2013 Science Matters Project

By:

Ashley Smith

Shawn Callahan

Rachel Goodwin

Sunlight vs. Artificial Light

Problem: Do lima bean plants grow better in sunlight or artificial light?

Hypothesis: If lima bean plants/seeds are exposed to an artificial light source then it will not grow as tall, than the lima bean plants/seeds exposed to the natural light from the sun.

Independent Variable: the light source (an incandescent light bulb and natural sunlight)

Dependent Variable: growth of Lima bean plant (height/cm)

Control: 6 Lima bean seeds, an incandescent light bulb, water, potting soil, desk lamp, timer, ruler, 2 medium-sized flower pots, science notebook, and a graduated cylinder.

Materials:
An incandescent light bulb

Water (5 milliliters each day)
Sunlight

Graduate cylinder (ml)
6 Lima bean seeds

Potting soil
2 medium-sized flower pots

Science notebook
Ruler

Pencil
Desk lamp

Timer

Procedures/Methods:
1. First you will pot the Lima bean seeds. Fill the medium-sized flower pots with potting soil. Use your finger and make three small holes about 5 cm deep into the soil of each medium-sized pot. Put a Lima bean seed into each hole and cover it up with soil.
2. Label each pot (sunlight and light bulb light)
3. Take one pot and put it under a light bulb (using a desk lamp). Make sure to turn on the lamp. Set the lamp on a timer so that it can represent the time the sun rises and sets daily.
4. Take the other pot and put it in a place with lots of bright sunlight (next to a window might be a good place). Make sure to record cloud cover and what direction the window is facing.
5. Make sure to keep the experiment in the same location and to water daily. Each lima bean seed will get 5 milliliters of water each day. In order to water the seeds the same, make sure to use a graduated cylinder to measure out the amount of water each day.
6. The Lima beans should germinate in 2-5 days. Then you should start monitoring their daily growth for two weeks and measure how tall the sprout is for each sample using a ruler. Keep your results of the growth of each Lima bean in your science notebook.
7. After two weeks, look over your data and analyze your results by making a bar graph.

Anticipated Data Set:
After two weeks of measuring and recording the lima bean plants growth, the lima bean plants/seeds exposed to the natural sunlight will grow taller by 5 cm than the lima bean plants exposed to the incandescent light bulb. The lima bean plants, which were exposed to the natural sunlight, will grow taller by 5 cm, because plants need sunlight in order to grow and survive. The sunlight provides the plant energy to grow and conduct photosynthesis.

Altering the Experiment:
This experiment can be altered/changed by using a colored light bulb instead of an incandescent light bulb this will change the effect of the experiment.

Elaborate:
Students will be expected to present their results from the original experiment using graphs, charts, posters or pictures using the data recorded in their science notebooks each day. Students must also be able to design an alternate experiment related to plant growth and present the results to the class as well as compare the results to the original experiment.

How Artificial Light Affects Plant Growth

Problem: How will the exposure of artificial light (colored and clear) affect the soybean plant growth?

The purpose of this experiment is to show how the different colors (artificial) of lights affect the development/growth of plants.

Hypothesis: If the soybean plants/seeds are exposed to different colored lights, then they will grow shorter than the plants exposed to the clear 60 watt light bulb.

Independent Variable: colored light bulbs

Dependent Variable: growth of soybean plants (height/cm)

Control: soybean seeds, water (3 milliliters each day), potting soil, colored light bulbs, clear 60 watt light bulb, 3 clear plastic shoeboxes, graduated cylinder, desk lamps, ruler, and power strip

Materials:
12 Plants (soybean) seeds

Colored light bulbs (red, green, and blue) (60 watt)
Potting soil

60 watt clear light bulb

4 desk lamps

Ruler (cm)
3 clear plastic shoeboxes

Pencil
Science notebook

Power strip
Graduated cylinder

Water (3 milliliters for each seed daily)

