SIP Appendix D

APPENDIX D
Science Investigative Project
Project Proposal Form
Name: Victoria Goh ( 30 ) Sec 2/10

Topic of investigation :
Effect of concentration of vinegar on the amount of mould growth on cucumber over time.
Effect of amount of vinegar on the amount of mould growth on cucumber over time.
A Observations made
I noticed that the Indian dish, “A char” which comprised of pickled cucumbers, was a common household delicacy in Singapore. My grandmother often told me that this dish was not only delicious and unique tasting, it could also be kept for a long time without turning mouldy. Therefore being a common sight in our kitchens. I was curious and inquired about the preservation of the cucumbers but none of my family members could provide me with a definite answer. Many replied “I think it is the vinegar in a char.” I witnessed my grandmother making pickled cucumbers and monitored how long a container of pickled cucumbers could last in my fridge and realised it was far longer than what I expected and thus, I decided to conduct this experiment to find out more about the preservation of cucumbers.
B Research Question
Will the concentration of vinegar affect the amount of mould growth on cucumber over 3 weeks?
Will the amount of vinegar affect the amount of mould growth on cucumber over 3 weeks?
C Hypothesis statement
Both the concentration and amount if vinegar would affect the amount of mould growth on cucumber over 3 weeks.
D A short summary of research done on the area of investigation
Pickling is the process of storing something in an acidic solution, usually vinegar(acetic acid). The resulting food is called a pickle. The pH of the vinegar is usually less than 4.6 to make the environment acidic enough to kill most bacteria. Therefore, pickling can preserve food for months. The high acidity level of vinegar killed most bacteria. However, we were not sure if the vinegar solution greatly affected the amount of mould growth on cucumber over time. Thus, I decided to test whether the concentration and amount of vinegar would affect mould growth on cucumber over time. Findings regarding acidity level stated that the lower the pH of an environment, the more micro-organisms are unable to withstand the unsuitable environment, getting killed. Therefore, the concentration of vinegar solution, when varied, may affect the acidity of the solution, resulting in different amount of mould growth. The amount of vinegar solution does not affect the acidity level however, but would most probably not affect the amount of mould growth over a period of time.
E Bibliography (Please refer to RS Students’ Handbook in RS Folder on Inet regarding APA Style Format)
. Wikipedia, Initials. (2011, May 17). Pickling. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling
Blake, 2010. (2010, - -). Making homemade pickles. Retrieved from http://www.pickyourown.org/makingpickleshtm

Deciding On My SIP Research Project.

Possible experiments that I could conduct:
1) Effect of temperature on rate of growth of bread mould
2) Effect of acidity of soil in rate of growth of bean sprouts
3) Effect of carbonated drinks on the rate of growth of mould on cucumber

Why these experiments were not chosen to be conducted finally?
1) This experiment is very generic and simple. The complexity of this experiment is very low, as if a Primary School Science Experiment. Many people have conducted this experiment and the results are obvious, which is that as the temperature of surrounding increases, the rate of growth of bread mould increases till it reaches a certain temperature(too high) and stops.

2) This experiment is too simple though it incorporates biochemistry.

3) This experiment, as stated by my teacher, does not relate to real-life process. It is unpractical as no one would place cucumbers into carbonated water to test for rate of growth of mould. Therefore, not a good experiment. However, it could be slightly modified in order for it to relate to a real-life practice. In this case, it is "a-char".

MODIFYING THE THIRD EXPERIMENT.
"A-char" is a chinese dish made of pickled cucumbers. Cucumbers are placed in vinegar solution and left aside for hours. Then, left to sun for about 1h. The pickles are already preserved and can be stored for a fairly long period of time. Therefore, I would like to test whether the concentration of vinegar would affect the amount of growth of mould on the cucumber over time. Another experiment that I can conduct is whether the amount of vinegar would affect the amount of growth of mould on the cucumber over time.