Scientific Question:

What is the difference in the amount of bacteriophage present between the soil surrounding newly planted trees versus the trees that are well established?

Rationale:

Under the premise of our newly defined scientific question, we collected soil samples from newly planted trees. We will compare the soil samples from age established oak trees to newly planted oak trees to see if bacteriophage are present in one or the other. We will eventually ascertain a lysate from this soil sample so we can test it through both spot tests and plaque assays for the presence of phage, to test our question.

Procedures:

• As a class, attempted to develop a question, but then as a table, we developed our own question.
• I then went out and collected a soil sample with my 15mL vial and a plastic bag so I could have extra soil. Collected the soil without touching the soil with my hands to rule out any possible contaminations from the beginning. I labeled the bag 9/5/18 ML Soil B.
• I then recorded the height measurements of the tree and recorded it onto Canvas, which I will finish entering the data gathered.
• Back in the lab, I transferred some of the soil in my 15mL vial into the bag since we only 2mL of soil in the vial. I then put everything into the plastic bag, my 15mL vial with 2mL of soil, soil B, and my three leaves.

Observations/Metadata:

The tree in which I gathered my soil samples were right in of the Baylor Science Building on 2nd Street. My trees height was roughly about 5m tall, and roughly 8m across. The trunk was roughly about 58cm, which indicates it is one of the new trees on campus. Observing the tree, trunk looked healthy, the leaves were green (only 3-10 leaves were brown), and the branches throughout the tree looked proportional. The tree looked healthy with no evidence of damage.

Conclusion/Next Step:

From the class conversation about our Scientific Question, we changed our initial point of view from a broad topic to a more narrow topic. We designed a question that was testable in our hands, and we went to gather soil. The sample that was collected will allow us to test if we have bacteriophage present in our soil/tree via spot tests and plaque assays. From this information, we will then be able to begin answering our many questions regarding the amount of bacteriophage present in recently planted trees versus trees that are well established.