DYO #2: Fruit Fly Population Investigation

Problem (Question): How does the amount of female and male fruit flies affect how many adults there will be in three weeks?

Hypothesis: If (IV) we put in two females and one male with food in a vial/container, then (DV) I expect to see 323 fruit flies by the end of three weeks because since there is twice the amount of adult females, then there will be more egg production.

Background Research: In class, we read a passage based on fruit flies. I learned that after two days of becoming an adult, a female fruit fly can start laying eggs. Also, that they lay 20 eggs per day. Instead of always having sexual intercourse to make babies, they can store the males sperm. So this helps them produce a large amount of eggs in such little time.

Procedure:

• Step 1: Chose my combination. (MFF)
• Step 2: Put food in the vial
• Step 3: Put flies to sleep with flynap
• Step 4: Identify which is female and male
• Step 5: Put fruit flies in vial
• Step 6: Push stopper in the vial and put it next to your tank
• Step 7: Make weekly observations of your vial plus 2 other group vials
• Step 8: Count the # of fruit flies in the vial by putting them to sleep with flynap
• Step 9: Then feed them to the spider

Data Table and Graph: The Effect of Male and Female Fruit flies on the Number of Adults After 3 Weeks

Analysis: I observed 3 vials, each of them having 2 females and 1 male in them. At the end of 3 weeks, each vial had a different amount of adult fruit flies. Vial AGDE had 112 adults. Vial 24 had 88 adults. Vial KJH had 60 adults.

At the beginning of my experiment, I hypothesized that if I put 2 female and 1 male fruit fly with food in a vial then I expect to see 323 adults in 3 weeks. I thought this because since there was twice the amount of adult female fruit flies then there will be more egg production.

My data did not support my hypothesis because there was 260 fruit flies in total instead of 323. I was 63 fruit flies short.

This could be because maybe we messed something up in our experiment, like possibly miscounting the number of fruit flies. Or some of the larva did not hatch in time like the others, or there just wasn't as much egg production as I thought there would be.

Conclusion: In my experiment, I wanted to find out if there will be an exact number of fruit flies I predicted there to be in 3 weeks. When I got my ending result, I was a bit confused. I assumed that there was probably more males than females born, so that could have led to less production. My data did not support my hypothesis because I expected there to be 323 fruit flies by the end of 3 weeks and I got 260. Apparently, there is no sources of error in out experiment. Maybe we can try this experiment again by putting in one more female, or just hoping that there is more female adults being born. One question I would like to investigate further is if the environment effected the process of the fruit fly process.

Post 11: This Week In Science (No Impact Man)

                       No Impact Man's year long project was to have no impact to earth. He did many incredible things to have not one impact to earth. During his project, he changed many things about the way a human lives in an every day life. He used no type of transportation. Which means no driving, no trains, no cabs, no flying, anything. Only walking, biking, and/or using a scooter. He also excluded not using any power in the house, using candles for light, and giving away their TV. While being in a building, no matter how far up they had to go, they only used the stairs. When shopping for food, they went to local markets, only getting food that's from the state, and used dirt and worms to help decompose the food better and faster.
                      With his year long process, many believed that No Impact Man didn't really have any effect to earth's environment, because he is only one man. But still, he at least lowered some level of having a huge impact to our planet. He proved that if you think well enough to save earth, than you can have a positive effect on earth. He also showed that with this project of his, that most of the technology we use today isn't that essential to our lives, no matter how nice it may be. He is one man that is making earth a better place by using good resource and being positive.  
                      Personally, I think what No Impact Man was great. It even showed me that just because there are all these things out there for us to use, we don't have to choose that path. Since we know that most of this stuff is harming the place we live in and we know that there are better ways to do things, that we should act upon that. I also think that if my mother and I tried to follow in his foot steps, we wouldn't survive a week, because we love technology, which made me realize that isn't the best thing. But anyways, I think No Impact Man had a huge Impact to our earth.

Post 10: Fruit Fly Investigation Setup

                               This week, we investigated how many adult fruit flies there would be at the end of three weeks. First, we had to get at least 3 fruit flies, making up our combination. Then we put food in the vial and put them to sleep with flynap. After, we put the flies in the vial and over time we observed the changes within. After three weeks, we setup an experimental design. We included the background research, procedure, materials, etc.
                              In doing this, I learned that this experiment is not an easy one. I learned that you can tell the difference between a male and female by how the color and how big their behinds are. Also, that female fruit flies cannot start laying eggs until after 2 days. And one thing that also kind of shocked me is that no matter how much sex fruit flies have, the female can store the sperm so she can lay a certain amount of eggs. Since she can do this, that means that she can possibly go a week or two without sex even though she lays 20 eggs everyday.

