Hank Sanders Hyla Woods Blog Report

Hank Sanders Hyla Woods Write-up!!

Intro:

One of the most important things that a scientist must have before he/she does anything like an experiment or a analysis is the scientific question. The scientific question is what causes the correct set of steps to take place and the follow through of the experiment. So, what was our question? What did we ask ourselves before entering Hyla woods? Our scientific question was:

What makes an ecosystem healthy?, and How can we tell if an ecosystem is healthy?

The following shows the steps that our team took to answer the question above

 

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There were three experiments that our group conducted:

1. pH of the water
2. Turbidity of the water
3. Oxidation of the water.

The pH was around 6.5, the turbidity was 26 inches and the oxidization of the water was 14 parts per million. These facts and figures showed us that this water was extremely suitable for life. The pH portrayed that the water was filled with healthy nutrients and was a healthy mix of H2O and other healthy chemicals. The Turbidity of the water told us that the water was very clear-which is helpful for aquatic life. The oxidization of the water portrayed a healthy amount of oxygen in the water.

The other experiment was more of a long term experiment. Here, we had to collect around 45 ounces of leaves. Then we put these leaves into a mesh bag. Once we labeled the bag and placed it into the water, we took a few pictures of the area so that in a few weeks we will be able to go back and take a look at what grew in the leaves. When we came back to Hyla Woods three weeks later, we saw -- three weeks later -- that although there were very few leaves remaining after a group of sticks created a rip in our bag, there was one bug. It was a mayflie.

Class ORANGE 3 had a great time in Hyla woods. Some of the highlights were (both trips highlights) :

• The comradery of the bus on the way up to the ecosystem
• The collaboration of the experimental findings
• The atmosphere of the ecosystem (i.e. the water, the trees, the smells, etc.)
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!

Despite all the fun that we as a group had, we all experienced some challenges:

• The cold: being at Hyla Woods on the coldest day made the environment a little uncomfortable
• The water: it was super cold-making the water experiments also uncomfortable
• The utensils: our group in particular had troubles getting all of the needed materials for the experiments
• The experiments themselves: the directions were at times hard to follow forcing us to be that much more vigilant

***The process in which we conducted our experiments was also quiet interesting. (both trips -- little difference between the two findings)

For the pH, Isabella and Hank dipped the pH paper into a sample of the stream water. Then we checked the color against a color template. The color was in between 6 and 7. For the turbidity, Alex, Sujala and Nicolas took a long tube and filled it to the brim with the stream water. Then they looked through the tube to see at which height they could see the bottom of the tube-in this case they could see it at the entire 26 inches. For the oxidation of the water, Nicolas and Sujala conducted several chemical experiments on the sample stream water. They concluded that the water was 14 parts per million.

(both trips)

All the experiments led to one simple conclusion that would answer the first question of our two part scientific question: The Hyla Woods Ecosystem is a healthy ecosystem. We concluded this because:

1. The bug that were found was a mayfly. The mayfly is a very sensitive bug. If you find a sensitive bug in a ecosystem, it shows that that ecosystem is perfect for all animals
2. The pH of the creek water was close to that of 100% fresh water
3. The water had a high level of dissolved oxygen
4. The turbidity of the water was low. Animals do not like turbid water

The above facts show why, how, and what we did at Hyla Woods, the two times we visited.