Procedures/Methods:
1. Using three clear plastic shoeboxes dump in 12 cm of potting soil (make sure to use a ruler to measure the 12 cm) into each plastic shoebox.
2. Using your finger, make 12 small holes about 5 cm deep into the soil to plant 12 soybean seeds of the same size. Plant three soybean seeds in each plastic shoebox container.
3. Put the soybean seed in each hole and cover it up with soil.
4. You will then need four desk lamps. You will screw in the different colored light bulbs (red, green, blue, and a clear 60 watt). Make sure to plug in the four desk lamps into the power strip and position them over the soybean seeds planted in the clear plastic shoebox containers.
5. Make sure to keep the experiment in the same location and to water daily. Each soybean seed will get 3 milliliters of water each day. In order to water the seeds the same, make sure to use a graduated cylinder to measure out the amount of water each day.
6. Measure each plant everyday using a ruler (cm) and record your findings in your science notebook. Be sure to measure from the bottom of the plastic shoebox container and not the surface of the potting soil.
7. After two weeks, look over your data and analyze your results by making a bar graph.

Anticipated Data Set:
After two weeks of measuring and recording the soybean plants growth, the soybean plants/seeds exposed to the clear 60 watt light bulb will grow taller by 5 cm than the soybean plants exposed to the different colored light bulbs (red, green, and blue). The soybean plants, which were exposed to the clear 60 watt light bulb, will grow taller by 5 cm because this light exposure to the plant resembles that of natural sunlight. Plants need sunlight in order to grow and survive. The sunlight gives the plant energy to grow and produce photosynthesis.

Altering the Experiment:
This experiment can be altered/changed by using different colored light bulbs such as purple or yellow.

Elaborate:
Students will be expected to present their results from the original experiment using graphs, charts, posters or pictures using the data recorded in their science notebooks each day. Students must also be able to design an alternate experiment related to plant growth and present the results to the class as well as compare the results to the original experiment.

How does the soil type affect seed growth? (Soil and sand/soil mixture)

Problem: The purpose of this experiment is to show how different types of soils could affect the height at which a seed will grow over a two week period.

Hypothesis: If ten radish seeds are planted in potting soil in a Styrofoam cup then the seeds will grow taller than the ten seeds planted in a sand/soil mixture in a Styrofoam cup.

Anticipated Set:

After two weeks of measuring and recording the radish seeds in the potting soil will grow 5 cm taller than the radish seeds grown in a sand/soil mixture. The radish seeds in the potting soil will grow taller than the seeds in the sand/soil mixture because the potting soil allows the seeds to take in more nutrients and the sand/soil mixture will not absorb the water for the seeds to grow.

Materials:

60 radish seed

Science notebook
Potting soil

Ruler (cm)
Sand/soil mixture

Water
6 Styrofoam cup

Graduated cylinder measuring 10 ml

Independent Variable: sand/soil mixture

Dependent Variable: the height of the radish seed growth (cm)

Control: the cups, the amount of water, radish seeds, sunlight

Method/Procedures:
-Fill three Styrofoam cups half full with well moistened potting soil and place ten radish seeds in each cup about 3 cm down in the soil, then make sure to cover the radish seeds completely.
-Fill three more cups half full with a well moistened potting soil and sand mixture and place ten radish seeds in the cup about 3 cm in the soil and make sure the radish seeds are completely covered
-Place the six cups in a sunlight area, making sure to keep the cups in the same location throughout the experiment
- Water the plant daily using 5 milliliters of water using a graduated cylinder
- Every day measure the amount of growth of the radish seeds using a ruler and recording the data in a Science notebook

Suggestions for altering the experiment:

This experiment can be altered or changed by using a different type of soil mixture or changing the depth at which the seeds are planted.

Elaborate Phase:

Students will be expected to present their results from the original experiment using graphs, charts, posters or pictures using the data recorded in their science notebooks each day. Students must also be able to design an alternate experiment related to plant growth and present the results to the class as well as compare the results to the original experiment.

Does the depth a radish seed is planted in affect the height the plant grows?

