Holiday on Zinga and Manzu

Green Chris
Christopher is in his last year of his degree in Agrobiology. He needs to complete a 6 months internship with the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority AVA of Singapore.
He has prior experience in growing crops of tomato and achieving at least a 95% yield.
In the lab, his supervisor Dr Ong decided to challenge him.
Dr Ong said: “Hi Christopher, welcome to our AVA laboratory. We are pleased to have you here. We have some problems growing Rhododendron.”
Christopher replied: “Thank you for your warm welcome. While working with tomato, I realized that they grow best at around pH 7. Perhaps, it might work well with Rhododendron too!”
“Oh, you might be right, I’ve read that pH affects the intake of the nutrients of plants,” Dr Ong exclaimed.
“I think I have to agree with you,” replied Christopher.
“I forgot to mention that the plot of land is on one of the roof top garden of Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) at Jurong Island,” mentioned Dr Ong.
As Christopher made his way to Jurong Island, he thought to himself “ I hope this is not as boring as growing tomato.”

CASE ANALYSIS SHEET 1. Recognize potential issues and major topics in the case What is this case about?
Underline and list terms or phrases that seem to be important.
Then, list 3-4 biology-related topics or issues in the case.

2. What specific questions do you have about these topics? By yourself, or better yet in a group, list what you already know about this case in the ”What Do I Know?” column. List questions you would like to learn more about in the “What Do I Need to Know?” column. What Do I Know? | What Do I Need to Know? | | |

3. Put a check mark by 1-3 questions or issues in the “What do I need to know?” list that you think are most important to explore.

4. What kinds of references or resources will help you answer or explore these questions? Identify two different resources and explain what information each resource is likely to give that will help you answer the question(s). Choose specific resources or types of resources.
MOE current objective
Theme: Science and technology
Knowledge:
* Awareness that science is not confined to the laboratory but is manifested in all aspects of the world
Skills and processes: * Use scientific inquiry skills such as posing questions, designing investigations, evaluating results and communicating learning
Ethics and Attitudes: * Show concern for Man’s impact on the environment * Value individual effort and teamwork.
Knowledge:
* Discuss how one can change, optimise and define the terms and conditions for tomorrow's food production for the benefit of future generations.

Resources:
Doyle’s Soil Simulation: http://puzzling.caret.cam.ac.uk/game.php?game=17&age=1
Condition for plant growth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQfBBRsJovo
Laboratory experiment: Appendix I

Teachers’ note:
Optimum pH for agriculture: http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/soil_pH/plant_pH.htm

Appendix I: Laboratory Experiment
Laboratory writeup obtained from: www.chem.indiana.edu/community/demos Red Cabbage Juice pH Indicator

Sources: Prof. George Ewing's C100 Demonstration Notes; Prof. Carolyn Huffman's Fall '93 C100 lecture; B. Z. Shakhashiri, 1989, Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry, vol. 3, pp 162-166.

Description and Concept: Red cabbage juice will change to a variety of colors when added to solutions of various pH. Red cabbage juice is a pH indicator. Materials: 0 red cabbage* 1 blender 2 hot or boiling water 3 filter paper (coffee filters work well) 4 1 liter beaker 5 Six 250 mL beakers * * Professors/Instructors please specify which chemicals you wish to use. Some that we may have on hand are: 6 household ammonia (NH3) 7 baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3) 8 washing soda (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3) 9 lemon juice (citric acid, C6H8O7) 10 vinegar (acetic acid, CH3COOH) 11 cream of tartar (Potassium bitartrate, KHC4H4O6) 12 Other household items that may be used include: 13 antacids (calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide...), 14 seltzer water (carbonic acid, H2CO3), 15 muriatic acid or masonry's cleaner (hydrochloric acid, HCl), 16 or lye (potassium hydroxide, KOH or sodium hydroxide, NaOH).

Safety: Hydrochloric acid and Sodium Hydroxide are strong irritants. You should wear safety goggles and disposable gloves for this demo, especially if you choose to use HCl and NaOH.

Procedure:

Chop cabbage into small pieces.

Put cabbage in 5 liter beaker and then cover with boiling water, let stand for 10 minutes or more (the more you wait the more potent your indicator).
OR
Put about 2 cups of cabbage in a blender, cover with boiling water, and blend.
Filter out the plant material to get the red-purple-bluish colored liquid. This liquid is at about pH 7.

Pour about 50 - 100 mLs of your red cabbage indicator into each 250 mL beaker.
Add your indicator to various household solutions until you see a color change.
For example: Ammonia will turn your indicator green, NaOH -yellow, vinegar -red, and HCl - a deep red.

