Today we were introduced to an awesome simulation computer game, worked on our projects, and completed another step in our CB2E lab.
The computer game we were shown by researcher Will Strinz was very informative and interactive. We played in teams of 2 against all other teams in the room. Goals can be established by each class that plays it... our goal was to raise the most money. To accomplish this goal, we could plant either corn, a cover crop, or switchgrass. Some other variables we could apply were fertilizer and tilling. Matt and I (Team Bucky) ended up winning by rotating corn and cover crop at a 3:1 ratio, always tilling, and applying fertilizer to all corn fields. This gave us the highest profit, but gave us very poor environmental scores. This game really made it clear how difficult it can be to balance different aspects of agriculture. There are many other variables available in the game, but since we only spent a few hours on it, they kept it basic for us.
To move forward in our CB2E lab, we took glucose and ethanol before adding yeast. Adding yeast allows the fermentation process to begin, which will decrease glucose and increase ethanol. In tubes with no enzymes (therefore little to no glucose), little ethanol is expected to be produced.
The project Matt and I are working on is going well. We've made some slight adjustments and still need to complete a couple things... I'll be working on the preassessment tonight and he'll be completing his portion as well!
-R
The computer game we were shown by researcher Will Strinz was very informative and interactive. We played in teams of 2 against all other teams in the room. Goals can be established by each class that plays it... our goal was to raise the most money. To accomplish this goal, we could plant either corn, a cover crop, or switchgrass. Some other variables we could apply were fertilizer and tilling. Matt and I (Team Bucky) ended up winning by rotating corn and cover crop at a 3:1 ratio, always tilling, and applying fertilizer to all corn fields. This gave us the highest profit, but gave us very poor environmental scores. This game really made it clear how difficult it can be to balance different aspects of agriculture. There are many other variables available in the game, but since we only spent a few hours on it, they kept it basic for us.
To move forward in our CB2E lab, we took glucose and ethanol before adding yeast. Adding yeast allows the fermentation process to begin, which will decrease glucose and increase ethanol. In tubes with no enzymes (therefore little to no glucose), little ethanol is expected to be produced.
The project Matt and I are working on is going well. We've made some slight adjustments and still need to complete a couple things... I'll be working on the preassessment tonight and he'll be completing his portion as well!
-R