SAMPLE DISCUSSIONS

EXAMPLE 1

In the experiment, the aim was to find out if the amount of water in

a container affected the rate of seed germination. The experiment

proved that it doesn’t affect the rate, as seen in the results. The

hypothesis stated that the more water there is in a container, the

faster the seeds will germinate. This was not supported as all of the

seeds germinated at the same time.

An experiment that was supposed to last for 4 days only lasted for 1,

as all of the seeds used in the experiment germinated in 20 hours.

Some of the seeds may have germinated in less than 20 hours, but

this cannot be known exactly as they germinated overnight so a close

eye could not be kept on the seeds. Because of this, the results of the

experiment are all exactly the same. To improve the investigation,

the recording of results should start earlier in the day, so that results

can be recorded to know exactly how long it takes for the seeds to

germinate. Also, the container used to put the seeds in was very

deep, so it made it hard to observe the seeds as the container was

too high. It would have made the experiment better if flat containers

were used, such as Petri dishes, were used.

Taking recordings every 2 hours would also benefit the experiment,

to ensure that the seeds won’t germinate suddenly all around the

same time and so that major changes can be easily recorded and

noticeable. Also, the amount of water placed in the containers

should be reduced, as the seeds inside the container with the 40ml

of water didn’t really need that much water and the chances of the

seeds drowning could be high. I think containers with 15ml, 20ml and

25ml of water would be a better choice.

I was not able to record which seeds germinated the

fastest. Without any difference between any of the results, not

much can be learned from this experiment except that the seeds

germinated at the same time, which I don’t think is exactly accurate

because I was not able to record overnight. The reliability of my

results is extremely low as it was not a fair test. Because I had to do

my experiment from home, I did not have 3 exact containers that I

could use to put my seeds in. One of my containers was light blue,

while the two others were dark blue. This made the experiment

unfair as the light blue container probably reflected off light.

The experiment did not come across any problems, except minor

problems such as having to forgetting to record the results by 5

minutes. 5 minutes probably wouldn’t have made a difference to the

results, but ensuring accuracy in an experiment would make the test

fairer.

Comment [j1]: Leave out

statements like this until the

conclusion

Comment [j2]: Good

improvements

Comment [j3]: Avoid

definite statements as you

can not know this, use

‘might’ or ‘may’

Comment [j4]: Container

s with 15ml, 20ml and 25ml

of water may be a better

choice

Comment [j5]: No

Pronouns

Comment [j6]: This is

good, it explains why

something is not fair or

reliable

Comment [j7]: Grammati

cal error, get someone to

proofread your work to

avoid these

Comment [j8]: There

was actually the other

problem of different

coloured containers

recorded above, the timing

of the experiment and the

height of the containers

To extend my investigation, more trials could be made to ensure

accuracy, in case a few beans die throughout the process of

recording.

More water containers with different amounts of water inside could

also be added. A container containing absolutely no water could be

included as well.

The amount of beans in a dish could be doubled just to make sure

the results are precise.

The trend of my experiment was that it the amount of water added

to the seed does not make a difference to how fast the seed

germinates, as seen through the results, which show that all of the

seeds germinated at the same time.

Comment [j9]: Many

people mentioned having

more trials, but few people

mentioned why, this was

well done here. This is

actually an improvement

rather than an extension

Comment [j10]: This is

an extension as it gives us

more varieties of the

independent variable

Comment [j11]: An

improvement, not an

extension

Comment [j12]: Well

done

EXAMPLE 2

The purpose of this investigation is to investigate and gather

information about the affection of the rate of seed germination

when the temperature of water is changed. The hypothesis of this

experiment is that if the temperature of water affects the rate of

seed germination, then the plant that is constantly watered with cold

water will germinate slower. In this investigation, the results show

that none of the seeds have germinated on the first day but most of

the seeds start to germinate on the second day and by the third day,

all of the seeds have germinated. In the cup that was watered with

cold water, 4 seeds have germinated in 24 hours and the remaining

two seeds germinated 12 hours later (36 hours). The average of this

cup is 28 hours. In the cup that was watered with tap water, none of

the seeds have germinated on the first day and in the morning of the

second day but they have all germinated on the second night (36

hours). This cup’s average is 36 hours. In the cup that was watered

with hot water, 2 seeds started to germinate in the second morning

(24 hours) and 3 more seeds germinated 12 hours later (36 hours)

and the last seed germinated in the third morning (48 hours). This

cup’s average is 34 hours.

