Which breed of chicken lays the highest quality eggs? Does a person’s age affect dog breed selection?
Freshmen and sophomores in the Animals, Food and Natural Resources II class at Anthony Wayne High School recently completed research projects to test their hypotheses and find answers to these questions and others related to the course curriculum.
“We cover everything from animals and plants, we do soil conservation and water quality, we explore the biotechnology side of things and we even spend some time out in the wood shop,” said Mrs. Courtney Bockbrader, Agriscience Teacher and FFA Advisor for the Penta Career Center Satellite programs at Anthony Wayne High School. “I have the students do research projects on a topic that they are passionate about and they work on it the whole semester.”
The students start by doing background research to learn what others have discovered on the topic, then determine their hypothesis, select their research methods, test the hypothesis and finalize their results before sharing what they learned in a final presentation.
“The students are not usually big fans of this project to be quite honest,” said Mrs. Bockbrader. “But it is hands down the project that students will mention when they come back after graduation to say that it prepared them to write lab reports and they were ahead of their peers because of the experience.”
The project takes the entire semester, with students first learning different research methods and how to use the various tools they will need to test their hypothesis.
“We started this in September when we figured out our projects and started to collect data,” said Gabby Hoffman, AWHS sophomore. “Now we are presenting our projects and getting feedback from others in the class.”
Gabby studied the amount of sugar in a variety of caffeinated drinks in an effort to help consumers be more informed about the products they buy.
“I learned that you have to watch what you are putting into your body. It can lead to certain health problems, and athletes can run into issues using energy drinks,” she said. “This information is important to people who are monitoring their diet and for nutritionists to know how much sugar is in different beverages.”
Eddie Brentliger, AWHS freshman, was interested in whether a person’s age determines the breed of dog they choose.
“I learned that a person’s age does not really affect the breed of dog they own,” he said. “I thought if you were older you would have a small breed, families might have medium sized breeds like a Golden Retriever, and younger singles and couples would have large dogs like a Great Dane.”
Eddie said that nearly all the people he interviewed had a medium-sized breed, and that this information could be important to rescue organizations or breeders looking to find homes for dogs.
“My main focus was to figure out what chicken lays the highest quality egg to determine their selling price,” said Allyson Underwood, AWHS freshman. “I used an egg candler to look for imperfections in the eggs. I determined that the cuckoo maran chickens typically laid grade B eggs and that the leghorn breed lays almost all grade A eggs.”
Allyson raises chickens and she is learning how the production of different breeds can affect the quality of her eggs and plans to adjust her selling price accordingly.
Ethan Rood, AWHS freshman surveyed local drivers to determine whether they preferred gas, hybrid or electric vehicles.
“I guessed that 50-percent of the people would choose gas, 25-percent would choose hybrid and the remaining 25-percent would choose EV,” Ethan said. “It ended up being split nearly fifty-fifty between gas and hybrid. I think it’s important for manufacturers and auto dealers in our area to know their buyers’ preferences to make business decisions.”
Other topics explored by the students included whether consumers can tell the difference between different spice blends used in grilling, the fat content in different types of meat and whether there were taste preferences between diet and regular sodas.
“We always have a wide variety of projects and ultimately the topic they choose is up to them,” Mrs. Bockbrader said. “I hope they gain the knowledge of going through the scientific process, how to take ownership of a project, develop their time management skills and learn how to use class time wisely, and gain confidence in their presentation skills.”