First Up, Skunk Cabbage!
Data Story
Explore how soil temperature changes near a skunk cabbage plant emerging in the spring. Is there evidence that skunk cabbages produce heat?
Welcome to this Tuva data story! What is the first plant that comes up in spring? How can it come up so early when there's still snow on the ground? Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School 6th grade students have been studying soil, air, and sea water temperatures around their Maine island. In January 2020, after exploring endothermic and exothermic reactions in the classroom, they began studying plants and thermogenesis. They wanted to find out if young emerging skunk cabbages generate heat. In February, students began to measure soil temperatures near three different skunk cabbage plants along their Nature Trail. The graph in the following screens shows the average soil temperatures they measured at distances of 3 cm, 10 cm, and 20 cm from the young skunk cabbages on seven different days between February 24th and March 16, 2020. It also shows a background soil temperature, measured far from the plant. In each photo on the left, a finger is pointing to the young skunk cabbage spathe emerging through the snow. The thermometer is the yellow instrument stuck into the soil next to the spathe. Click Next to see if the students found any evidence that skunk cabbages produce heat!
Topics and standards: Science, Life Science, Ecosystems, Abiotic-Biotic Interactions, Flow of Energy and Matter, Grades 6-8, Identify-Interpret Patterns, Describe Change