The results of this experiment is not very reliable, all of the cups that

were used to plant the seeds were the same size and colour, the

temperature of water was the same everyday for each cup but the

amount of water for each cup was not accurate since it was

estimated instead of using a beaker or a measurement cup. Also, the

amount of sunlight was not the same for each plant everyday and

this can affect the rate of seed germination.

The results did not show a clear relationship between the

temperature of water and the rate of seed germination. Seeds that

were watered with cold water germinated the fastest; however,

seeds that were watered with tap water germinated the slowest and

seeds watered with hot water germinated moderately. Therefore, it

is not proved in the results that seeds germinate faster or slower

when the water temperature was increased or decreased.

A few problems were faced during this experiment. The first problem

was that the seeds were growing too fast and that they all grew

overnight, which does not really prove anything, so this experiment

was done again. Another problem was the decision of where the

seeds should be placed, since the seeds were put in a very sunny

place in the first trial of the experiment and they all grew overnight,

the seeds were placed in the shade on the second trial for better

Comment [j13]: No

personal Pronouns in the

whole Discussion, well done!

Comment [j14]: Good

summary of results that

includes averages

Comment [j15]: Good

points explaining why the

results are not reliable

Comment [j16]: This

statement shows that there

was no trend. It is helpful to

use the word ‘trend’ when

talking about them so that it

is easier for your teacher to

spot when you are talking

about it

Comment [j17]: You

should leave these sort of

statements until the

conclusion

results. Also, another problem was that the cotton buds underneath

the seeds were still very wet on the second day after they were

watered on the first day, so the seeds were watered every second

day in this experiment.

This investigation can be improved if the amount of water was not

estimated but measured with a beaker or a measuring cup so that

each plant receives the same amount of water. It is suggested that a

thermometer should be used to measure the temperature of the

water instead of using the person’s hands to feel it, so that the

experiment can be more accurate and reliable. Also, this experiment

can be improved if the seeds are checked every 4 hours instead of

every 12 hours so that the time of seeds germination is more precise

and accurate.

This experiment can be extended by using different types of water,

for example, distilled water, mineral water, and spring water. In this

experiment, green bean seeds from Hong Kong are used, it is

suggested this experiment to be repeated with green bean seeds

that are from other countries so that a more specific conclusion can

be made.

Comment [j18]: Mentio

ns problems and how they

were overcome

Comment [j19]: Great

use of the word ‘suggeted’.

The person is not saying that

a thermometer will

definitely improve results

but that it could be a good

idea

Comment [j20]: Two

ways to extend, increasing

the range ofteh independent

variable and examining

beans from other places to

see if they yield similar

results

EXAMPLE 3

In my experiment, I positioned the three Petri dishes at various

distances from a fan that was constantly blowing, providing each

Petri dish with a different level of airflow. My hypothesis was that

the seeds with high airflow would germinate faster than those with

low and medium airflow.

My results proved this, showing the seeds in high airflow to have

germinated faster in the five day period than the seeds at low and

medium airflow. In the five days, five of the seeds in high airflow

germinated, three seeds in the medium airflow germinated and four

seeds in the low airflow germinated. The seeds in high airflow began

to germinate very quickly, one of them germinated in less than five

hours whereas in the medium and low airflow, it took two days for a

single seed to germinate. After the high airflow, the seeds in low

airflow germinated the fastest, and the medium germinated the

slowest. Taking two days for one seed to germinate and then taking

another two days for a second seed to germinate which, compared

to the other two sets of seeds, is very slow. In high airflow, only one

seed didn’t germinate. In medium airflow, three seeds didn’t

germinate and in low airflow, two seeds didn’t germinate. It is

assumed that, if given more time, they would have all germinated.

