By Nicholas Ferrara Lenape Middle School

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Plants require many minerals to survive Micro- and macronutrients Iron is an important micronutrient Almost all materials are affected by magnetic forces Magnetic objects are ferromagnetic o Strong tendency – parallel to force Even nonmagnetic materials are slightly affected Can be paramagnetic o Slight tendency – parallel to force Can be diamagnetic o Slight tendency – perpendicular to force

QUESTION / HYPOTHESIS I wanted to see if there was a relationship between plants and magnets. QUESTION: Do magnetic forces affect how plants grow, and if so, how? HYPOTHESIS: I think plants will be affected by magnets by growing towards the magnetic force. This is because: Many minerals plants need to survive (especially iron) are highly magnetic. Even some nonmagnetic materials have been shown to be paramagnetic (they have a slight tendency to grow parallel to magnetic forces)

USES IN THE REAL WORLD Farmers o Would know how magnets affect their plants o Change location of plants Shoppers/Consumers o More or less food

PROCEDURE There are 3 groups Group A (Control group) – No magnets Group B – Magnets under the plants Group C – Magnets around the plants Each Group has 3 separate tests This prevents errors in 1 test from dramatically affecting all data

PROCEDURE (CONT.) Steps Taken: 1.Each container was filled with soil up to 1 inch below the rim 2. A hole 2” by 2” by 1.5” was made in every container 3.In Group B, 2 magnets were put in the hole 4.1 tbsp. of soil and 2 radish seeds were added to every pot 5.Each container was covered, and in Group C, 2 magnets were put off to the side The amounts of sunlight and water as well as temperature remained constant.

EXPERIMENT – PHOTOS

EXPERIMENT – PHOTOS (CONT.) Not every day is shown

DATA TABLE Green Numbers Show Plant Height Red Numbers Show Angle Measurements Degrees from flat (not from vertical) *There is no data for Day 42

GRAPHS Degrees From Vertical Plant Angle Measurements With the Effect of Magnets Plant Height With the Effect of Magnets Height (millimeters)

CONCLUSION Data: Height Group A was tallest overall; Group C was shortest Group B varied in height Data: Angle measurements Group B grew straightest; Group C was most off-center General Conclusion: Most data supported the hypothesis Plants ARE affected by magnetic forces o They grow towards magnets near them o They are paramagnetic o They grow shorter around magnets