The Temperature of Water affects the Growth of Lentils

By Felix, Chuma, and Shiraz

INTRODUCTION   

    The hypothesis we used for our experiment was “The temperature of water affects the growth of plants. The prediction we made was “If the temperature of water affects the height of plants then the height of the plant will change when the temperature of water is changed”. We had three groups for this experiment, the room temperature group (the control group) and the hot and cold groups (the experimental groups). Five of the constants were:

1. The amount of water (50ml)

2. The colour of the light

3. The size of the containers (946ml)

4. The amount of airspace

5. The color of the pots (clear)

The experiment took place in each of the group members house.

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    Materials

1.    946ml Ziploc containers (polypropylene) To find out about this, look at the bottom of the of the container. If it says "6" in the recycle symbol, or PP under neath, it is the right size.

2.    250 ml potting soil per container (750 ml total)

3.    50ml water per day (tap) (0°C, 25°C, 70°C) 1400 ml total

4.    15 normal lentils

5.    Measuring cup (mL)

6.    Marker

7.    Masking tape

8.    Ruler

9.    Kettle

10.  Fridge

11.  Thermometer

12.  Knife/Awl

               Procedure

1.    Gather the supplies

2.    Cut a hole in the bottom of the containers using the knife or awl

3.    Put 250 ml potting soil in each container

4.    Place 5 lentils in each pot. Arrange them so they look the 5 on a die

5.    Place strips of masking tape of all of the containers.

6.    Write “room temperature” on one, “hot” on another, and “cold” on the last

7.    Get some water up to 70°C

8.    Get some water to 25°C

9.    Get some water to 0°C

10.    Pour the water into the appropriate containers

11.    Repeat steps 7-10 daily at 6:00

12.    Measure the plants height on cm

Make sure to place your plants in a place that gets sun

Here’s a diagram of the set up:

RESULTS

     There were not many things to observe during this experiment, but some things were:

•During most of the experiment on of the cold plants were crushed because the water would not get cold enough to pour on them so ice was used.

•The room temperature plants seem to grow the fastest although there were fewer plants growing (3 plants).

•The cold plants were the second shortest although the group had the most plants growing (all 5).

•The hot plants were the shortest group and had the least plants.

•Over the course of the experiment the pots never started overflowing we also never changed the amount.

                           The Temperature of Water affects the Growth of Plants Observation Table Averages

In class we decide to get the height of the plants at the end and round them.

The conclusion is that the temperature of the water does affect the growth of plants.

Lessons Learned:

• Plants are best watered at a neutral temperature
• Since the experiment took place in each of the group members home, it was not a controlled experiment. The plants were each in a completely different area.
• The outside temperature could have affected the growth, too.
• The hot water might not have been hot enough and the cold water might not have been cold enough.

Our group's other pages:

Fruit Juice Affects the Height of Lentil Plants- Chuma, Felix, Shiraz '08-'09

The Temperature of Water Affects the Height of Growth of Chickpeas-Chuma, Felix, Shiraz '08-'09

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