When looking at the results, I noticed some trends. In several

occasions, it seemed that when one a seed in one level of airflow

germinated, another seed in a different airflow level would

germinate as well. For example, as you can see in the graph below on

day 5 at five o’ clock one seed had germinated form each level of

airflow more than there had been at twelve o’ clock on the same day.

Similar instances are shown on day three at twelve o’clock, a seed

from each airflow level germinated between then and five o’clock on

the previous day. Another thing I noticed is that between five o’clock

on day three and five o’clock on day four, there were no changes to

the amount of seeds germinated until twelve o’clock on day five

where, over night, a seed germinated in both the medium and low

airflow groups.

Though out my test, I was careful to eliminate any variables that

would affect the experiments reliability. One thing about the test

that I think is not as fair as I hoped is the results of the seeds in the

Comment [j21]: Pesky

personal pronouns polluting

perhaps perfect plant papers!

Comment [j22]: Save the

big news for the conclusion

Comment [j23]: Good,

this is spelling out that this

paragraph is about trends

low airflow. The seeds were set far away enough that the airflow

from the fan did not reach them very well, creating a low airflow

environment. This would have been fine except I think that the way

that the seeds were positioned affected the sunlight they each

received, meaning the low airflow seeds got more sun time. I think

the low airflow seeds germinated faster than the medium airflow

seeds purely because it got more sunlight and regardless of the

airflow because I think that the sun affects plants more than the flow

of air does. The tests for the medium and high air flow seeds were

completely reliable and were still able to give me appropriate data to

support my hypothesis. Another thing that may have affected the

experiments reliability is humidity, although I had a de-humidifier

running constantly in the room, humidity would be there naturally,

higher n some days than others which may have affected the speed

of germination. One big thing that may affect my results is that it is

not definite that the airflow was the variable that sped up the

germination, but rather the cooler temperature produced by the fan.

With the resources I had, I could not think of a way that I could test

airflow without changing the temperature.

During my experiment I had very few problems. The main one that I

had was that the cotton wool in the Petri dishes kept on flying out of

the dishes at night when the water dried and the fan blew them

away. To solve this, I placed two small clay balls in the center of the

dishes, on top of the wool. This meant that they no longer blew away.

There are quite a few ways my experiment could be improved. One

of the ways is to test more variations of airflow. Instead of having

low, medium and high airflow. I could have five different Petri dishes

and number them, one being the closest to the fan and five being the

farthest. I would also improve it by placing it in a room where the

sunlight was spread evenly to keep from repeating the results I

gained from the Petri dish in low airflow. I would also set up an

identical experiment beside it, but use a fan heater on the same

power as the fan to eliminate the possibility of the temperature

affecting the plants. I would also run the experiment for two weeks

instead of just five days to give all the seeds a chance to germinate to

get the maximum data possible.

If I were to extend my experiment I would also look into seeing the

effect of various temperatures on the seeds and how it affects

germination as this could be one of the contributing factors as to

Comment [j24]: Good

reasoning, but be careful

when making assumptions

unless you have some other

research that you can

reference that backs it up

Comment [j25]: In

particular, it would be

expected that the humidity

would be higher near the

low airflow plants as the

wind would have promoted

evaporation and dried out

the cotton wool near the fan

first. An observation about

this would have been good

to record.

Comment [j26]: You

might have been able to find

some information if you

researched this. Fans only

make us feel cool because

they take the air, warmed by

our bodies, and strip it away

from where it hangs around

next to our skin and by

increasing evaporation. If

you had covered the dishes

so that evaporation could

not occur, the fan should not

have affected the

temperature of the seeds as

the seeds don’t produce

heat of their own. Of course

then the wind would have

no affect at all on the seeds!

Comment [j27]: The

different sunlight you

mentioned before was also a

problem

Comment [j28]: Or you

could do it in a dark room.

Sunlight is not essential for

germination

Comment [j29]: Wouldn’

t the closer seeds be hotter?

why the high airflow (and lower temperature) seeds germinated

faster. I would also look into how airflow affects the height and

condition of the plants if I had longer to do the experiment. This

would be so I could get data on whether high airflow affects the

actual plants and not just the speed at which they germinate.

Comment [j30]: This is

great because you are

applying something that you

noticed as a problem and

thinking of ways that you

could test if it is the case