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Can we speed up seeds to develop into plants? This plant science projects experiment will
let you investigate a way to do that. We will soak some seeds in liquid plant food to see if
they sprout and develop faster.
Purpose
Will seeds soaked in liquid plant food sprout and grow faster than those soaked in water?
(You should do some research on this topic either online or at your library. You need to
learn enough about it to guess what will happen when you do the experiment. That guess
of course is your hypothesis).
Hypothesis
Seeds soaked in liquid plant food will sprout and grow faster than those soaked in water.
Seeds soaked in liquid plant food will not sprout and grow faster than those soaked in water.
(Choose one of these based on your research into the topic).
Materials List
- Pack of small garden seeds.
- Small bag of plain potting soil.
- Two small flat type containers for planting seeds.
- Two small glasses or butter tubs for soaking seeds.
- A few ounces of liquid plant food thats been mixed for garden plants.
Procedure
This is the experiment you will perform to test the hypothesis. Be sure to write
everything down in your journal. Someone else should be able to repeat your steps and get
the same results as you.
- Label the outside of one of the butter tubs or small glasses "Liquid plant food". Also label
the ouside of one of the planting containers the same.
- Put twelve seeds in each container you're using for soaking. Make sure the seeds are
not split or broken.
- In the liquid plant food label container pour in enough of the liquid plant food solution to cover
the seeds by a half inch or so. In the other container cover the seeds by a half inch of water.
- Let the seeds soak for two days.
- Fill the planting containers two thirds with potting soil.
- Take the seeds out of the liquid plant food container and spread them out on the soil in the
planter labeled liquid plant food. Cover with a half inch of more potting soil snd tamp down
slightly with your hands.
- Place the other seeds in the other planter and prepare the same way.
- Moisten the soil with tap water and put them in a warm place. It will take a few days
for the seeds to sprout. Make sure the soil doesn't dry out by keeping it moistened with water.
Make sure both sets of plants are in the same location...getting the same amount of sun,
same temperature, etc.
- Write in your journal the time and date you planted the seeds.
- When the plants come up let them grow a few days so you can see if one set is growing
bigger and faster than the other. Don't put anything on them other than plain water and keep
both sets watered the same. Look at the height of the plants and the leaf size.
- After a number of days you should be able to tell if one set is growing faster than the
other. Write the date and the results you observe in your journal. If both are similar in size
then that is your result also.
Results
What did you observe and conclude from the plant science projects experiment? Do the results support
your hypothesis?
Did soaking in liquid plant food make the seeds grow faster than the others? Did both sets of
plants grow the same?
Changes to the Experiment
Can you think of any changes you might make to the experiment if you did it again?
Maybe you have an idea for a different hypothesis. Sometimes with a few changes you
can create a new project.
Would you use a different type seed? Would you soak and plant a larger number of seeds?
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