                  

Post 9: This Week In Science (Fruit Flies Part 2)

                          This week in science we made graphs based on fruit flies. The graphs were based on how many adult flies there will be in 3 weeks. We also set up experiments, dividing the different parts. Ex. Hypothesis, Background Research, Procedure, Scientific Question, etc. Then we also answered questions based on which fly fruit group we picked, MMF, MFF, MMM, and FFF. We gave our opinions on how many eggs and adults we thought there will be after a certain amount of days.
                         I learned that if you put two female fruit flies and one male fruit fly in a vial, the amount of eggs will double to the amount of 40 each day. The only reason why this is a fact is because one female fruit fly lays 20 eggs a day. I also learned or remembered that when conducting an experiment, you should ALWAYS go back and double check your work for any mistakes. So that's a lesson well learned.

Post 8: This Week In Science(Fruit Flies Part 1)

                         This week in science we observed our habitat and Fruit Flies. While observing our habitats, we looked for different changes, any dead organisms, or any new organisms. In my spider habitat, I discovered a few Fruit Flies on the tank. Afterward, we looked at tubes of Fruit Flies in its four different stages. We wrote down how the Egg, Larva, Pupa, and Adult all looked with descriptions. We took down notes and read a passage based on the Fruit Fly.
                          While observing the Fruit Fly, I learned that while it's in the Larva stage, it is still able to move around and looks somewhat transparent. Also, that when metamorphosis is over, the Adult comes out by forcing its way through the anterior end. The way I learned to tell the difference between a male and female Fruit Fly is by at the bottom of their bodies. With the male, the bottom tip is more fat, round, and darker. And with the female it's lighter, smaller, and a bit pointer.

Male And Female Fruit Flies Mating.

Post 7: This Week in Science (Ecosystems)

Me and Gia in froint of our spider habitat.

                          

                       In the last 2 weeks of science, I have been working on my spider habitat. At first, we made drawings of how we wanted our spider habitat to be. A few days later, we went on a trip to a garden near the school.While we were there, my group members and I gathered up many things to put in our tank. When one of my group members, Arlene, put a snail, in the tank, I discovered that somehow, we had a garden spider. We were surprised and excited. After we were done, we walked back to the school and my teacher David, bought everyone hot chocolate. It was very good.
                         While constructing my spider habitat, I learned a few things. From observation, I learned that our spider, the Garden Spider, or the Argiope Aurantia, hardly builds any spider webs. Though when it does, its seems to be very thin, so you can't really see it. The only way you can tell where its web is is when you see it crawling to the top of the tank. Also, since I researched the Snail, I got some details on this little creature too. I learned that the Snails scientific name is Helix Aspersa. They eat decaying vegetation, fungi, linchen, and even cardboard. They are most likely found near sandy beaches, in soil, in plants, and even lakes and ponds.
                           Still, so far, I'm still unsure about a few things. I want to know why our slug died. I also want to know why the centipedes and worms we collected aren't crawling out around on the soil and moss. And I don't know if our spider will live any longer because we didn't put any insects in the tank for it to eat, though there are some flies appearing. I stil don't think it will be enought, so I'm a bit worried.

Our Lil' Spider Habitat!

Post 4: This Week In Science: "Energy Transfer"

                        



                        This week in science, I made an Energy Pyramid and a Food Chain for my animal, the Sea Turtle. In the Food Chain, I drew pictures for each abiotic and biotic source. I also drew lines to show where each organism got its energy. In the Energy Pyramid, I once again drew pictures of all the organism, especially my animal, the Sea Turtle. I included which were the producers and the consumers (primary, secondary, and teritary). In the end, I gave the percent of the amount of energy that's in each organism.
                          In the process of making my Energy Pyramid and Food Chain, I learned many things. I learned that the Sea Turtle mainly eats sea grass and algae, though they do sometimes eat fish. Also, the Teritary Consumer are the main comsumer/s at the top. The organisms at the bottom, also known as the Producer, has the most energy in its Food Chain.