Growing Plants Gizmo

Transcription

1 Name: Date: Period: Growing Plants Gizmo Vocabulary: compost, fertilizer, mass, seed, soil, variable, independent variable, dependent variable, controls (or controlled variables) Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these EFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. What do you think plants need to grow and stay healthy? 2. Soil is a combination of tiny rock fragments and decayed plant materials. How do you think soil helps a plant? Gizmo Warm-up: Grow the iggest Tomato Plant! 1. In the Gizmo set up the three pots as described below: hoose a seed to drag into each pot. lick on the light bulb to turn on the center bulb only. Drag the water slider up or down to set the amount of water for each plant. Make the amount of water match the amounts shown in the data table below. The water is the one variable being tested. This is also known as the independent variable. The conditions kept the same are called the controls (same kind of seed in each pot, same amount of light, same kind of soil). When the the Gizmo is set up click Play ( ) and wait for the simulation to end. 2. Record the results of this trial in the table below. Trial 1 Independent variable: amount of water ontrolled variables: seeds, light level, plain soil Pot Seed Type Light Level Water (ml) 1 on 10ml plain soil 1 on 20ml plain soil 1 on 30ml plain soil 3. How tall was your tallest plant?. Soil Type (plain--compost-- fertilizer) The height of the plant is the dependent variable (because the height depends on the amount of water the plants received)

2 Gizmo Warm-up continued 4. lick Reset ( ) and lear pots. You will now set up three more trials still using seeds, but with different conditions for water or light or soil type to grow the tallest plants you can. Fill in the table for Trial 2, and run the test, and record the height of the plants before moving on to trial 3. Use what you learn from the results of Trial 2 to help you decide how to set up the conditions for Trial 3. Remember, there can only be one independent variable, all the other conditions are kept the same for all 3 pots during the trial (these are the controls). If the plants have different heights at the end of the trial, it can be shown that the independent variable (the one condition that is not the same for each pot) was the reason for the difference. Trial 2: Independent variable: the amount of water ontrolled variables: seeds, compost in the soil, light level 2 on compost 2 on compost 2 on compost Trial 3 Independent variable: ontrolled variables: seeds, light level, water level 3 on 60ml 3 on 60ml 3 on 60ml Trial 4 Independent variable: ontrolled variables: 5. What combinations of conditions (variables) led to the tallest plant?

3 ctivity : Wet and dry lick Reset. lick lear pots. Question: Do seeds need water to grow? 1. Hypothesis: 2. Design the Expriment: In the Gizmo, set up the three pots like this: Pot : ean seed, two lights on, 0 ml water per day Pot : ean seed, two lights on, 50 ml water per day Pot : ean seed, two lights on, 100 ml water per day Fill in the data table below with these conditions 3. Experiment to test the hypothesis: lick Play to start. Make observations during the simulation. When the simulation is done, observe the plants. 4. ollect and organize the data: Fill in the data table below with the height and mass of each plant on day 50. (The mass of a plant is the amount of matter in the plant. It is related to how heavy it is.) In the last column describe what each plant looks like. Pot Seed type Water/day (ml) (cm) Mass (g) General plant appearance bean bean bean 5. nalyze the results: study the data table to see what happened during the test. 6. Draw conclusions: ased on the data, was your hypothesis correct? Write a brief conclusion. 7. Revise and repeat: Is more water always better? Repeat the experiment using different amounts of water to find the ideal (best) amount of water for growing beans. Pot Seed type Water/day (ml) (cm) Mass (g) General plant appearance bean bean bean 8. Explain your findings below.

4 ctivity : Light and dark lick Reset. lick lear pots. Question: Does the amount of light affect how plants grow? 1. Hypothesis: 2. Design the Expriment: In the Gizmo, set up the three pots like this: Set up the three pots with 50 ml of water per day, plain soil, and turnip seeds. Turn on three lights over pot, one light over pot, and zero lights over pot. Fill in the data table below with these conditions 3. Experiment to test the hypothesis: lick Play to start. Make observations during the simulation. fter 30 simulated days, click Pause ( ). Record results in the data table. 4. ollect and organize the data:: In the table below, describe each plant after 30 days. Pot Number of lights (cm) on day 30 Mass (g) day 30 on ppearance on day nalyze results: select the Data tab. Look at the graphs for Plant and Plant Mass. How did the amount of light affect the growth of plants? 6. Draw conclusions: ased on the data was the hypothesis correct? Write a brief conclusion. 7. Think and discuss: lick Play and let the simulation continue to 50 days. ased on what you have seen so far, what do seeds need to grow into healthy plants?

5 ctivity : Design an experiment lick Reset. lick lear pots. Question: You come up with your own question! (See below.) 1. reate question: Fill in the blanks below with the independent variable and the type of plant you would like to study in this activity. (Do not repeat an experiment you have already done.) How does affect a plant? 2. Hypothesis: 3. Design the Expriment: In the Gizmo, set up the pots to test the variable you are investigating. Describe how you set up each pot in the table below. Pot Type of seed Water/day Number of lights Type of soil 4. Experiment to test the hypothesis: lick Play to start. When the simulation is done, observe the plants. Record results in the data table. 5. ollect and organize data: Examine your plant data on the Data tab. Record your results here. Pot (cm) Mass (g) ppearance 6. nalyze results: ased on the data what did you discover? Why do you think it happened that way? 7. Draw conclusions: ased on the data was the hypothesis correct? Write a brief conclusion. 8. ssessment Questions: