1. Plant Experiment Group Members: Group Members:  A. Yoxall  T. Rathbun  S. Brubaker

2. Purpose Do different types of soil affect the way the bean plants grow?

3. Hypothesis We think the plant in the mixed soil will grow the best. We think the plant in the sand will grow the least.

4. Materials  Nail  Pen  3 Styrofoam cups  3 Healthy bean plants  Water  Measuring cups  Sand  Top soil  Sandy soil mix  Ruler  Data sheet  Sunny window

5. Procedure  Gather all materials.  Fill one cup ½ full with top soil, another cup ½ full with sand, and the third cup ½ full with mixed soil.  Place a bean plant’s roots into each cup and continue to add soil, sand, or mixed soil until the cup is almost full.  Pack soil, sand, or sandy soil mix lightly with fingers.  Poke a nail through the sides of each cup near the bottom 4 times to allow drainage.  Label each cup with a pen to identify group members.

6. Procedure  Place each cup in a separate Styrofoam bowl.  Measure the starting heights of each plant in centimeters and record on data sheet.  Place all plants in the same sunny window.  Water each plant ¼ cup of water each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Measure each plant’s growth on Mondays for four weeks.  Record height on data sheet.

7. Variable & Controls  Different types of soil  Same sunny window  Same amount of water  Same type of liquid in watering  Same amount of soil  Same kind of plant

8. Results  The plant in the mixed soil grew 9 cm. It grew the most.  The plant in the top soil grew 7 cm. It was in between the heights of the other two plants.  The plant in the sandy soil grew 6 cm. It grew the least.

9. Conclusion We learned that plants need good soil to grow. Sand does not have very many nutrients. Top soil has the best nutrients for plants to grow healthy. This supports our hypothesis.