Lab Report On Planaria Experiment

The human body shows its ability to heal itself when injured. However, the human body is not the only living thing that has a way of healing with no help. Planaria, which are free-living flatworms, are known for their quick regeneration from a fraction of the body. Scientists have been studying planaria and the effects of magnetism on the regeneration rate of the planaria. The hypothesis of this experiment is that if the planarians are exposed to a certain number of magnets at a closer distance, then they will regenerate stronger and faster. This is important because it could lead to faster regeneration for the animal and lead to bigger things such as finding a way to incorporate this to human regeneration. Many experiments have been researched
In this experiment, Pelaez hypothesized that the regeneration of the planaria would reduce due to the magnets. A horizontal cut was halfway through twenty planaria, so that each half had a partial head and tail. Ten were left whole so that they could be the independent variables. Five planaria were put into each petri dish, all petri dishes filled with spring water. These petri dishes were placed on top of a baking sheet in a dark, cool place. The first petri dish had cut planaria but no magnetic field. The second petri dish included bisected planaria with strength one magnets. The third petri dish had bisected planaria with strength two magnets. The fourth petri dish contained the severed planaria with strength three magnets. The fifth petri dish, however, had whole planaria with no magnets to affect it. The sixth petri dish had whole planaria and strength three magnets affecting the flatworms. Petri dishes one and five were the independent variables, while the rest were all dependent variables. Over the next two weeks, every two days the petri dishes were to be photographed, the water had to be changed, and the planarians measured. After these two weeks, the final measurements were taken and data displayed that Pelaez’s hypothesis was incorrect. Petri dish one’s planarians had an average increase of 2.2 millimeters, petri dish two 2.8 millimeters, petri dish three 3.8 millimeters, petri dish four 4.8 millimeters, petri dish five 2.6 millimeters, and petri dish six 2.8 millimeters. Instead of the magnets slowing the regeneration time, the magnets increased the planarians’ regeneration. This relates to the hypothesis because it shows that the regeneration of planaria increases when affected by magnetism, like the hypothesis