Will a Slime Mold be able to Preferentially Maintain the Shortest Route of a Maze?
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
9th Grade
Presentation Topic
Microbiology
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
The purpose of this experiment is to test the ability of the slime mold to find and maintain the shortest route in a maze. It was hypothesized that the slime molds are given multiple paths with food at the end of each correct path, then the slime molds will find and maintain the shortest route of the maze. The null hypothesis states the slime mold will find no difference between paths, and will have no distinction on the one it chooses to take. A pea-sized piece of slime mold was transferred into each of the mazes, in petri dishes with oats at the end, and placed in an incubator set at 22.2 degrees celsius (room temperature) for 4 to 5 days. The slime molds were checked on after that period of time to record their growth. The recorded data includes the molds that took the shorter path, an alternate path (longer or grew over entire maze), or did not display any growth towards the food source. The results were analyzed using a two-proportion z-test. The results show no significant diference in which path the slime molds choose to take.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Catherine O. and Leidinger, Lawson E., "Will a Slime Mold be able to Preferentially Maintain the Shortest Route of a Maze?" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 287.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/287
Start Date
4-11-2015 1:45 PM
End Date
4-11-2015 2:00 PM
Will a Slime Mold be able to Preferentially Maintain the Shortest Route of a Maze?
The purpose of this experiment is to test the ability of the slime mold to find and maintain the shortest route in a maze. It was hypothesized that the slime molds are given multiple paths with food at the end of each correct path, then the slime molds will find and maintain the shortest route of the maze. The null hypothesis states the slime mold will find no difference between paths, and will have no distinction on the one it chooses to take. A pea-sized piece of slime mold was transferred into each of the mazes, in petri dishes with oats at the end, and placed in an incubator set at 22.2 degrees celsius (room temperature) for 4 to 5 days. The slime molds were checked on after that period of time to record their growth. The recorded data includes the molds that took the shorter path, an alternate path (longer or grew over entire maze), or did not display any growth towards the food source. The results were analyzed using a two-proportion z-test. The results show no significant diference in which path the slime molds choose to take.
