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Scientific Method Case Study: Resolving a Lawn Problem Essay

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RUNNING HEAD: SCIENTIFIC METHOD CASE STUDY

Scientific Method Case Study: Resolving a Lawn Problem
Sharon Webster
University of Phoenix
September 11, 2006
SCI/256
Instructor: Harish Rekapally, MS

Scientific Method Case Study: Resolving a Lawn Problem
Introduction
The scenario for this case study is that you notice that the grass around my house is brown, short, and dead. The grass around my neighbor's house is green, tall, and alive. Utilizing my understanding of the Scientific Method, my intent is to explain what the problem is to develop a hypothesis. After developing the hypothesis I will then design and perform an experiment to test my hypothesis; analyze my data and reach conclusions regarding my hypothesis. I will …show more content…

Augustine. The grass in the yard at this time is buffalo grass. Now we need to take a look at the watering, fertilizing, and mowing which is recommended for buffalo grass. Buffalo grass likes the warm weather of the southwest desert but does not go into winter dormancy at elevations below 3,000 feet. Buffalo grass also requires less water than other grasses; however, if it runs out of water during the summer, it will enter drought-induced dormancy. Drought-induced dormancy simply means that it will turn brown in the summer just as it does in the winter. (3) The hypothesis is that the grass in my lawn runs out of water, therefore causing it to be short, brown, and basically dead. Another hypothesis is that I may have poor soil. No amount of water or sunlight will make my lawn luscious and green if the soil is poor. The backbone to a grass plant is its root system. The roots soak up water, collect nutrients, anchor the plant and, in some species, spread out to new growth plants. A plant can only do these things effectively if the soil is right. The soil needs to be loose enough that the grass roots can spread easily, absorbent enough that it will collect water and rich enough that it can provide the plant with nutrients. Roots also need a certain amount of circulating air, which means the soil cannot be too compact. (2)
Testing My Hypothesis (Third Step) Based on my first hypothesis, that the lawn is running out of

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