooded. Our walk way/bridge was completely emerged in water. I had to get my feet wet again. Standing out there I heard birds and rustling in the woods. Im assuming it was some kind of rodent, or cat. There are a few stray cats that walk around this area. 

September 23,2010 @ 4:17pm 
(visit #2)  


weather: partly cloudy, very humid
temperature: 84 degrees F
winds: 23 mph winds 
length of day: 12.10 hours


   This was my second visit to my plot of land. The storms from 2 nights ago (September 21) left the field overflowed. I wasn't prepared for walking through a swampy field. I should have worn rain boots, not flip flops. While walking a big 6 legged insect hopped across the water. I didn't get a very close look at it, but it looked about the length of my pinky, and had a fat body. I noticed that this picture looks way less colorful than the one before. There were still a few purple flowers in the field but not near as many as last week. This may also be due storm a few nights ago. The winds were pretty strong, and they easily could have been destroyed. 

EDD (experimental design diagram)

1. State your question. How is the moisture in the soil going to change if you are going away from the water towards the woods and not towards the woods?
2. Make a prediction showing what you think will happen in the experiment. If the water moisture in the soil changes according to the the surroundings around it, then we know that moisture decreases in crowded areas, because there is less sunlight. I also predict that the moisture levels in the fields will be higher than in the woods.

If…(something happens) Then…(what is the outcome) Because…(why you think this)

3. Create a data table.

1. When making a data table, follow the example given and be sure that…
2. It has a brief descriptive title in the form of “(dependent variable) DEPENDS ON (independent variable)”
3. The first column is for the independent variable(distance form pond), the one you are changing.
4. The next column(s) are for trials of the dependent variable(moisture)
5. The last column is for the best value (average) of the dependent variable.
6. The columns of data begin with a label naming the variable and the units in which it is measured. Be sure to include the units of the variables, as shown below.
7. The data are entered as numbers only.
8. The last row should contain the source of the data.
   
   
   
   
   
   1. List 5 controlled variables.
   - tempurature
   -amount of soil sample
   -constant distance (always 10 ft.)
   -soil samples taken at same time
   -as much soil as you can-- no plants ect.
   
   
   2. List the materials needed for the experiment.
   -shovel
   -baggies
   -pen (to label samples)
   -measuring tape
   -small cups for samples
   -scale
   
   
   3. Write out a step-by-step procedure for carrying out the experiment.
   *Someone should be able to repeat your experiment from your procedure. Most good procedures will have a series of pictures that SHOW how to do the experiment.
   1. Go to your plot of land
   2. find a starting point right on the water and take a sample.
   3. Label the sample
   4. back up 10 feet and take a sample exactly 10 ft away.
   5. Label the sample
   6. repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have reached 40 ft away from water
   7. take all of your samples and put them into small cups
   8. measure the cups and record your data
   9. put the cups into the incubator (right name?) and leave there for a week
   10. remeasure the cups and divide your first data with the second data.
   11. Record your percents
   12. DO G-J of the EDD

"Map B"

September 13,2010 @ 4:13pm 
(visit #1)  


weather: very sunny, no clouds
temperature: 73 degrees F 
winds: 10.4 mph winds 
length of day: 12.36 hours


   This was the first visit that I made to my plot of land. It was a gorgeous day, and perfect for being outside. There were lots of mosquitos in the woods and I got many bites :/ There were frogs hopping in long grass making it rustle. I saw a horsefly and many other insects. The only downside of my location is how close it is to the highway and other main roads. I can constantly hear cars.