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Teaching
With C-Fern
Other
Research Questions
C-Fern
is an excellent tool for use in independent student research. Projects
can be completely independent of the normal classroom activities or may
be integrated with group exercises. Principal goals of independent research
are to stimulate students' interest in the subject by encouraging them
to formulate questions and subsequently to design appropriate experiments
that can provide answers to those questions. This directly involves students
in the process of science. Perhaps the most important task of the teacher
in this situation is that of giving helpful but minimal advice and guidance
in order to avoid a level of frustration that can dampen students' initial
enthusiasm or willingness to undertake a project.
- How do
sperm find the archegonium?
- Can sperm
respond chemotactically to artificial (chemical) signals?
- How do
gametophytes limit fertilization to one and rarely two events?
- What happens
to gametophytes after a fertilization event?
- What are
the patterns of cell division and expansion that yield the heart-shape
of the hermaphrodite?
- How long
will unfertilized gametophytes live?
- Other
than using a bioassay, what approach could you use to show that a chemical
substance was responsible for controlling development of sexual types
in C-Fern?
- Do all
gametophytes secret the pheromone?
- When are
gametophytes sensitive to the pheromone?
- Can you
design a bioassay to detect other agents that control development?
- Can you
think of any advantage of controlling the sex ratio in the cultures?
- How could
one determine if there was a genetic difference that controlled sexual
type in gametophytes?
- How could
you test the relative fitness of different genotypes; e.g., wild type
versus polka dot?
- How do
higher densities result in more males within a population?
- How do
changing proportions of males influence the kinds of mating that can
occur?
- Can sporophytes
form without fertilization?
- Can gametophytes
develop directly from sporophyte tissue?
- What role
does the meristem play in maintaining the hermaphroditic gametophyte?
- Can sporophytes
develop normally if the young embryo within the archegonium is cut away
from the gametophyte?
- What affect
on development is caused by adding sucrose to the medium?
- What is
the difference between vegetative and fertile leaves on sporophytes?
- Do rhizoids
respond to the direction of gravity?
- Do gametophytes
show a phototropic response?
- Do sporophytes
show a phototropic response?
- Does gametophyte
growth and development respond to different wavelengths of light?
- Do rhizoids
have a specific function?
- If a meristem
is surgically removed, will a new one form? What factors could influence
this?
- Is distance
between gametophytes important during their sexual development?
Root
Tropism in C-Fern - Is it real?
Return
to Research in the
Classroom
C-Fern
Educational Materials are available through Carolina Biological Supply
Company, P.O. Box 6010. Burlington, NC 27216-6010 at 1-800-334-5551. For
Technical Support, questions about products or their use contact 1-800-227-1150.
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