| Explore | Three out of four of us have gardens at home so we have some background knowledge, and we also learned about plants in science. We know they function on multiple levels. They have systems like the shoot and root systems. The root system takes in water and allows the plant to use it for multiple processes. Xylem and phloem tissues are used to transport water and materials other parts of the plant need. Xylem tissues transport water from the roots to the shoot system and from there phloem tissues bring it everywhere in the plant like the leaves. We know that plants need water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. They use these things as well as the by-products of processes to do things like photosynthesis and cellular respiration. We know that their cell structures include a large vacuole, chloroplasts, mitochondria, and a cell wall. We have two questions about plants. Why can't plants tolerate salt water contrasted with fresh water? How harsh can conditions be before a plant can no longer survive? |
|---|---|
| Research Question | How much salt can plants tolerate before they can no longer tolerate it? We wanted a way to save freshwater for other necessary things like drinking. If the plants can grow with salt water then we don't need to use fresh water to water the plants. |
| Predictions | We think that the plants will be able to tolerate small amounts of salt in the water for a certain amount of time before they are not able to survive and grow. The salt may affect the plants but they will continue to grow. It may immediately mess with the growth and the survival of the plant. This will happen because plants don't typically grow with salt water. If the plants can survive any salt while they're sprouts, then we will increase the salt even more drastically to find the level of salt they cannot tolerate. We think this will happen because plants are not designed to use salts in their life functions. |
| Experimental Design | Materials -Eight containers of buckwheat - about ten seeds per pot -Eight containers of radish - about ten seeds per pot -Grow lights to mimic sunlight -Salt -Water -Soil -Teaspoon -Pots -Liter bottle How It Will Work -Buckwheat will be spaced a few inches apart with a thin layer of dirt on top. -Radishes will be spaced a few inches apart with an extremely thin layer of dirt on top. -Buckwheat, and radishes will get about seven to eight hours of sunlight per day. We will dilute salt in a lot of water, then we will increase the amount of salt after a few days. -We will be measuring the salt in grams. -We will be measuring the water in liters. -The control will have 0 teaspoons of salt per 1 liter of water. -The low amount of salt water will have 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of water. -The medium amount of salt water will have 3 teaspoons of salt per 1 liter of water. -The high amount of salt water will have 6 teaspoons of salt per 1 liter of water. -The soil will be soaked in water completely before we put the seeds in the pots |
| Conclusion | By conducting our experiments we now know that plants cannot tolerate much salt. Plants like buckwheat and radishes do not respond well to high amounts of salt. Plants do not use many salts in their life processes, and instead of helping, it can be harmful to them. We have collected heights that tell us that with certain amounts of salt, how much buckwheat and radish will be able to grow. We discovered the with extremely low amounts of salt, a buckwheat or radish plant can grow normally. If they are given too much salt, they will not grow, they will sicken, and they will shrivel. Testing more types of plants with a completely stable environment, and more levels of salt. Going back to our predictions, we originally thought that the plants would do better with less and worse with more. We were correct because the highs and lows of our plants were damaged much faster and had significantly more damage than the lows and controls. The only thing slightly off was that the lows would have survived much longer with the small concentrations of salt, which we first thought they would not. In conclusion, our prediction was pretty accurate. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Teacher Name | Rebecca Buzzell |
| School Name | Nottingham School |
| Session | Spring 2024 |
| About this Project | This group was able to summarize their findings in a way that made sense. I really liked that they made a connection between their findings and what they already know about the life processes that plants perform. Their graphs provide a nice visual to support their conclusions. -- Meghan Britton, Liaison The Breathtaking Botanists team examined seed germination under different salt concentrations in water. They engaged regularly online, maintained good communication on the project (including challenges), and were very responsive to my suggestions and edits on their project planning and report. They updated data, photos and observations in a timely manner, and overall did excellent work. -- Monica Lewandowski, Mentor |