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23 Plant Experiment Ideas
ThoughtCo / Hilary Allison
- Cell Biology
- Weather & Climate
- B.A., Biology, Emory University
- A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College
Plants are tremendously crucial to life on Earth. They are the foundation of food chains in almost every ecosystem. Plants also play a significant role in the environment by influencing climate and producing life-giving oxygen.
Plant experiments and studies allow us to learn about plant biology and its potential usage for plants in other fields such as medicine , agriculture , and biotechnology . The following plant experiment ideas provide suggestions for topics to be explored.
Plant Experiment Ideas
- Do magnetic fields affect plant growth?
- Do different colors of light affect the direction of plant growth?
- Do sounds (music, noise, etc.) affect plant growth?
- Do different colors of light affect the rate of photosynthesis ?
- What are the effects of acid rain on plant growth?
- Do household detergents affect plant growth?
- Can plants conduct electricity ?
- Does cigarette smoke affect plant growth?
- Does soil temperature affect root growth?
- Does caffeine affect plant growth?
- Does water salinity affect plant growth?
- Does artificial gravity affect seed germination?
- Does freezing affect seed germination?
- Does burned soil affect seed germination?
- Does seed size affect plant height?
- Does fruit size affect the number of seeds in the fruit?
- Do vitamins or fertilizers promote plant growth?
- Do fertilizers extend plant life during a drought ?
- Does leaf size affect plant transpiration rates?
- Can plant spices inhibit bacterial growth ?
- Do different types of artificial light affect plant growth?
- Does soil pH affect plant growth?
- Do carnivorous plants prefer certain insects?
- 7 Major Types of Algae
- Guide to the 6 Kingdoms of Life
- Phases of the Bacterial Growth Curve
- Gram Positive vs. Gram Negative Bacteria
- Animal Studies and School Project Ideas
- Angiosperms
- 10 Facts About Pollen
- Nematoda: Roundworms
- Is Spontaneous Generation Real?
- Parts of a Flowering Plant
- 5 Tricks Plants Use to Lure Pollinators
- Carnivorous Plants
- Mutualism: Symbiotic Relationships
- The Photosynthesis Formula: Turning Sunlight into Energy
- All About Photosynthetic Organisms
- All About the Protista Kingdom
Experiments for Kids | Effecting Plant Growth
As always, I am excited to be back for another Saturday Science . We love experiments for kids ! Science is such a staple in our house and guides the rest of our lessons for the week. This week, I thought it would be fun to share some old science fun we had before we ever started homeschooling . This experiment is one we did when Legoman was in second grade for his science fair project.
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Since this science experiment was for science fair, we needed to follow the scientific method. If you are a regular here, you know how much we love science and how we try to teach the correct procedures and techniques involved in science explorations. This science experiment would be great for any age, with some modifications and adult help for the younger ages.
Question/ Hypothesis
Question: How do various liquids {tap water, river water, salt water, carbonated water, and soda} effect plant growth?
Hypothesis: Legoman predicted that the plant that was given the river water would grow the most.
Materials and Procedure
What we needed:
6 Plants (all the same variety, roughly the same size) (We chose to use established plants to see the effects of the liquids on the plant growth)
6 Different Liquids {We used tap water, river water, salt water, carbonated water, and soda but you could use any liquids your child wants to investigate}
Planters Ruler Measuring Cup (to ensure you are using the same amounts of liquid with each plant) Journal and pencil (for recording data)
We planted each plant in individual pots and used our handy label maker to label each pot with the liquid we would be giving it over the next two weeks. We also labeled each liquid container so that they would match the plants.
Something important about a science experiment is to teach children about constants (unchanging elements) and the variables (what you are manipulating).
For this project, our contants are the type of plant used, the container, and the amount of liquid for each plant.
We measured the same amount of liquid and “watered” each plant. We notated the amount we used (this will vary depending on the size of your pot) We used 1/4 cup at the beginning. You will see in observations, that we later had to change this.
It is important to note: We also measured each plant at the beginning of the project to get the starting size for each plant. We wanted to know how much the plants grew over time and having a baseline measurement was very important.
Each day we measured each plant, “watered” it with the appropriate liquids, and collected the data in our science notebooks. We repeated this for 2 weeks.
Observations/Data
Every day Legoman would grab his tray of plants, his ruler and his liquids. He was excited to wake up each day and “get to work”. It was immediately obvious that the plant with the salt water was starting to wilt. For day one, most of the plants had not grown any, but the salt plant had began to shrivel.
If we were reporting this as a science fair (and if you repeat this) we would report what happened every day, with the measurements and the changes. However, I need to leave something for you to find out! Don’t you want to see what happens?
We couldn’t believe what happened to the plants! Seriously, you will want to try this one and this is the perfect season! I wanted to have a printable available for you but couldn’t find it. I’d love to know if you are interested or have a need for a printable science journal and science project packet.
Legoman really had fun putting all his data into the computer and making graphs for his science board.
ARE YOU READY FOR MORE SCIENCE FUN?
Time for saturday science blog hop, visit these great bloggers for more fun saturday science experiments too.
Jelly Bean Science from P is for Preschooler
25 Classic Science Experiments For Kids from Little Bins For Little Hands
Follow Science Experiments for Kids on Pinterest.
What is your favorite science activity? I would love to hear! connect with me on Facebook , Twitter , Google+ , Pinterest , Instagram or subscribe by email . I can’t wait to hear your ideas.
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16 thoughts on “Experiments for Kids | Effecting Plant Growth”
Aww, you’re not going to tell us the results?! 😉 This sounds like an interesting experiment and I love how into itLegoman was!
I absolutely love this!!! Thank you so much for posting such a thorough post about it. On my list of things to do.
Oh your poor salt plant! It looks like most of mine in the garden, haha. Great experiment.
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This is an interesting science experiment. Let’s not forget the proper spelling though. In most of the times when the word “effecting” was used here it actually meant “affecting” instead. Since wet are teaching children, spelling is important. This scientific project could be called: ” The effect of different solutions in plant growth: how various solutions affect plant growth. ” Tricky words!
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Dear Legoman Mum,
I am a science teacher from Hong Kong and I find your experiement bery useful and interesting. I would like to have a printable science journal and science project packet. Please kindly send to me. Thank you very much!!!!
What would you like in your science journal. This is definitely something I could work on.
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Hi, i am a primary school teacher. I really love this experiment that you have conducted, by any chance are you able to send me the results of this experiment? I would love to show my Year 2 class your observations, and your results.
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