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Project preface: A large group discussion began within the context of a NY state Regents Physics classroom centered around the interconnectedness of the science disciplines of biology, chemistry, earth sciences and physics, the traditional core areas of high school science education. Initially students held a majority opinion that each science field was unique and separate from the others. Students offered examples that were discussed that included rock formation, nutrition, reproduction, natural selection energy, plants, animals, atom structure, weather, and other familiar areas of study. Each student example had been intended to be illustrative of the uniqueness of the specialty area, to counter the idea of all disciplines relating to most phenomenon. Through dialog and verbal dissection, student opinion changed. The vast majority had developed a broader vision of science, as an interconnected whole, rather than unrelated pieces. Genuine interest and debate was most evident centering on the idea of natural selection, a topic foreign to the typical physics classroom. Consensus held that for a seed bearing plant to successfully propagate, seeds must be dispersed beyond the competitive vicinity of the parent plant. Immediately recognized was the role of physical forces in the varied mechanisms of dispersion. Mechanisms discussed included gravity, wind, water, animal transport by fruit consumption and excretion, animal transport by physical seed adhesion and animal transport by hording. An unrefined research question emerged from this discussion that related the laws of physics to biological success. What physically quantifiable trait could be studied that would yield data that could be compared from a variety of species, even between different classes? Seed examples were harvested by all students during several class excursions to nearby wild areas and from student's individual collection in the vicinity of their own homes within the school district bounds. Over one hundred different species' seeds were sampled and displayed within the classroom. Close observation of seed characteristics and dispersion mechanisms led to classification by similar seed structure. Student discussion about the research task occurred during portions of the next several lab classes, focusing on how the physics of the seeds could be studied related to dispersion. Limitations of testing equipment, time, skill, and scope of study were also addressed. As student understanding of basic physical concepts grew during this planning time, data collection methods, choice of data to be collected and the mathematical/graphical analysis to be conducted became clear to the group. Student consensus limited their investigations to two seed types, both using gravity and aerodynamic physical traits for seed dispersion. Winglet shaped samara seeds and tufted pappus seeds were chosen, dividing the two seed types by lab section for separate group investigation. Students refined the research to address two main questions:
The winglet samaras samples tested included:
The tufted pappus samples tested included:
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