which project should i do?

Ask questions about projects relating to: biology, biochemistry, genomics, microbiology, molecular biology, pharmacology/toxicology, zoology, human behavior, archeology, anthropology, political science, sociology, geology, environmental science, oceanography, seismology, weather, or atmosphere.

Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, MadelineB, Moderators

Locked
plantmuncher
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:19 pm
Occupation: Student

which project should i do?

Post by plantmuncher »

i'm currently trying to choose a problem for my science project, the problem selection is due on Tuesday but I'm trying to figure it out this weekend so I don't have to think about it on the weekdays. I did my general topic selection on herbaceous plants. I'm thinking of doing something involving vitamin D, such as:
"Do beans grow faster with more vitamin D?"and "Do Radishes grow faster with more vitamin D?" and "Does vitamin D have the biggest effect on plant growth in Radishes or beans?" I need at least 2 problems for my project, but considering I'd need two control groups for this investigation, I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on if this is good or I should modify it. :?: Also, since I'm in 10th grade I'm worried if this might be too simple as I need it to match my grade level. (I'm not doing science fair so I'm not worried about it compared to others projects) So if anyone has any thoughts on a more complicated factor I could use instead of vitamin D ( maybe caffeine?...) affecting plant growth that would be great. But I need my investigation to be practical so the factor can't be too far off like milk or something. any help is appreciated greatly! :D :D :mrgreen:
plantmuncher
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:19 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: which project should i do?

Post by plantmuncher »

correction: it's not due on tuesday, it's due on friday. (November 5th)
neclowe1
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 12:33 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: which project should i do?

Post by neclowe1 »

Hello,
Thanks for the questions.
I am also in tenth grade and have started my science project so I can relate. I am taking a 11th grade biology class even though I am in 10th grade. So, I do believe the questions that you are asking are around the area of plant biology. To me yes the projects you have are a bit simple for your grade but that is ok. The last question you have asked is ok but it is below your grade level "Does vitamin D have the biggest effect on plant growth in Radishes or beans?" This is simply asking Does sunlight have the biggest effect on plant growth in Radishes or beans? This is because Vitamin D is sunlight. If you like your idea I have modified it What kind of music type has the biggest effect on plant growth of radishes and beans? For this you have at least three types of music for both of your plants and see which plant has the most effectiveness out of the three music types being played each day. But, you have to have the music playing at a bare minimum of three hours each day. For example, one day you can play classical music near both plants and report your observations the next day. The day you report your results of the first music type you can play rock music then the next day report your observations. Lastly the day you report the rock music results you can use pop music then report your observations of that. But it would be best to have instrumental music, at least played three hours of each day, and each day it has to have a different type of music of your choice. Also, I have listed more suggestions below:
Do different colors of light affect the direction of plant growth and it's height?
Do vitamins or fertilizers promote plant growth?
What type of plant grows faster without sunlight?
If you have any more questions or questions about my suggestions feel free to ask...
plantmuncher
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:19 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: which project should i do?

Post by plantmuncher »

Thank you for the help! :D Using your fertilizer idea, I've decided to do the effect of different nutrients/fertilizer on hydroponic beans growth. Do you think this is a good topic for 10th grade? Since I've never worked with plants before, I'm a bit hesitant to go any further complicated than this (considering I'll probably make a mistake).
plantmuncher
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:19 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: which project should i do?

Post by plantmuncher »

Also, if I have 3 plant groups would 15 plants in each group be a sufficient amount to see if there is any difference?
koneill18
Expert
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: which project should i do?

Post by koneill18 »

Hello!

I think this sounds like a good project topic. Have you already come up with your hypothesis and decided on which nutrients/fertilizers you'd like to test? You can post more details about your experimental design here so we can make sure that everything sounds good to go!

15 plants per group would be plenty to see a difference. Bigger sample sizes are always better, but you have to make sure that you'll be able to take care of all those plants. If you think 45 plants is going to be too much to handle, you could reduce your sample size to 5 or 6 plants per group. That should be enough perform a statistical analysis of your data at the end of the experiment to look for any differences.

I hope this helps!
plantmuncher
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:19 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: which project should i do?

Post by plantmuncher »

Thanks for your response!

My hypothesis is: "the NPK value will affect the growth rate of hydroponically grown bean plants. Hydroponic plants depend on the nutrient mixture for growth because there is no soil involved for them to absorb nutrients naturally. Because of this, there will most likely be a large difference in the growth rate of the different groups of beans. My second hypothesis is that the NPK value of nutrients will affect the overall health of hydroponically grown plant beans. These nutrients provide the plant with the necessities for its survival so it will most likely affect the health as well."

I've also decided to test 2-1-6 nutrients, 15-30-15 nutrients, and 0-0-22 nutrients. I couldn't find many resources on the best/worst npk value for nutrients online but I picked these with what I could find. The 2-1-6 is a "hydroponic" fertilizer, the 15-30-15 is a "bloom booster", and the 0-0-22 is a potassium-only fertilizer. I'm still not too sure if the values picked are good for my project though.

I'm going to have 4 groups, 3 experimental and 1 control (without nutrients at all), with 5 plants in each group :D (decided 15 was way too much to handle). I need some help when it comes to determining the conclusion of my experiment. I can't seem to find an average height difference that would be big enough to determine if the npk value really does influence the growth rate (can't really find any sources for that either). For the procedure itself I'm planning on following this project here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... thout-soil .

Also, I'm a bit frightened about measuring the height, the number of leaves, and any changes in plant color every 2 days since I need a minimum of 3 journal entries every 3 school days in my program. I'm not sure if I should change it to everyday or what.. (I already have a lot of homework on top of this)

Any help is greatly appreciated, and I have a pretty decent time frame to determine my science project procedure. :)
koneill18
Expert
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: which project should i do?

Post by koneill18 »

Hello!

It sounds like you have a great plan so far! For your hypothesis, my only suggestion is to be more specific about what effect you expect the NPK value to have on the growth rate of the plants. If there is one nutrient ratio that you think will make the plants grow the fastest based on your research, you can mention that in your hypothesis. Or you could just say that if you add nutrient mixtures to the plants, this will increase the growth rate and improve plant health.

I think those NPK ratios you picked will work well for your project. Having 4 groups with 5 plants per group was a good decision! Once you finish the project, you'll have a bunch of height measurements from each plant. To determine if there really is a difference in growth rate between the different groups, you can perform a statistical test that will tell you if the differences between the groups are significant. When you have more than two groups, you would use a test called an ANOVA. It might be a bit difficult to understand if you've never taken a statistics class before, but we can help you work through it once you get to the end of your project.

In terms of how often you should be making your observations, you might find this Science Buddies resource helpful. The table at the bottom of the page explains the best method for taking each type of measurement and how often you should take measurements.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ant-growth

I hope this helps! Don't hesitate to ask any other questions that you have.
plantmuncher
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 5:19 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: which project should i do?

Post by plantmuncher »

Thank you so much for the help! I appreciate it a ton. :) My investigation plan is pretty much all sorted out, can't wait to start on my project. You answered all of my questions and were incredibly helpful.
koneill18
Expert
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: which project should i do?

Post by koneill18 »

I'm happy to be able to help! Good luck on the rest of your project! :)
Locked

Return to “Grades 9-12: Life, Earth, and Social Sciences”