Experiment Outline

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2014 MSU Science Festival Community ExperimentBest Lettuce Experiment

Scientists: Greater Lansing Community

1) ASK A QUESTION

What is the best lettuce cultivar for home or school use?

2) RESEARCH

  • Here is lots of information on Lettuce. There is sure lots to know!
  • There are many different lettuce cultivars. Here is some information on them.
  • Here are some things we think are important to know about lettuce:
  • And a bit about how we do science: Science Process
    1. Plant height: Tallest would indicate best because it would produce the most leaves for lunchs.
    2. Leaf Quality: The leaves that look the best are the ones we are most likely to eat.
    3. Nutrition: Which cultivar is the most nutritious.
    4. Taste: We want the lettuce that tastes the best.

3) HYPOTHESIS

  • I predict all lettuce cultivars will / will not grow the same.
  • I predict all lettuce cultivars will / will not taste the same.

4) DESIGN EXPERIMENT

  • Plant four lettuce cultivars:
  1. Baby Star
  2. Esmeralda
  3. Pacheco
  4. Simpson Elite
  • Containers: 2" diameter, square cells. (provided)
  • Soil: standard greenhouse potting media. (provided)
  • Fertilizer: do not add any fertilizer to the growing lettuce cultivars.
  • Light / Temperature: Grow lettuce cultivars in a window sill where they get plenty of light.
  • Watering: water lettuce when the soil looks / feels dry.
  • Data collection: collect data weekly.
  • Experiment Duration: 5 weeks

5) COLLECT DATA

Record your data on the data sheets that you were given at the beginning of this experiment (when you got the supplies).
You can also download a copy by clicking here.

Once you have collected data you can upload your data to our Science Festival Best Lettuce Experiment Community Database.
We suggest you measure and upload data weekly.

To determine the "best lettuce" we are going to measure these five things:

Plant Growth (height)

Measure weekly in weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
  1. Measure the height of your lettuce, from the soil to the top of the leaves. Please measure in centimeters (cm). Record your data on your data sheets.
  2. Upload your data: Click on the Upload Data page in the right hand navigation OR you can click here to go directly to the data upload form.

Leaf Description: What do the leaves look like?

Record this data on your data sheets only. This information will not be uploaded.

Leaf Quality

Measure weekly in weeks 2, 3, 4, and 5.
  1. Rate the quality of your lettuce leaves using the 1-5 rating scale below: Record your rating on your data sheets.
    • 1 = Unacceptable - Leaves brown, shriveled, dying
    • 2 = Poor - Leaves have some dead / brown spots
    • 3 = Average - Leaves look OK, but are nothing special
    • 4 = Good - Leaves appear healthy, good color and no damage
    • 5 = Outstanding - Leaves look GREAT! Just looking at these leaves makes you want to eat them!
  2. Upload your data: Click on the Upload Data page in the right hand navigation OR you can click here to go directly to the data upload form.

Nutrition Data:

  1. Take photos of your lettuce in weeks 3 and 5.
  2. Upload your data: Click on the Upload Data page in the right hand navigation OR you can click here to go directly to the data upload form.

Taste Data:

Measure in week 5 only!
  1. Taste a leaf of each lettuce cultivar and rate the taste using the 1-5 scale below: Record your ratings on your data sheets.
    • 1 = Terrible - Disgusting! I need to spit this out!
    • 2 = Poor - I didn't spit it out, but I don't want to eat it again!
    • 3 = Average - Not bad, not great, either
    • 4 = Good - I would eat this again (maybe with a little ranch dressing)
    • 5 = Outstanding - I LOVE the flavor. I will definitely eat this again!
  2. Upload your data: Click on the Upload Data page in the right hand navigation OR you can click here to go directly to the data upload form.

6) EXPLAIN DATA


So... what does all your hard work tell you? What does it all mean?

Answer these questions on your data sheets.

Here are some question to guide you as you think about your data and explain it.
Does your plant growth data support your hypothesis about lettuce cultivar growth?
Explain why it does or does not.

Does your taste data support your hypothesis about lettuce cultivar taste?
Explain why it does or does not.


Next let's decide which Lettuce cultivar is the best for lunches:


Look at just the plant growth (height) data. What is the tallest Lettuce cultivar?


Look at just the leaf quality data. What Lettuce cultivar has the highest leaf quality rating?


Look at just the nutrition data. What is the most nutritious cultivar?


Look at just the taste data. What Lettuce cultivar has the highest taste rating?


Overall, using all the data we have collected - Height, quality, nutrition and taste: What is the overall best lettuce cultivar for lunches? Explain why you think that.

Upload your Final recommendations:


7) ASK NEW QUESTIONS

Based on everything you did and thought about, what new questions do you have?



What should the next Lettuce Cultivar experiment be?