Table of Content

Introduction Assignment (Report Writing) Problem statement Purpose Hypothesis Variables Operational Definition Materials/ Apparatus Procedure Figure Results Data Interpretation and Analysis Discussion Precautions Conclusion

References Reflection

Introduction In curriculum specification of primary school Science (2005), plants need sufficient water and suitable soil to grow (Year 2); plants basic needs include water, air and sunlight in order to live (Year 4). Geographic curriculum specification KBSM (2001; Form 1) discusses about climate factor that affect the types of plants in certain place. In curriculum specification KBSM of Biology (Form 4), students study about the factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis which including temperature factor. However, there is no specification on the effect of temperature on the fruits production of plants. According to a research done by Adams et al. (2001), plants grown at 26 C had a poor appearance and by the end of their experiment, approximately 40% of the terminal meristems were blind. Meanwhile, plants grown at 22 C and 18 C produced normal fruits and had a normal canopy structure, whereas growth was greatly reduced at 14 C and trusses had many flowers that were prone to splitting. With referring to the information collected from reading and searching, I identified the problem and suggest a hypothesis. And, based on the reading, I planned the procedures and drew out a figure to clarify the procedures. Finally, based on the results given, I tabulated and interpreted the data together with inferring and making conclusion. All the variables are controlled and stated. Finally, this assignment also clearly indicates all the science process skills or in other words manipulating skills which are essential for experimenting. I am sure that this report can become a good reference for further study and reference.

Assignment Experiment Report Problem Statement Is surrounding temperature a factor that affects the number of chilies that grow on chili plant?

Purpose To investigate the relationship between surrounding temperature with the number of chilies those grow on chili plant.

Hypothesis Chili plant produces the most chilies (fruit) in room temperature, 21 24 C.

Variables Manipulated: Temperature. Responding: Number of chilies (fruit) that grow on the plant. Controlled: Light intensity, content of nutrient, frequency of watering.

Operational Definition Number of chilies that grow on the plants represents the productivity of the plants.

Materials/ Apparatus 6 chilies seedlings (plant), 6 pots, soil irrigated with complete nutrient solution, watering can, 6 transparent chambers constructed from Kuvex and Perspex (1m 1m 2m), heat exchangers connected to glycol chilling unit, thermometers.

Procedure 1. 6 chili seedlings which were raised in pots with complete nutrient solution in a greenhouse were selected for uniformity and then moved into a growth room. 2. The chili seedlings were placed in 6 transparent chambers respectively which were connected to glycol chilling unit from the base. 3. Conditioned air was blown into the base of the chambers and vented via a hole at the top. 4. The temperature of the air passing into the chambers was measured continuously and was manipulated by heating exchangers connected to glycol chilling unit to maintain the desirable temperature of 8 C, 12 C, 16 C, 18 C, 22 C and 24 C. 5. The amount and frequency of watering together with light intensity were given equally to all the plants throughout the whole experiment for 30 days. 6. The number of chilies (fruit) grew on the plants were calculated and recorded after 30 days. 7. The data was tabulated and interpreted.

Figure

Thermometer Transparent chamber Chili plant Hole Soil with complete nutrient Chilling unit

Air flow out

Air flow in connected

Figure: Set-up of chili plant placed in a chamber connected to temperature manipulating system.

Results Temperature (C) 8 12 16 18 22 24 Number of Chilies Grew on Plant 4 10 14 18 24 16

Table: Number of chilies grew on plant in different surrounding temperature.

Data Interpretation and Analysis

Number of Chilies Grew against Temperature

30 Number of Chilies Grew 25 20 15 10 5 0 8 12 16 18 Temperature/ C 22 24

Graph 1: Bar chart of number of chilies grew against temperature. Analysis: From the bar chart, we can observe that the number of chilies grew on the plant increases from the temperature of 8 C to the highest at 22 C, after that it decreases at the temperature of 24 C. The bars of different length form a hill slope where the highest peak is at the middle and the lowest is at the beginning of the hill. The analysis above supports the hypothesis that the chili plants produce the most chilies at the room temperature, 21 C 24 C.

Number of Chilies Grew Against Temperature

30 Number of Chilies Grew 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 5 10 15 20 Temperature/ C 25 30

Graph 2: Line graph of number of chilies grew against temperature. Analysis From the line graph, we can observe that the line which represents the number of chilies grew on the plant, rises from the temperature of 8 C to the highest at 22 C. After that, it drops at the temperature of 24 C. The line forms a bell shape (sigmoid curve) which indicates that the optimum temperature for the chili plants to produce chilies is 22 C. The analysis above supports the hypothesis that the chili plants produce the most chilies at the room temperature, 21 C 24 C.

Discussion 1. Based on the background research and reading, the room temperature is ranging from 21 C to 24 C (Wikipedia). The median of the range is 22.5 C. From the results, the optimum temperature is 22 C. This proves the accuracy of the experiment.

2. In humans body, hormone works the best in body temperature of 27 C. In plants, the hormones such as auxin involved in fruits yielding work the best in room temperature. Thus, the work (fruit grew) decreases with the drop or rise from the optimum temperature. 3. Enzymes also work the best in optimum temperature (25 C 30 C), but they are inactive in low temperature and denatured in high temperature. 4. Fruits grew is greatly dependent on the flowers and buds produced. Thus, the plants selected should be seedlings which have no flower. 5. The set-up of the apparatus and materials together with the procedures is designed based on the research Effect of Temperature on the Growth and Development of Tomato Fruits done by Adams, Cockshull and Cave (2001).

Precautions 1. The chili seedlings are selected with uniformity so that other factors like number of leaves and height of seedlings can be fixed as constant variables. 2. The chambers were constructed transparent in order to let the sunlight to pass through for photosynthesis besides enable to examine the change of plants from day to day. 3. The chili plants must be from the same species. 4. The chilling system used should be energy-saving to save cost and be environmental friendly.

Conclusion The chili plant grows the most chilies in the optimum temperature which is room temperature of approximately 22 C. Chili plants grown below or above the optimum temperature do not produce as much chilies as the previous-mentioned condition. Hypothesis accepted.

References Adams et al (2001). Effect of Temperature on the Growth and Development of Tomato Fruits. Annals of Botany 88: 869877, 2001 doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1524, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com. Azizah Ngah Tasir, Normah Abdul Aziz (2012). HBSC2203 Tools for Learning Science. Open University Malaysia. Jalan Tun Ismail, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Curriculum Development Centre (2005). Science Year 2 and Year 4. Ministry of Education Malaysia. J.B. Cook (2012). SPM Biology Solution. SAP Publications (M) Sdn. Bhd. Shah Alam, Selangor. Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum (2001). Huraian Sukatan Pelajaran Geografi (SMR) Tingkatan 1. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia Wikimedia foundation (2013). Room Temperature. Retrieved on 30 October 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_temperature.

Reflection The procedure and the set-up of the experiment are designed based of background research. All the integrated science process skills are involved in this experiment. The skill of space-time relationship is shown by describing the change of number of chilies with the temperature within 30 days. Data is interpreted through data table, bar chart and line graph. Analysis of the graphic organizers are done and clarified. Figure is drawn to help the comprehension of readers about the apparatus set-up. Operational definition is also done to show how the productivity of a plant is determined. Hypothesis is also suggested according to the variables identified. The steps of experimenting are strictly followed. The research question is identified. Before writing the report, background research is done through reading and surfing. After constructing a hypothesis, procedures are planned and finally data collected are interpreted and analysed. This assignment helps me a lot in understanding the science process skill. And, I am looking forward for more interesting challenges.

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