Guide for Experiment

Type out the following:

Problem-

This is in the form of a question. For example, What effect does water have on plant growth?

Hypothesis-

              This is your “If… then… because…” statement. For example, If a plant receives more water, then it will grow taller than a plant that receives less water because water is needed for photosynthesis.

Materials-

              This can be just a list of materials. For example:

                            6 ferns

                            6 small pots

                            potting soil

                            water

                            measuring cup

              Be sure to list EVERYTHING you will use in your experiment!!!

Procedure-

              This is where you tell me what you will do. Be sure you make a numbered list and not a paragraph. For example:

• 1)      Plant each fern in a separate pot with 2 cups potting soil. Label three pots as control and three as variable.
• 2)      Measure the size of the plant from the soil to the tallest point in cm and record.
• 3)      Place the pots on the same windowsill.
• 4)      Add ½ cup of water to three pots (control) and 1 cup of water to the other three pots (variable).
• 5)      Every day, measure the heights of the plants from the soil to the highest point and record.
• 6)      Every other day, water the control group with ½ cup of water and the variable group with 1 cup of water.
• 7)      Continue experiment for 10 days.

Data-

              Here is where you will have a table and graph illustrating what you have measured. The table for this experiment may look like this:

Height of Plants in Centimeters

A graph should be made of these results.

Analysis-

              This is where you will explain if your hypothesis was correct or incorrect and why. For example:

              The plants that received the higher amount of water showed a much larger growth change than those that received less water. This is shown in the table and in the graph. The reason for this is that plants need water in order to go through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process that makes food for plants. If they do not have water, they cannot produce as much food. If they cannot produce a lot of food, then they cannot grow.