| Explore | We know numerous things about plants' functions and structures. We know that plants photosynthesize by absorbing radiant energy from the sun is the chloroplasts by the pigment, chlorophyll. That radiant energy excites the electrons within the thylakoid membrane which carry a hydrogen ion that comes from a molecule of water. Those electrons then go into the electron accepter which then sends the electrons from Photosystem II to Photosystem I via the electron transport chain which produces ATP and gets sent to the stroma to break the carbon dioxide molecules up along with the NADPH in the Calvin Cycle. The Calvin Cycle produces a glucose molecule which then goes to the cytoplasm and then the mitochondria in order to go through cellular respiration which, in the end, produces 38 ATP molecules which are then used for energy to preform vital functions, to grow, and to develop new traits along with nutrients that the plants receive from the soil that they grow in. |
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| Research Question | How is the growth and development differ between a plant that is grown in soil that is completely deprived of any nutrients and two plants, one with low nutrient levels, and the other with high nutrient levels? |
| Predictions | We predict that the plant that is provided with no nutrients what-so-ever will either not be able to grow at all or will grow at an extremely reduced rate due to it not having any access to the vital elements that enter from the soil in the form of fertilizer via its roots and are used by the plant to preform vital functions as well as to build internal structures and its wall which, in hand, allows it to grow and develop. |
| Experimental Design | Our plan for conducting our personal experiment is to plant a set of six Brassica Rapa in a new planter which will be provided with absolutely no nutrients in the soil. We will then record the growth of every plant within the planter by measuring the length of the stem to the apex as well as by measuring the length of the first true leaf. We will also record the overall development of the plant by recording the total amount of time that certain parts of the plant take to emerge including the first true leaf, the seed pods, and the flowers and the quantity of each of those parts. We will then compare the data taken from the growth and development of the nutrient deprived plant with the overall growth and development of the other two plants. The controls in our experiment are the source of light, the light intensity, the \ type of water that each plant is provided, the amount of water provided, the amount of light that each plant is exposed to, and the total amount of time hat the plant has to grow and develop. The independent variable in this experiment is the amount of nutrition that each plant receives while the dependent variable is the total growth and development of each plant. |