| Explore | Plants need water, sunlight, nutrients and carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis. Some of the nutrients plants need are potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. We know that plants release oxygen during photosynthesis. How do worms help plants in the growing processes? |
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| Research Question | Do earthworms help increase the growth in radish taproot? We wanted to fully understand how worms assist in plant growth, therefore we chose that question. According to our research, earthworms help water flow through the soil. In addition, it helps increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil. |
| Predictions | Our experiment has two outcomes, one being that the plant with worms grows faster than the plants without worms. The second outcome would be that the plant grows slower or not at all. The reason why we believe plants with worms in their soil is because it benefits and promotes growth. If the experiment does not work it would most likely be because the soil was not meant for the plants or the worms causing them to die. |
| Experimental Design | To start off, you will need to buy all the variables that will be used. For this experiment, you will need live worms, soil, containers, and a plant seed of your choice. We will be using radish seeds for this experiment. The two variables that will be tested would be the differences in growth of the taproot between pots with worms and pots with no worms. The variables that will be measured and observed would be the plants with worms. The ones that will be kept constant will be the plants without worms. The data will be recorded every 2 days and written down in our research notebooks. |
| Investigation Theme | AFW |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| School Name | Mendota High School |
| Session | Spring 2019 |