Problem: The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the depth of a radish seed is planted will affect the height the plant will grow over a two week period

Hypothesis: If ten radish seeds are planted in a 12 oz. glass jar in potting soil 2 cm deep and placed in sunlight then ten radish seeds planted in a 12 oz. glass jar in potting soil 4 cm will not grow as tall

Anticipated Set:

After two weeks of measuring and recording the height growth of radish seeds in a glass jar seeds planted at 0 cm will not grow, seeds planted at a depth of 2 cm will grow 3 cm less than seeds planted at a depth of 4 cm. The seeds planted at a depth of 4 cm will grow more because they will receive more nutrients and water compared to the seeds planted at a depth of 0 cm and 2 cm.

Materials:

(3) 12 oz. glass jars

Ruler in cm

Science notebook
60 radish seeds

Sunlight
Potting soil

Water
Graduated cylinder measuring 10 ml

Independent Variable: Depth of seed

Dependent Variable: the height of the plant growth in cm

Control: 10 ml water, radish seeds, potting soil, sunlight

Method/Procedures:
-Fill one 12 oz. glass jar half way full of potting soil and place 10 radish seeds about 0 cm in the well moistened potting soil.

-Fill one 12 oz. glass jar half way full of potting soil and place 10 radish seeds about 2 cm in the well moistened potting soil and make sure the seeds are completely covered.

-Fill one 12 oz. glass jars half way full of potting soil and place 10 radish seeds about 4 cm in the well moistened potting soil and make sure the seeds are completely covered.

- Place all three jars in a sunlight area making sure to keep the jars in the same location throughout the experiment
- Water the plants as needed using a 10 ml graduated cylinder making sure to keep the soil well moistened
- Every day measure the amount of growth of the radish seeds using a ruler and recording the data in a Science notebook

Suggestions for altering the experiment:

This experiment can be altered by using a different type of soil mixture, di, and amount of sunlight, amount of water or temperature at where the plants are growing.

Elaborate Phase:

The Effect the Amount of Water Has On A Plant.

Problem: How does the amount of water affect the growth of a plant?

Hypothesis: If you add more water to the flower then the plant will continue to grow up to a certain height because plants need water to live but too much water will kill the plant.

Materials:

String

Measuring tape in cm

Grown flowering plant

Graduated cylinder in ml

Beakers

Tongue depressor

Spoon

Tap water

Independent Variable: The amount of water given to a plant.

Dependent Variable: The height of the plant in cm.

Constants: Type of container, amount of light, type of water, temperature, amount and type of soil.

Method/Procedure:
- Place one cup of potting soil into 9 beakers.
- Place the flowering plants inside the potting soil 3 cm deep using a spoon or a tongue depressor to spread the dirt. Do not remove dirt from beaker.
- Place roots of plants into the holes and cover roots.
- The plants will be divided into three groups.
- 3 flowers will receive no water each day.
- 3 flowers will receive 10 mL of tap water each day.
- 3 flowers will receive 20 mL of tap water each day.

- 3 flowers will receive 30 mL of tap water each day.
- The flowers will need to be placed in the same place in the room to ensure the temperature and the amount of light will remain the same.
- Using a marker, place a mark on the beakers. This will be where the measurement will begin each time.
- Record the height of the flower using a string from the mark on the beaker to the top of the flower. Students will record data each day for two weeks in their science notebook.
- Display data using the mean of each group on a line graph to show the increase or decrease of the plant height.

Anticipated Data Set:
It is predicted that after two weeks the plants that receives the 10 ml of water each day will grow taller than the other groups. It is also predicted that the group of plants that receive 20 ml of water each day will begin to grow then slow in growth due to over watering. The group of plants that do not receive water will show very little growth in plant height.
I believe this because plants do need water to survive but too much or too little water will damage or harm the plants making them weak and unable to survive. The plants that will receive the 10 ml of water will continue to grow because it is receiving the near correct amount of water.

Suggestions for altering the experiment:
You could have more groups of plants to decide what water amount would benefit the plant the most.
You could use different types of flowers to see if the data changes.