1. Plant Testing Justin Beard and Mariah Brooks 10-31-13 TAF Academy

2. Research Question How does the amount of salt in water affect the growth rate of certain plants?

3. Background Information  A little bit is salt is good for plants but not to much because it dehydrates the plants  Osmosis, saltwater naturally tends to move out of plant cells  High amounts of salt turns the plants yellowish

4. Background Information (cont’d)  Plants have a protective shield so saltwater doesn't physically affect the plants health  Saltwater is too dense to go into the plant roots  Plants that are native to costal areas have a high tolerance for salt

5. Hypothesis We predict that the plants that are watered with fresh water will grow faster. We think this because…

6. Materials Brassica Seeds (Ms. Lemus) Radish Seeds (Ms. Lemus) Cucumber Seeds (Ms. Lemus) Soil (Store) Water (Sink at School) Salt (Store) Ruler (Home) Camera (Home) Planting Containers (Store)

7. Procedure/Methods 1. Put ½ of a cup of soil in the pot 2. Plant 2 of each type of plant (Brassica, Cucumber, and Radish Seeds) 3. Put 4 of each seeds in every pot (Brassica, Cucumber and Radishes) 4. Pour ¼ cup of soil on top of the seeds 5. (For salt water) add ¼ of a cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt 6. Water1of every kind of plant with fresh water and the others with the salt water (use ¼ of a cup of water in each plant)

8. Procedure/Methods (cont’d) 6. Water the other half of plants with salt water (use ¼ of a cup in water in each) 7.Every Day Measure height and circumference Take a picture of each plant 9. Water the plants every other day 10. Repeat Steps 5-9 for 1 month or until our hypothesis is made clear

9. Data  We plan to record the height and the circumference of each plant every day  We will be calculating how fast each plant is growing based on what we water it with  We will determine whether or not our hypothesis is correct or not by looking at our results that show the height, look and circumference of each specific plant  The pictures will help us see our results and observations Date Saltwater vs. Freshwater HeightLook Circumference

10. References  http://www.ehow.com/info_12292026_sci ence-fair-watering-affect-seed- growth.html http://www.ehow.com/info_12292026_sci ence-fair-watering-affect-seed- growth.html  http://www.plantingscience.org/index.ph p?module=pagesetter&type=file&func=g et&tid=2&fid=presentation&pid=4698 http://www.plantingscience.org/index.ph p?module=pagesetter&type=file&func=g et&tid=2&fid=presentation&pid=4698

11. Thank You!