Northern Virginia Regional Science and Engineering Fair
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NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR March 16-17, 2019 Wakefield High School Arlington, VA TABLE OF CONTENTS (AS) Animal Sciences ................................................................................................................................ 2 (BE) Behavioral and Social Sciences ......................................................................................................... 10 (BI) Biochemistry .................................................................................................................................... 36 (CH) Chemistry ....................................................................................................................................... 47 (EN) Engineering .................................................................................................................................... 93 (EV) Environmental and Earth Sciences .................................................................................................. 132 (MC) Mathematics and Computer Sciences .............................................................................................183 (ME) Medical and Health Sciences ..........................................................................................................197 (MI) Microbiology .................................................................................................................................. 205 (PH) Physics and Astronomy .................................................................................................................. 222 (PS) Plant Sciences ................................................................................................................................ 250 NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2019 1 (AS) ANIMAL SCIENCES 7 AS 100 Hanna, Andrew Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School How Musical Vibrations Affect Hermit Crabs? The purpose of the experiment was to find if crabs have similar logistical systems compared to humans. This was tested by exposing the crabs to different levels of music (Heavy Metal, Hip- Hop, and Classical) Then, it would be seen if they would react like most normal humans. The crabs were then put about 6 inches away from the Oontz speaker (connected via Bluetooth to a phone) and played each song, waiting for the crabs to hide in their shell or move away from the sound. This was done to each crab every day. The major findings were exactly as expected. At the heavy metal level the average time it took each hermit crab to hide was a short 8 seconds. It was the level that made the crabs hide the fastest. For the Hip-Hop level. It took an average of 48.3 seconds to make each crab hide. As I expected, this was the one that didn’t make the crabs hide much faster or much slower. It was just in the middle. Finally, for the classical level, the crabs hid at a slow 94 seconds. This was the slowest and most likely, compared to crab standards, the least threatening, Heavy Metal being the most threatening, and Hip-Hop being in between them. NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2019 2 (AS) ANIMAL SCIENCES 7 AS 101 Pick, Casey H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program Do Slugs Understand Incentive? The experiment was conducted to see if slugs can control their speeds when they want to reach a reward. The research question for the experiment was whether slugs understand incentive. The hypothesis was that when slugs have food at the end of a tube, they will go through the tube faster than without food. This is because food is a positive stimulus. A slug was put at one end of the tube and was timed on how long it took to get to the other end. The procedure was repeated with food at the other end. The tube was a standard paper towel roll and the food was a cucumber. The results were that the food did nothing to incentivize the slugs. This may be because they were well fed at the time, or preferred to explore their surroundings. NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2019 3 (AS) ANIMAL SCIENCES 7 AS 102 Albaugh, Tucker; Green, Felix Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School Salt Affecting Brine Shrimp Our experiment that we were testing is how does the concentration of salt in water affect how many brine shrimp eggs hatch and live for a day. We had 4 different independent variables. They were 3.5%, 2%, 5% and 6%. The purpose of this experiment was to find how the rising salt levels of the ocean will affect brine shrimp and its population. We measured how many brine shrimp survived by taking them out of the hatchery and hand counting. We conducted the experiment by weighing the water and then weighing the salt to find the salinity. In the first 3 levels of salt the number of Brine Shrimp increased but when the shrimps were placed in 6% they decreased. Something that we realized from studying our graphs was that our data was not scattered. Another thing we realized was that in trial 4 the 5% salinity the most amount of shrimps hatched (with 69.3% hatched) . We also realized that the 2% ( which had a hatch rate of 65%) and the 3.5% (which had a hatch rate of 66.4%) the amount of shrimps that hatched in the 4 trials were very similar. Our data supported our hypothesis was supported until we reached 6% salt (only 61% hatched) . Our experiment can relate to the information we already knew because brine Shrimp are exceptionally tolerant to high levels of salt in the water. NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2019 4 (AS) ANIMAL SCIENCES 7 AS 103 Howard, Emilia; Rodgriguez, Mia Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School Does Temperature Affect Development of Mealworms? Have you ever wondered how temperature affects development? Well, we wondered this and studied the development of mealworms. The purpose of our experiment was to see how the temperature played a role in the development of mealworms. We tested this by placing three sets of 33 mealworms in three different temperatures (1.6 C, 20 C, 28 C). After we observed them each day and wrote down when each set became a pupa, then the adult (beetle); we created a graph to help understand the different rates they developed at. The overall conclusion of this experiment was that the increase in temperature makes development happen faster. The graphs showed that the heater and regular room were ahead of the normal amount of time it takes for the larva to become pupa (12 days). The heater set developed on day 6 and the regular room set developed on day 9. This data leads to conclude that development isn’t always one day, development is over time. Day 6 and day 9 were both days that the larva fully developed into pupa but before they were already progressing into this stage. The graphs also showed that the refrigerated mealworms were behind the normal speed. This set of mealworms developed at a much slower rate over time and leads to conclude that in colder environments mealworms develop slower. NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2019 5 (AS) ANIMAL SCIENCES 7 AS 104 Kappler, Rachel; Gehrke, Kathryn H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program Are Mixed Breed Dogs Smarter than Purebred Dogs? Are Mixed Breed dogs smarter than Purebred dogs? The hypothesis of the experiment was that mixed breed dogs would be smarter than purebred dogs, because they have both of their parents talents. For example a mix between a sheepdog and a golden retriever would be able to swim well and herd well, in other words receive the best of both parents’ talents. The hypothesis was tested by sending three purebred dogs and three mixed breed dogs through a series of IQ tests, from calling out “movies”, “refrigerator”, and the dog’s name, to setting up a series of obstacles or puzzles for the dog to solve in order to get the treat. The motivation for this project was both of the researchers’ love for dogs. Many people believe purebred dogs or mixed breed dogs are smarter, and this experiment attempted to figure out which of these theories are accurate. All in all, on average purebred dogs performed better (or were “smarter”) than mixed breed dogs. The hypothesis was not supported by the data. NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2019 6 (AS) ANIMAL SCIENCES 8 AS 105 Porter, Sarah George Washington Middle School Fruit Flies on a Sugar High: The Effect of Sugar and Alternative Sweeteners on Fruit Flies's Lifespan and Reproductive Rate Fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, are useful organisms when it comes to assisting scientists with research on reproduction, genetics and nervous system development due to their short lifespan, rapid reproduction rates, and ability to show genetic mutations over a short number of generations. Studying the impact of a fruit fly’s diet on its lifespan and reproduction has allowed scientists to better understand hunger, cravings and, ultimately, weight gain and obesity in humans. The fruit flies’ reaction to artificial sweeteners could provide insight into similar impacts on the human population, especially considering that human fertility has declined over the last 50 years. This experiment sought determine how long fruit flies would live on a diet of sugar and yeast in comparison to sugar alternatives, such as high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. The experiment used three mason jars of soda mixed with yeast, and 10 fruit flies, equally divided among male and female, were placed into each jar. Each jar was secured with paper to allow for oxygen, and they were examined daily to determine whether the fruit fly population increased or