Illinois Junior Academy of Science - Yearbook (Urbana, IL)

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Determining Relative Lunar Distances ancl Appli- cations ULDIS SAULE Willowbrook High School Villa Park This project is the result of my particular interest in the lunar field of astrophysics. I have serously been engaged in the hobby of astronomy and astrophysics for the last four years. In this project I have developed an original method to determine with accuracy distances on the moon. This involved correcting the apparent distances for distortion due to spherical perspective. I have developed a method to de- termine the altitudes of features on the moon by measuring the shadows cast by them from photographs which I have taken through an eight inch reflecting telescope. Using these methods I have measured the depths and diameters of craters on the moon and from this I have derived an equation which relates crater depth to crater diameter. I have also developed an equation which enables me to determine the angle of inclination of the inner wall of a crater if the crater's depth and diameter are known. Recently I have completed a series of equations which will make it possible for me to compare the volume of the part of a lunar crater below the relative surface of the moon with the volume of the crater's wall above the relative surface of the moon. Movements of Celestial Boclies JOHN SORTINO Brother Rice High School Chicago Sponsor: Brother Kelleher Will Mil S tfiai.i:s'1'mi, . -. t mmuzs 1 l ,Mi o - zyi 73, f it 1 . 'Q fvrs , , , In summary I would like to say that my project has much to do with the laws of such great men as Einstein, Kepler, Bache, Newton, Galileo, Hubble, Hooke, and Halley. It takes in one of the greatest problem in astronomy, mo- tions in the universe. It takes in many theories such as the big-bank theory of the life of a galaxy, and Hubble's theory on galatical classification. It has to do with many proven facts such as Newton's law of gravity and law of inertia: Galileo's proof that any two objects will fall to the ground at the same rate g and Kepler's elliptical law, law of equal areas, and harmonic law, My project shows that the gravi- tational center between the earth and moon moves around the sun, and the rotation period is the same as the period of revolution for the moon. All these laws, theories, and rules prove that the universe does have set patterns, where motion is no exception. Many things in the universe are a mystery. How motions started? and What keeps the motion going ? - are mysteries which only time will solve.

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Induced Plant Cancer SUSAN Ml KOTA Gage Park High School Chicago 2 . i M IN UCE Crown-gall is a cancerous disease that affects plants, It is caused by the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens and occurs in plant tissues that have been wounded. The disease results in the formation of a tumor-like growth that is strikingly similar to cancer in animals. In my study I have attempted to produce and observe the effects of the crown-gall disease on a host plant. A cul- ture of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, obtained from the Uni- versity of California was used to initiate the disease in two week old sunflower seedlings. The test plants were inoculated with a dissecting needle bearing a visible amount of bacteria. A small puncture was made directly beneath the first set of leaves and the bacteria were smeared into the wound. Several plants were kept as non-inoculated controls. After 10 days the inoculated area on the test plants began to swell. By the second to third week, a small gall tapproximately 54 inch in diameterl developed on each plant. After four weeks the test plants usually weakened and died. In one experiment in which the host plant survived eight weeks, the gall continued to mature, hardening into a dark, brittle growth. By the seventh week of this experiment the gall almost completely encircled the stem. This interferred with the flow of sap and resulted in the death of the plant. In each experiment, the wounds on the control plants healed. Once the gall had been initiated, the bacteria were iso- lated and identified. A gall was cut from the stem of an inoculated plant and ground in sterile water. A small amount of the solution was streaked onto a lactose agar plate and incubated for 72 hours. The plate was then flooded with 5 ml. of Benedict's reagent. The presence of A. tumefaciens caused a yellow ring to form, a reaction specific for the organism. The Benedict's test and comparison with the original culture verified that the bacteria present in the gall were the same as those used to initiate the disease. i Crown-gall is of scientific value as well as economic importance. The change from normal to diseased growth involves many biological and bichemical problems. By study- ing a fundamentally simple organism such as a plant, more knowledge can be gained about cancer in general. Research now being conducted with plants may one day account for a better understanding of, and possibly a cure for cancer. The Effects of X-Rays on Mitosis in the Onion Root TFP MARK GOREN Cal: Perl: - River Forest High School UL L-: sf t..x..f u ants git? girifi S,Y',ffi. 'v'. The purpose of my science project is to investigate the effects of X-rays on mitosis of the cells in the onion root tip. The first step of my project was to find out how X-rays affected the rate of growth and rate cell division in the onion root tip. To do this I gave the onion root tips a 10 second dose of x-rays, and recorded their hourly growth rates. I also ran a set of control roots using the same method of taking data. The control data turned out to have a fairly constant growth rate, but the growth rate of the irradiated root tips decreased very quickly. By five hours after ex- posure to the x-rays there was no growth at all. This shows that x-rays cause a decrease in rate of cell division. In the next part of my project I wanted to see how the cells in each stage of mitosis were affected by the x-rays. This was done by making slides of the onion root tip at given periods of time after the dose of x-rays was given. I changed the numbers I recorded into 96 of cells in each stage of mitosis. I found that the My of cells in each of the stages of mitosis was constant in the control roots. In the x-rayed root tips there were no immediate effects, but by 176 hour after exposure to x-rays there were increases in prophase, metaphase, and telophase. The Wh of cells in these three stages continued to increase, but anaphase, however, re- mained constant until 3 hours after exposure to x-rays, when it increased a small amount. The increases in 'Zi of cells in the specific stages of mitosis is due to a block of cell division. I conclude that X-rays cause a decrease in the rate of cell division and finally a stoppage of cell division in the cells of the onion root tip. X-rays cause blockages of cell division in prophase, metaphase, and telophase. of which metaphase is the most sensitive. Lastly, I conclude that cells in mitosis are more sensitive to x-rays than are cells in interphase. Alteration of the Peak Mitotic Activity in Allium Cepa by Controlled Light Environment LESLIE COHEN Niles Township High School Skolrie Past observation indicate that allium cepa has two dif- ferent times of peak mitotic activity during a natural twenty- four hour day, one at 1 p.m. and the other at 11 p.m. The most important environmental change during this period is the constant change from light to dark. This suggests the