| Explore | We know that plants use photosynthesis to get energy and get water from soil to grow. To germinate a plant, you will usually need something to happen such as water softening the outer shell and waking up the embryo. We learned in class that nitrogen is a very good type of fertilizer; it is a major part of chlorophyll and carbon dioxide. We also learned that you can grow plants in clay, sand, silt and loam (a mixture of the three) and other materials that are not soil such as wet paper towels and water (hydroponics). We have brainstormed questions such as "What is the fertilizer that plants grow best in?" and "What is the material that plants grow best in?". |
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| Research Question | How does the material type with or without fertilizer affect the germination of seeds? |
| Predictions | We think that the wet paper towel should germinate plants fastest because it provides a lot of water, which is usually the thing that plants need to germinate, as water softens the shell and wakes up the embryo, and fertilizer usually speeds up the process. Sand, clay and silt provide a little bit of an extreme environment for a germinating seed to function well, but as loam is a mixture of the three, plants should germinate well inside of it. However, we do not know how specific brands of fertilizer will work against each other, so there might be a little variation between certain types of fertilizer. |
| Experimental Design | Procedure 1. Take the 16 cups and fill 4 with loam, 4 with sand, 4 with clay, and 4 with wet paper towels 2. Fill 2 of the sand cups with fertilizer, 2 of the clay cups with fertilizer, 2 of the loam cups with fertilizer, and 2 of the wet paper towel cups with fertilizer 3. Put 10 alfalfa seeds in 2 of the sand cups, 10 alfalfa seeds in 2 of the clay cups, 10 alfalfa seeds in 2 of the loam cups, and 10 alfalfa seeds in 2 of the wet paper towel cups 4. Repeat Step 3 but with radish seeds 5. Water every Alfalfa cup with 3 inches of water a day 6. Water every Radish cup with 1 inch of water a day 7. Measure each plant and put the data into the Planting Science Spreadsheet. The independent variables are the material that the plant is growing in, seed type, and how much fertilizer affects germination. The dependent variables are plant growth and the amount of plants |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Teacher Name | Sarah Ciupek |
| School Name | Ideaventions Academy for Math and Science |
| Session | Fall 2023 |