Story of the Seed Lab Report

9/22/16
Story of the Seed- Broccoli Bunch
Annika Gordon, Katie Inman, Whitley Moody, and Madeline Gong

The purpose of our project was to see if there were other ways to grow types of plants. We came to a major conclusion that plants can grow with different types of waters and lights. This is a significant process to be aware of so you can use other resources in order to grow plants. All the other sections summarize our procedures, what we used to grow the plants, our problems and results in the end. Each of the other sections summarize the background information, our materials, the project’s procedure, our data, results and the flaws in our project.

For the past two weeks, our team has been germinating and growing broccoli seeds. Our hope was to find what variables help the plants grow taller. We used two independent variables: color of light and type of water. We used red light, blue light, and natural light. Also, we used coconut water, salt water, and tap water. Our control group was the plant that had natural sunlight and natural water. We tracked the growth from seed to plant for ten days, and have now moved the broccoli plant to a larger garden where we will continue to monitor the growth of the plant.

Materials
90 ml tap water
90 ml salt water
90 ml coconut water
180 broccoli seeds
900 ml of dirt
180 cm by 180 cm square of red saran wrap
180 cm by 180 cm square of blue saran wrap
9 1300 ml cu
9 200 ml cups
Beaker to measure
9 rubber bands
1 paper clip
1 artificial light source
We didn’t have any special methods, we simply planted the broccoli seeds like normal, watered them and watched them grow.

Steps
1. Label all 9 8 ½ cm cup with the light color and liquid it will be watered with [ex: red light and coconut water is RC]
2. Place 90 mL of soil in each cup
3. Sprinkle 25 broccoli seed in each cup
4. Place 10 more mL of soil on top of the seeds in each cup
5. Water each cup with 30 mL of their designated liquid
6. Place a 20 cm by 20 cm piece of colored plastic sheet over designated cup
7. Secure each plastic sheet with a rubber band around the top of cup making sure it is airtight
8. Poke 10 holes in each plastic sheet on a cup with a paper clip
9. Place all cups together under artificial light
10. Repeat step 5 and 9 daily and make sure you only uncover the ones with a plastic sheets for a maximum of 10 minutes
Some things that we changed from our procedure [which did not help our experiment] were not putting a plastic sheet of clear on the natural light and having them all open to open air for more than 10 minutes. We suggest fully following the procedure for more credible results. Also, we did not water them daily. The reason our procedure was changed was because we did not realize we wouldn’t be in class every day to water, so then we started coming to tutorial to water.

Results
Natural Light
Day 1: Salt 0cm, Tap 0cm, Coconut 0cm
Day 3: Salt 0cm, Tap 0cm, Coconut 1cm
Day 4: Salt 0cm, Tap 2 ¾ cm, Coconut 1 ¼ cm
Day 7: Salt 0cm, Tap 9 ¾ cm, Coconut 6cm
Day 8: Salt 0cm, Tap 11cm, Coconut 6cm
Day 10: Salt 0cm, Tap 12cm, Coconut 6cm





Red Light
Day 1: Salt 0 cm, Tap 0 cm, Coconut 0cm
Day 3: Salt 0 cm, Tap 1 cm, Coconut 1/ 2 cm
Day 4: Salt 0 cm, Tap 4 ¾ cm, Coconut 2 ½ cm
Day 7: Salt 0 cm, Tap 11 ½ cm, Coconut 3 ½ cm
Day 8: Salt 0 cm, Tap 11 ½ cm, Coconut 3 ½ cm
Day 10: Salt 0 cm, Tap 11 ½ cm, Coconut 3 ½ cm

Blue Light
Day 1: Salt 0 cm, Tap 0 cm, Coconut 0 cm
Day 3: Salt 0 cm, Tap 1 cm, Coconut ½ cm
Day 4: Salt 0 cm, Tap 5 ½ cm, Coconut 2 ¼ cm
Day 7: Salt 0 cm, Tap 12 cm, Coconut 3 cm
Day 8: Salt 0 cm, Tap 12 ½ cm, Coconut 3 cm
Day 10: Salt 0 cm, Tap 12 ½ cm, Coconut 3 cm

In the end of the experiment we had a wide variety of results. We found out that the water and light that grew the plants the best were tap water and blue light. We learned that salt water does not grow plants at all and coconut water molds over time. Our hypothesis was partially supported because our data and results showed natural water gave the best plant growth results but blue light was the better light. We didn’t get the results we thought we would because we carried out some of the parts of the experiment incorrectly. During our prep for our experiment, we only covered our blue and red light variables with the designated colored plastic wrap but left the natural light variable without any coverage. We should have covered it with clear wrap so all the variables would get equal air and light. Some improvements we could have made to the design were to make sure each variable got equal amounts of things and to narrow our control group to only one variable because multiple can cause confusion in the data and results. Our findings are important because in the real world, we now know how to grow plants with other types of materials.