You could do a neutralization experiment with the indicator. First add an acidic solution such as vinegar or lemon juice to get a reddish color, then add baking soda or antacids*** to bring the pH back towards a neutral 7.

Clean-Up: All of the chemicals used in this demo can be washed down the drain with water.

Background: Red cabbage contains a pigment called flavin. This pigment is also found in red poppies, blue cornflowers, grapes, and apple skin. Depending on the pH of the fruit or plant the pigment will give a different color. This pigment can be used to indicate pH. pH is the -log[H+]. Acids increase the concentration of hydrogen ions ([H+]) in a solution and therefore have a low pH. A base will increase the concentration of hydroxide ions ([OH-]) (decreasing the [H+]) in a solution and will have a high pH.
Notes:
*Another household item from which a pH indicator can be extracted is Ex-Lax. Phenolphthalein is a commonly used indicator available from most chemical supply companies in its concentrated form. A small concentration of phenolphthalein is used as a laxative in Ex-Lax. Caution: Never use concentrated phenolphthalein as a laxative. Death may be the result. Dissolve Ex-Lax tablet in ethanol to make indicator. Prof. Tim Starn told me that if a physician suspects that a case of diarrhea was caused by an ExLax prank, they will test for phenolphthalein by exposing the patients "sample" to UV light. ** The blender method of preparation was done Fall '93 in Prof. Huffman's C100 class. It worked well in class with hot water from the tap. The other method of preparation has been done by Prof. Ewing. I have prepared the indicator in this way and it works well also. ***Antacid tablets will only neutralize the acid very slightly ( maybe it will bring the pH up from 1 to 1.2). You will not observe a color change in your indicator. The baking soda will neutralize more acid and will bring about a color change. This could stimulate a discussion about the effectiveness of antacids versus baking soda as a treatment for acid indigestion. It turns out that the antacids are best because you would not want to completely neutralize your stomach acid. The antacid tablet is really meant to neutralize the stomach acid that has entered the esophagus (which causes the heart burn). If a person ingested too much baking soda, they could actually be in danger of changing the pH of their stomach and blood dramatically. Many chemical processes and enzymes in our bodies require a specific pH. For example, we would not be able to digest our food properly if our stomach was not at an acidic pH.

| LEVEL 4 | LEVEL 3 | LEVEL 2 | LEVEL 1 | Identification of the Main Issues/ Problems | Identifies four or more questions pertinent to the case | Identifies three questions pertinent to the case. | Identifies two questions pertinent to the case. | Identifies one question pertinent to the case. | Analysis of the Issues | Insightful and thorough analysis of all the problems/questions | Thorough analysis of most of the problems/questions | Superficial analysis of some of the problems/ questions in the case | Incomplete analysis of the problems/questions | Comments on effective solutions | Well documented, reasoned and thorough comments on solutions to all problems/questions | Appropriate, well thought out comments on solutions to most of the problems/questions | Superficial comments about solutions to some of the problems/ questions | Superficial comments and at times inappropriate solutions to some of the problems/ questions | Links to Research | Excellent research into the problems/questions with clearly documented evidence –ie. photos, tables, documents | Good research and documented evidence with clearly documented evidence-ie. Photo, tables, documents | Limited research and documented evidence or unclear evidence | Incomplete research and little documented evidence or inappropriate evidence | Time on Task(Group work) | All group members are on task and actively engaged the majority of the time. | Most group members are on task and actively engaged most of the time | The majority of the time at least one person is not engaged or on task. | The majority of the time, more than one person is not engaged or on task. | Collaboration(Group work) | Interaction between members is respectful and cooperative the majority of the time. | Interaction between members is respectful and cooperative most of the time. | Interaction between members is disrespectful or uncooperative more than a few times. | Interaction between members is disrespectful or uncooperative the majority of the time. | Presentation | Material is presented in an orderly fashion and demonstrates a clear point of view. | Material is presented in an orderly fashion but point of view has some ambiguity | Material presented is somewhat orderly and point of view is unclear. | Material presented lack order and point of view is unclear. |

Case Based Learning rubric: http://www.bioquest.org/myplantit-2010/workshop_forms/icbl_details.php?project_id=284
Angela Turner
Amit Kashi
Elizabeth Torres Rod

Suggestions for deliverable: * Skit * Posters * Poems * Comics * Songs * Pamphlets etc.
Things to be included: * Physical condition of plants growth (eg. Soil pH, temperature, lights, water) * Experimental data (eg. pH value over a period of time) * Specify the targeted audience (eg. Peers, gardeners, experts)