Bibliography

• Information About Plant Nutrients:
  http://www.agr.state.nc.us/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm
• Information for Kids on Gardening:
  http://www.copper-tree.ca/garden/index.html

Materials and Equipment

Note: Adult supervision recommended during preparation of nitrogen fertilizer solution.

• at least eight small pots
• potting soil
• one packet of seeds
• commercial nitrogen fertilizer mix for house plants (e.g., Miracle Gro, Peter's or equivalent)
• empty glass or plastic bottle for mixing nitrogen fertilizer

Experimental Procedure

Note: Adult supervision required during use of nitrogen fertilizer.

1. Make sure pots have holes in the bottom to allow the roots to "breathe" and excess water to drain out.
2. Measure equal amounts of soil into each of the pots.
3. Moisten the soil in each pot with the equal amounts of water.
4. Label four pots with "nitrogen fertilizer" and four pots with "no nitrogen added."
5. Plant seeds in each pot according to seed packet instructions.
6. Place plants near a sunny window or under a grow light.
7. Check your plants regularly and water when needed.
   1. Soil should be kept moist.
   2. Water the "no nitrogen added" pots with regular water.
   3. Water the "nitrogen fertilizer" pots with water mixed with nitrogen fertilizer. Follow the fertilizer manufacturer's recommendations for preparing this solution.
   4. All plants should receive the same amount of liquid at each watering.
   5. Keep track of your watering schedule in your lab notebook.
8. At regular intervals, record observations on the growth of the plants (e.g., height, number of leaves on each plant, etc.) in your lab notebook. For information on scientifically measuring plant growth see the Science Buddies How-to page, "Measuring Plant Growth".
9. Here is a sample data table for organizing your data:

   	No Fertilizer				With Fertilizer
   	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6	#7	#8
   Date: Height # of Leaves Observations
   Date: Height # of Leaves Observations
   Date: Height # of Leaves Observations
   Etc.

10. Allow plants to grow to maturity, then make final measurements of the growth of each plant. Here are some suggested methods for accurately quantifying plant growth: http://sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/PlantBio_measuring_growth.shtml.
11. Summarize your results by averaging over the No Fertilizer and + Fertilizer Conditions, and prepare one or more bar graphs to compare your measurements.

Variations

• Compare different amounts of nitrogen fertilizer to see what the ideal concentration is for growing plants
• Experiment with other types of nutrient fertilizers to test their effects on plants.

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Plant Biology Project Ideas.

Credits

La Né Powers
Edited by Andrew Olson, Science Buddies

Last edit date: 2007-03-22 22:00:00