As a result of this lab we now know that when plants are watered with coconut water, they tend to become moldy, plants die when watered with saltwater, and the color of light didn’t really affect the growth of the plants because in the end not one color made the plants grow better. But, the different waters affected the growth of the plants, and tap water made the broccoli grow big faster than the other waters, coconut and salt, by a longshot.

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3155
On that website it said that blue and red light helped plants grow.The different light has different light wavelengths which have different energy. And this energy is absorbed differently causing differences in growth. So that is where we got the idea to use red and blue for our other light sources. We found that website by searching on google if colored light affect plant growth.

About Our Project

The Story of the Seed Project is a yearlong project where we track the growth of plants from seedling to sprout, and a sprout to a full grown plant. The first two weeks we worked in a group as we experimented with the plants to see what variables would help them grow.  For our project we tested the germination and growth of the broccoli seed.  We tested two variables: types of liquid used to water plant, and color of light plants grow in.  Our natural light tap water plant and our red water tap water were planted in the garden and we are waiting to see how they grow.

Maddie Gong Bio

Hi my name is Maddie. I was born here in San Jose, California. I moved to Willow Glen when I was around 2 years old and have lived here ever since. My dad was born in Mountain View, California while my mom was born in Korea. But most of my family lives in the United States.

I haven't really gardened that much, but sometimes I help my parents with planting flowers in our yard. When I was little my family planted a lemon tree in our backyard and it still gives lots of lemons that we use in food and for lemonade. I don't cook on a regular basis but sometimes I will cook things from pasta to pasteries and help my parents with making dinner sometimes. I think that both of my parents both pretty equal when it comes to gardening, but I think my dad knows a lot about making food from scratch because he's the best cook in my family. 

Katie Inman Bio

My name is Katie Inman. I have lived in San Jose my whole life, but in two different houses. My dad has lived in Willow Glen his whole life and went to WGHS and my grandparents did too. My mom moved to California from Minnesota in her twenties.  Ever two years we go back to Minnesota to visit her side of the family.

At my house we have planting beds on the side yard. Every year we would go to the nursery and get our seeds then plant everything as a team. In them we used to grow tomatoes, carrots, and tried growing pumpkins. We also have a apple tree, orange tree, and Asian pear team  I a couple years later had my own planting beds where i grew strawberries, peas, and more carrots.  I don´t think i liked gardening cause i was a very impatient child. My dad knows a lot about gardening. When he was younger he spent a lot of time at his grandmothers farm. My mom knows a lot about cooking. She has been making things from scratch since she was a little girl. I know how to cook many things because of my mom.  

Annika Gordon Bio

My name is Annika Gordon. I have lived in San Jose California on the same street and in the same house my entire life. My grandparents and cousins live in Indiana, where my dad came from, and my other cousins live in Santa Cruz, where my mom came from.

I have, and still do, garden all the time. I have grown sunflowers, lemons, tomatoes, pumpkins, onions, carrots, borage, and many other things. I have always loved gardening and in between school, dance, and homework I try to garden as often as possible. Gardening gives my a sense of peace and calm, which I struggle to find anywhere else.

My mom taught me how to garden at a young age, and though she didn't know much about it, she inspired me to get a lot better. My neighbors, and close friends, are the ones that really taught me about gardening and cooking, which they know a lot about. I usually just cook simple things like grilled cheese, pasta, and lemonade, but sometimes I like to make my own red sauce and jelly from the plants in my garden. I also love making all sorts of pies and stir fries for the holidays.

Whitley Moody Bio

My name is Whitley Moody.  I was born here in San Jose, California.  I have lived in the same house for my entire life.  My dad was born in Florida, and my mom was born in Los Angeles, so I have family in most parts of the United States.

When I was little, I would garden with my family every spring and summer.  We would grow everything from zucchini to pumpkin plants.  I really enjoyed getting to eat fresh food knowing that I had grown it in my own backyard.  My dad is a really good cook, so he would always find ways to make the fresh food really delicious!  My favorite was when my dad made Caprese Salads with the fresh basil and tomatoes.  Ever since I started playing volleyball and my brother started playing basketball, my family hasn't had time to garden.  I hope that when I get older I will be able to have a garden with my family.  My dad probably knows the most about gardening and making food from scratch since he is the best cook in my family.