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Name: Cory
Status: student
Age: 12
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 2/13/2004
Question:
To whom it may concern,

I am doing a science fair progect and my research question is: "are hibernating trees alive" and I am using the four criteria for life to help me. I took a Red Oak limb and put a drop of sap onto a slide and looked through a microscope. It is hard to describe what I saw but it looked like a substance made of fibers with a black dot in the center. I was wondering what that was, I have a theory that it was either a cell or a central vacuole.

Could you help me?

Replies:
Two different questions.

For the tree sap, the following might be helpful:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph13.htm

For the question whether dormant trees are alive, the following might be useful:

http://www.gardengal.net/page103.html

http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/biology/mnps/papers/Bezanso1992112.html

http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/forcew.htm

Anthony Brach Ph.D.


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