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Title:
Growing plants in different liquids

Broad Question
Which liquid will grow wheat berry the best?

Specific Question
Using four different liquids, (orange juice, water, rubbing alcohol, and root beer) which plant will grow the best after being "fed" every day for 10 days.

Hypothesis:
Plants with rubbing alcohol will die, plants with orange juice will grow slightly, plants with root beer will not grow, and the ones with water will grow the best. This is predicted from an educated guess.

Independent Variable:
The different liquids

Dependent Variable:
The length of the blades of grass.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:
Amount of dirt, seeds, liquids, sunlight.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
Wheat Berry: A grain of wheat Ph: A measure of hydrogen- a measurement of the acidity level in something Solution: A mixture of two substances

General Plan
** For the project,the question that is being tested is: “If different liquids affect plant growth?” Four different liquids will be used, water, rubbing alcohol, root beer, and orange juice. For each liquid there will be ten plants. Then the seeds will be planted at the same depth in the dirt, and they will be watered them with the liquids regularly, and expose them to the same amount of sunlight. A chart will be made to show how the plants are growing. **

Potential Problems And Solutions
One problem that could happen in the experiment would be if the plants didnt grow. If this happened, the plant being growth would have to be changed and so would the different liquids.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns
The two safety concerns would be rubbing alcohol and fertilizer. Rubbing alcohol could be very dangerous if consumed, or inhaled. The fertilzer could be dangerous because it could irritate eyes or prove harmful if swallowed.

Experimental Design
(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table
99% antiseptic 16oz ||
 * Orange Juice || Hannaford || $2.69 ||
 * Root Beer || Hannaford || $1.59 ||
 * Water || Science lab || FREE ||
 * Rubbing Alcohol || Hannaford || $4.00-
 * Trays x2 || Already purchased || $2.50 each ||
 * Dirt with fertilizer || Available In Science Room || FREE ||
 * Wheat Berry Seeds x140 || Hardware Store || Cost Unknown ||

Time Line
** Complete design and collection of all materials: __2-29-12__ ** ** Run a test of the setup, not collecting data, just seeing if everything works: 3 __-5-12__ ** ** Run first official trials of experiment, collect data first: __3-6-12__ ** ** Complete all trials of experiment and all data collection: __3-16-12__ ** ** Complete all data analysis; mean, median, range, graphs: __3-20-12__ ** ** Complete results and conclusions write up (home): __3-28-12__ **

Background Research
A popular science project when investigating the germination and growth of plants, water will of course be the best liquid and will triumph over any juice or soda. This is because it has the right combination of elements - hydrogen and oxygen - which will increase anaerobic respiration, where water and carbon dioxide is turned into energy and oxygen is a waste product, the reverse of the reaction which occurs in humans. Perhaps an investigation between different sorts of water with different purity levels, such as distilled, tap and stream water, would make results more interesting than using juices of different concentration. To take accurate data, define your methods of measuring flowers before starting the experiment. You may want to rely solely on height, number of leaves, number of flowers, thickness of stem, or any other factors that may affect the specific plants you choose. Make sure to choose fast-growing plants for your science experiment, which include marigolds, sunflowers, radishes, beans, cucumbers and watercress. Make sure to also use seeds from the same package in your experiment as a control so that the type of liquid is your only variable. Standardising the time of your experiment is a way to display your plants as they grow, and use exactly the same outside conditions, again as a control. Make sure to photograph your plants at each stage of development, and attach one from each stage and record your data live as it happens. For an artistic touch, you can paint vines crawling up your display board in extremely light background colors before attaching your information to the board. [|__http://www.blurtit.com/q781996.html__]

A typical serving of orange juice has 120 mg of vitamin C (>100% RDI). It has 21 g of sugars and has 110 calories, both close to a can of soda. It also supplies potassium, thiamin, and folate. Citrus juices contain [|flavonoids]  (especially in the [|pulp] ), that may have health benefits. Orange juice is also a source of the [|antioxidant][|Hesperidin] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Due to its <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|citric acid] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> content, orange juice is acidic, with a typical <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|pH] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> of around 3.5. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0b0080; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|[1]] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_juice__]


 * <span style="background-color: #5e5e5e; color: #ffffff; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SODA NAME || <span style="background-color: #5e5e5e; color: #ffffff; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">PH  ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Coke || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.525 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Diet Coke || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.289 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pepsi || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.530 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Diet Pepsi || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.031 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. Pepper || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.899 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Diet Dr. Pepper || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.169 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cherry Coke || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.522 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RC Cola || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.387 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mr. Pibb || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.902 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mountain Dew || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.229 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Diet Mountain Dew || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.365 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Squirt || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.898 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Surge || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.004 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Slice Orange || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.059 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sprite || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.202 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">7 Up || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.202 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Diet 7 Up || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3.706 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lemon Brisk || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.868 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lemon Nestea || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2.969 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mug Root beer || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4.038 ||
 * <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tap Water || <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">7.67 ||

