| Explore | In school, we learned about germination, and how seeds grow. |
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| Research Question | How does the quality of soil affect the time it takes for a seed to germinate? |
| Predictions | Kedus and Daniel's Prediction: If you put seeds in different quality soil, Then the speed of germination will stay the same. Mya's Prediction: If you put seeds in better quality soil, then the speed of germination will increase. |
| Experimental Design | 1. Cut bases off of two water bottles. 2. Line bottoms of base with moist paper toweles folded in 2 layers. 3. Mark spots for soy bean seeds around the edge of the bottle. 4. Place potting soil in one base and organic soil in the other 5. Place soy beans on marked spots inside the bottle. 6. Record time to germinate seed |
| Conclusion | When soil quality is increased, the rate of germination stays the same. Evidence shows that by day four, they each had three seeds germinated. On day six, potting soil had on more seed germinated than organic soil, but organic soil caught up with four seeds germinated on day seven. After day eight, some of the seeds that hadn’t germinated grew moldy. This is most likely because the most important factors of germination are temperature, water, oxygen, and sometimes light. The seed already has nutrients in it. It doesn’t need richer soil until after it has germinated. This supports our prior knowledge. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Grade Level | Middle School Students (grades 6,7,8) |
| Session | Spring 2019 |