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AHS Supports Regional Science & Engineering Fairs (continued)
SARSEF (continued)
Grades 6–8. Jeannie Wilkening, a sixth-grader, hypothesized that groundwater that is contaminated with nitrate might be cleaned up by bacterial action without pumping it and treating it at the surface. Her project was titled “Water woes — does providing a suitable environment for bacteria in an aquifer help clean nitrates and nitrites out of groundwater?” To test her hypothesis, she built several small model aquifers using disposable aluminum baking pans and small hoses that recirculated water. One “aquifer” was used as the experiment control with only nitrate added. To the other aquifers she also added bacteria. Test strips were used to maintain the right balance of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia in the water. Her data showed that the addition of bacteria could reduce the nitrate concentration. Jessie Hampton, a seventh-grader, tested the types of roofing material best suited for water harvesting in her project entitled “Which roofing is best for water harvesting?” She hypothesized that metal roofing would show the greatest amount of water harvested because metal has low absorbency and the smoothest surface. The results showed that metal resulted in greater runoff than shingles, cement tile, and roof coating. Lyda Harris, an eighth-grader, tested the effects of gray water on mini-ecosystems in her project titled “Down the drain.” The mini-ecosystems consisted of soil, earthworms, and plants. The plants consisted of Spider, Sweet Marjoram, and Lemon Balm. The results showed that tap water resulted in the plants growing faster and taller. However, plants watered with gray water still thrived.
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