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://quittingsoda.com/post/the-acidity-ph-of-soda-pop__]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many people use a mixture of Isopropyl (rubbing) Alcohol, water and a drop or two of Dawn dish liquid to clean their counters. Isopropyl Alcohol has a pH of 7.0, and is the main ingredient in all stone cleaners I have researched. Note: Ethanol (denatured alcohol) is also used in making stone cleaning products. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.pbase.com/weed30/cleaning_granite__]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pure (neutral) water has a pH around 7 at 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit); this value varies with temperature. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH__]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3 Wheat berry seeds will be planted in one inch of soil in each separate space in the trays. The plants will be then “fed” two table spoons of the different liquids once a day. “Feeding” will continue for 10 days. After the growth is complete, each group of plants will be separated. Once they are all separated the tallest blades of grass from each group will then be measured and averaged together. Once averaged together, the greatest average will indicate the most successful liquid for a plants growth.

Detailed Procedure
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Buy a bottle of rubbing alcohol, root beer, orange juice and water. Then buy 140 wheat berry seeds and some potting soil with fertilizer. Finally, buy a seedling tray that is 1 and 3/4 of an inch deep. Make sure the tray has individual holes where seeds can be planted. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Once all your materials are acquired you can start measuring soil. Measure out 2.9 grams of soil. Fill each hole with the measured soil. Sprinkle three seeds on top of soil in each hole. Sprinkle a thin layer of soil on top of the seeds. Continue until 140 seeds have been used. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Label the different sections of the tray, according to the liquid that will be used. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Once planted, “feed” the seeds with 5 ml of the four different liquids each day for 10 days. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Leave the trays uncovered in a place that the sun will be the same for both trays. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. The height of the tallest ten blades of grass from each section will be measured and recorded. ** <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">7. An average will be taken from each section. Once calculated, you will be able to tell which is the best liquid for plant growth. **

Photo List
Frankie planting wheat berry seeds. Frankie showing wheat berry seeds. Frankie watering wheat berry seeds. Neville measuring plants.

Results
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">An experiment was conducted to see if the Wheat Berry plant could survive in other liquids besides water. There were four liquids that were used in the experiment, root beer, rubbing alcohol, orange juice, and water. It was found that the plants with water and root beer grew the best, the ones with orange juice grew the third best, and the ones with rubbing alcohol didn’t grow at all. The plants were watered regularly with the different liquids, and they were all treated exactly the same.

All Raw Data
media type="custom" key="14119446"

Graphs


Photos === <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> === Planting Wheat Berry Seeds Wheat Berry Seeds Measuring the plants Planting continued

Conclusion
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; vertical-align: baseline;">** An experiment was conducted to see which of four liquids would best grow plants. The liquids used were water, orange juice, root beer, and rubbing alcohol. The independent variable was different liquids, and the dependent variable was how the plants growth was affected. It was found that the plants fed water grew the best, with an average height of 4.25 cm, followed by orange juice with an average of 1.95cm, root beer with an average of 1.5cm, and finally, rubbing alcohol with an average of 0.0cm. **

Discussion
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 99%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The question was “Can the Wheat Berry plant survive in other liquids besides water”. The question was answered, four different liquids were used. Rubbing alcohol, root beer, orange juice, and water. All of the plants grew except the ones rubbing alcohol. The hypothesis was that all of them would grow except the rubbing alcohol. There were a few tall blades of grass from the ones that grew, the highest was from the ones we watered and it was about 4.9cm. They kept a consistent growing pattern when they were being taken care of. As long as the independent variable, (liquids) were measured correctly the plants kept growing the average height expected.

Some challenges that were faced during the course of the experiment were that some of the seeds were miscounted and they had to have three in each so they had to be recounted, the liquids had to be measured exactly 5ml, other than those mishaps there was no other problems. The experiment was conducted as planned, in the experiment itself there was nothing else to improve on. The written part could have been done in a more timely fashion but it was still completed and turned in to the teacher.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 99%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The only technology that was used during this project was an electric scale to weigh the dirt, a refrigerator, and a computer. The results were the same as the hypotheses and they would probably be the same for everyone who would do this experiment. A big part of it is common sense also. There was some useful information found during this experiment such as water is the best liquid for plant growth and dirt with fertilizer helped the growing process, and you should water them everyday. Maybe this information would be useful to first-time plant owners. You don’t have to measure the exact amount of liquids and soil that was just done because of the experiment.

= =

Abstract
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The experiment was to see if plants could survive in other liquids besides water. All of them grew but some grew ,more than others. The plants were treated the same. They had the same amount of soil, different liquids, and sunlight. After ten trials they were not being taken care of anymore and took the top ten highest from each liquid and averaged them out. There were then graphs made to go along with the data. The orange juice average is 1.95, the root beer average is 1.5, the average to water is 4.