Extended Essay

I felt the initial pilot study wasn’t conclusive enough to provide me with a foolproof method which could have affected the outcome of my results. During the course of the experiments, the time it would take to complete the trials was longer than anticipated which made it more difficult to complete the write up due to time constraints. Another factor that made it challenging was the supervisor change, halfway through the investigation my original supervisor had left and I had to continue alone for some time. The first draft was submitted with large missing features and therefore the feedback wasn’t fully conclusive off the entire write up. Throughout the process I did manage to learn new skills such as gaining a better understanding to use Microsoft Excel and learning new ways to process different types of data such as the Mann-Whitney U test. While the experiments proved to be challenging (especially the amount of time it requires to setup) I did manage to get conclusive results and due to that I was able to assess the data as I had originally planned to.

Throughout the writing process I have had conversations with my supervisor and have made progressive changes to my writing direction as the essay came together. After completing a pilot, the final method for the study was made and was completed within the span of the week. With the experiment complete I have since then changed and slightly altered my question to form a more concise argument and also changed the data analysis I was originally going to implement. I changed from a simple graphing and finding gradient difference to instead using a scientific test called the Mann Whitney U test. I made this change as this test could give a better overview to my results instead of only comparing different values. I have learnt along the way proper formatting  and how to use Microsoft excel which is helping me form a clear line of thought in my writing.

From the beginning I knew I wanted to write my EE on a bio related topic as several of my hobbies are directly/indirectly linked to the subject. I have brainstormed a few ideas with peers on muscle building as a topic which was dropped after discussions with my EE supervisor. I was interested in the effect diet had on muscle building: either on a calculated daily diet or a supplement based and the effectiveness of different variables . After much consideration, we settled on studying the differences and effects of different chicken farming methods. Specifically, I want to find out the effect on chicken’s muscle, or the quality of meat. I will look into the effect of specific enzymes and proteins in the muscle to determine the differences between farming methods. My theory is the main differences would most likely be from  the variation in environments and rate of exercise. The findings would help me determine which is better for human consumption.