Hydroponics (Can plants really grow without soil?)
Grade 6
Presentation
Hypothesis
I think that the seed I have planted will grow because if you dampen a paper towel and wrap it around the seed, then it will germinate and sprout because seeds they require a lot of moisture
Research
Using a water-based nutrient solution instead of soil to grow plants is known as hydroponic gardening.Hydroponics Assists growers in producing more nutritious crops in less time and with greater yields.For plant growth, hydroponics relies on a nutrient solution; soil gardening makes use of the nutrients that are naturally present in the soil. In hydroponics Pesticides and herbicides are not necessary and it reduces the amount of water you use. There are some different types of hydroponics these can include; Deep Water Culture, Nutrient Film Technique, Drip Irrigation, Aeroponics, Ebb and Flow, and Wick System.
Variables
Controlled Variable: 7 days growth time and the type of seeds.
Manipulated Variable:The same seed was planted but at different temperatures
Responding Variable:Some of the seeds grew more and some didn't.
Uncontrolled Variable: Weather
Procedure
Get an damp paper towel
Get 1 pea seed,1 zucchini seed,and 1 eggplant seed
Get the seeds and fold the damp paper towel on the seeds
Get a plastic box with a cover and place the damp paper towel with the seeds in it and close the box.
Then wait for the seeds to sprout!(Do the process 3 times for testing it!)
Observations
TRIAL 1 TEMPERATURE WAS 21°
PEA SEED:On the first day, the seed didn't grow at all. The second day, I saw that the seed had sprouted. On the third day, the seed grew quite a lot. On the fourth day, the seed had stayed the same from day three. On day 5, the seed sprouted so much. On day 6, the seas stayed the same. On day 7, the seed sprouted so much!
ZUCCHINI SEED: The first day, the seed didn't grow at all. The second day, I didn't even sprout. The third day, it finally sprouted a bit. On the 4th day, the seed had grown even larger. On day 5, the seed sprouted so much. On day 6, the seed stayed the same. On day 7, it grew quite a lot.
EGGPLANT SEED:The first day, the seed didn't grow at all. On the second day, the seed didn't sprout at all. On the third day, the sea didn't sprout. On the fourth day, the seed didn't sprout. On day 5, the seed didn't grow; on day 6, it still hadn't grown; and on day 7, it had finally sprouted.
TRIAL 2 TEMPERATURE WAS 16°
PEA SEED: On day one, the seed hadn't grown at all; on day two, the seed still hadn't grown; and on day three, the seed still didn't grow at all. On day 4 the seed didn't grow still. On day five the seed still hadn't grown.
On day 6 the seed was still not growing. On day seven last day the seed still hadn't grown.
ZUCCHINI SEED: On day one, the sea didn't grow at all. On day 2, the scene still hadn't grown. On day 3, the seed still hadn't grown.
On day 4 the seed did not grow. On day 5 the seed still hadn't grown. On day 6 the seed had not grown. On day 7 the seed still hadn't grown.
EGGPLANT SEED: On day one, the seed hadn't grown; on day two, it still didn't grow; all day three, the seed didn't grow. On day 4 the seed still didn't grow. On day five the seed still hadn't grown. On day 6 the seed didn't grow. On day 7 the seed still hadn't grown.
TRIAL 3 TEMPERATURE WAS 25°
PEA SEED: On the first day, the seed didn't grow. On the second day, the seed still didn't grow. On the third day, the seed had finally grown a bit. On day four the seed didn't grow. On day 5 the seed grew but not that much. On day 6 the seed grew a tiny bit.
On day seven it had grown a bit more.
ZUCCHINI SEED: On the first day, the seed didn't grow. On the second day, the seed still didn't grow. On day 3, the seed had sprouted quite a bit. On day four the seed grew a tiny bit. On day five the seed grew a bit but not that much. On day 6 the seed didn't grow.
On day 7 the seed had grown a bit.
EGGPLANT SEED: On day one, the seed didn't grow; on day two, the seeds still didn't grow; on day three, the seed still didn't grow.
On day four the seed only grew a bit. On day five it didn't grow. On day six it still didn't grow. On day
seven it had finally grown.
Analysis
Conclusion
The seeds had begun to sprout, as expected and since my theory predicted that they would grow or sprout, it was confirmed. HYPOTHESIS WAS CORRECT!
Application
My science fair project can relate to real life because it presents how to cultivate crops
Sources Of Error
I would do my experiment differently in the future by adding more moisture to the paper towel because this will accelerate the sprouting and growth of the seeds.
Citations
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/hydroponics/
https://www.freshwatersystems.com/blogs/blog/what-are-hydroponic-systems
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge William F Gericke for finding hydroponics without him this project would have not been made. I would also like to acknowledge my sister who had helped me with the field of research done and for giving me the idea to do hydroponics.