Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi
I've finished my experiment and now I just have to do the data analysis. My project was the effect of vitamins on plant growth. I used 3 different vitamins and had a control. I measured them twice a week for five weeks. I am actually focusing on growth more than height do to the fact that the plants were of many different starting heights. I had 6 plants per group giving me a total of 24 fern plants. I really need to know which type of data I should use for my science fair project. And which specific type. Like if I need to use statistical data analysis, which specific type. (Because I think the teacher said there was more than one type!) PLEASE help and answer!!! Thankyou!

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Hi jvsoccerplaya925,

let me try to understand: you had four groups of six plants each, with each group testing a different vitamin and a control group.
You measured growth (how?) at ten different points in time. That makes 10 x 6 x 4 = 240 data points. That is an impressive data sample!
If you measured each of these data points more than once (probably not, since you already have six plants per group), you want to average those first, and then treat the average as one data point.

Then I would average the measurements within the group. What I mean is, for each point in time, average the six plants in each group. Don't forget to calculate the standard deviation for your averages as well. Now you have 10 data points per group. I would plot these over time. Don't forget to include the error bars when you plot the data points.