In this unit, we are trying to decide what species belong on our land. We have been studying the effects of different disturbances in the area and learned about tropic webs and biomass. We have learned bout the scientific process and we have all learned about different species and how they react after a disturbance.
Forest Fire Models
Background
During the first semester in biology class at Animas, we have been studying the different species that are common around our area here in the San Juans, and how they react to disturbances in their environment. A disturbance in an environment is any disruption or change both natural and man made. A disturbance can be a lot of different things; including, drought, mudslides, a dam in a river, an avalanche, forest fire, and many others. Some disturbances can make it more likely for another type of disturbance to happen. Some examples of this are, fires burning trees making them less capable of holding soil in place during a rainstorm, therefore rising the risk of a mudslide, or a dam in a river will probably cause a flood in the area around the river bank.
The goal of this project, was to present models of how drought affects the size of a wildfire in a forest of 150 trees.
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis was that if we add different amounts of water to each of the models, then the model that received the most water would have the smallest fire, resulting in the least amount of burnt trees.
Materials
3-12x12 pie tins, 450 matches, dirt, and a spray bottle with water.
Method
For this project, we were put into groups of 3. My group consisted of: Rogan, Luca, and myself.
In each of the pie tins, we placed one inch of dirt covering the entire bottom of the tin. Then we randomly placed 150 matches straight up (with the flammable end up) in each tin. Then using the spray bottle, we applied a different amount of water to each tin by holding the spray bottle above the matches and the dirt and spraying water straight down to simulate rain. Tin number 1 had no added water, tin number 2 had 10 sprays of the water, tin number 3 had 25 sprays. Once all the tins were set up, we lit 1 match in the bottom left corner of each of the three tins.
Results
56 matches burned in tin number 1,
63 matches burned in tin number 2,
97 matches burned in tin number 3.
Conclusion
The results that we received from this experiment were not what we expected, and were the complete opposite of our hypothesis. As we observed the fires behavior we realized that we had made a big mistake. We had randomly placed the matches in each tin. As it turned out, the matches in tin number 3 were more closely spaced than in tin number 2, and the matches in tin number 2 were more closely spaced than in tin number 1. If we wanted a more accurate idea of what would happen to the fire due to different moisture levels we would want to place the matches in each tin using a template so that the matches are in the same exact place in each of the tins. This will also help because we can light a match in the same place in each tin. If we do this, then all the variables will be the same except for the amount of moisture in each tin. This guaranties that we are testing only one variable and will be a better representation to test our hypothesis.
During the first semester in biology class at Animas, we have been studying the different species that are common around our area here in the San Juans, and how they react to disturbances in their environment. A disturbance in an environment is any disruption or change both natural and man made. A disturbance can be a lot of different things; including, drought, mudslides, a dam in a river, an avalanche, forest fire, and many others. Some disturbances can make it more likely for another type of disturbance to happen. Some examples of this are, fires burning trees making them less capable of holding soil in place during a rainstorm, therefore rising the risk of a mudslide, or a dam in a river will probably cause a flood in the area around the river bank.
The goal of this project, was to present models of how drought affects the size of a wildfire in a forest of 150 trees.
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis was that if we add different amounts of water to each of the models, then the model that received the most water would have the smallest fire, resulting in the least amount of burnt trees.
Materials
3-12x12 pie tins, 450 matches, dirt, and a spray bottle with water.
Method
For this project, we were put into groups of 3. My group consisted of: Rogan, Luca, and myself.
In each of the pie tins, we placed one inch of dirt covering the entire bottom of the tin. Then we randomly placed 150 matches straight up (with the flammable end up) in each tin. Then using the spray bottle, we applied a different amount of water to each tin by holding the spray bottle above the matches and the dirt and spraying water straight down to simulate rain. Tin number 1 had no added water, tin number 2 had 10 sprays of the water, tin number 3 had 25 sprays. Once all the tins were set up, we lit 1 match in the bottom left corner of each of the three tins.
Results
56 matches burned in tin number 1,
63 matches burned in tin number 2,
97 matches burned in tin number 3.
Conclusion
The results that we received from this experiment were not what we expected, and were the complete opposite of our hypothesis. As we observed the fires behavior we realized that we had made a big mistake. We had randomly placed the matches in each tin. As it turned out, the matches in tin number 3 were more closely spaced than in tin number 2, and the matches in tin number 2 were more closely spaced than in tin number 1. If we wanted a more accurate idea of what would happen to the fire due to different moisture levels we would want to place the matches in each tin using a template so that the matches are in the same exact place in each of the tins. This will also help because we can light a match in the same place in each tin. If we do this, then all the variables will be the same except for the amount of moisture in each tin. This guaranties that we are testing only one variable and will be a better representation to test our hypothesis.
Semester Project
For our semester project in biology, we were all split in to pairs. My group was me and Rogan.
We were asked to pick an animal or a desturbance that are common around the La Plata county area. My partnere and I chose to recearch the bobcat. Each group was told to present their project 1 of 4 ways,
Childrens book
Adults informatinal book
Card game
Poster
My partner and I chose to make a informatinal adult book. to do this we made a slideshow so that we can make the book online on slides, then we could print it into the form of a little booklet. We messed around with the formating of the slideshow until we got it right then we printed the slideshow. We trimed of the white edges of the book, then stapled and glued an equal amount of the left edge of each slide to the others making it into a book. We thought we were done after this so we got it reveiwed by a classmate, and got all his feedback and realized we had a lot of work left to do. after two times of receiving feedback and revising our slideshow, we printed it for the last time. I have included a link to the slidshow below please cheak it out.
We were asked to pick an animal or a desturbance that are common around the La Plata county area. My partnere and I chose to recearch the bobcat. Each group was told to present their project 1 of 4 ways,
Childrens book
Adults informatinal book
Card game
Poster
My partner and I chose to make a informatinal adult book. to do this we made a slideshow so that we can make the book online on slides, then we could print it into the form of a little booklet. We messed around with the formating of the slideshow until we got it right then we printed the slideshow. We trimed of the white edges of the book, then stapled and glued an equal amount of the left edge of each slide to the others making it into a book. We thought we were done after this so we got it reveiwed by a classmate, and got all his feedback and realized we had a lot of work left to do. after two times of receiving feedback and revising our slideshow, we printed it for the last time. I have included a link to the slidshow below please cheak it out.