THE DIRTY DIAPER

EXPERIMENT

TURNER 7.21 PS

QUESTION
If I add super absorbent polymer to a plants soil, will
it increase or decrease a plants growth and/or
sustain its life longer.

ABSTRACT
I wanted to do an experiment on whether or not super absorbent
polymer (substance found in diapers) would increase plant
growth. I wanted to find a better and cheaper alternative to
growing plants faster. I recently had a new baby brother and
realized the power of the diaper and thought that it could be used
to store water longer in the soil of the plant. This new method of
plan growing could have a huge impact in places that have very
frequent droughts. My hypothesis is that the diaper brand luvs
will have the most increase in growth to a plant because it will
store more water longer for the plant to take in.

HYPOTHESIS
If I add Super Absorbent Polymer (substance found in
diapers) to topsoil, then it will increase the growth of my
plant (Zinnias), because the polymer will absorb the water
that is provided and slowly release it so the plant
constantly receive water even if the plant is not given
water the next day. Out of the three diapers Im going to
test Luvs, Huggies, and The Honest Company I believe
that the luvs brand will have the greatest increase in
plant growth because Ive experienced how the luvs
brand performs on my siblings.

MATERIALS
Water - 3 liters or 12 cups + 2 tablespoons of water each day for each
plant
Topsoil Organic Vigoro Gardening Soil
Containers Fiber grow squares (quantity 12) and 3 glass mixing boils
Zinnia seeds
Sunlight
Tablespoon
Ruler
Diapers (1) Luvs size 2, (1) Honest Company size 2, (1) Huggies size 2
Measuring Cup 1 cup

 Step 1) gather all materials.

PROCEDUR
E

Step 2) Take one of the diapers and fill it up with 4 cups of water and wait for the polymer in the diaper to
absorb after every cup.
Step 3) Take the diaper that you have filled with water and remove the polymer from the diaper and put it into
a glass mixing bowl, complete this process in steps 2 and 3 with the remaining 2 diapers.
Step 4) Take 3 of the Fiber grow squares and label them to the corresponding polymer you have picked (either
luvs, huggies, or the honest company). Complete this step for the other 2 polymers.
Step 5) Take one set of the 3 Fiber Grow squares and fill each square half way with topsoil and fill the rest with
the corresponding polymer. After that is completed you need to mix the topsoil and polymer in each square
together and ensure that it is thoroughly mixed. Complete this step with the remaining two polymers.
Step 6) Take the remaining 3 Fiber grow squares and label them control.
Step 7) Take the 3 control Fiber grow squares and fill each one with topsoil to the top.
Step 8) Take all the 12 test subjects and make a hole half way deep into each Fiber grow square and place one
zinnia seed into each hole.
Step 9) After placing the seeds in, bury them and make sure to even the soil in each fiber square.
Step 10) Then, give each plant 2 Tablespoons of water every day starting today.
Step 11) Finally, record each of the plants height every day and categorize them in groups when recording
them.

VARIABLES
My independent variable is the different diaper
brands or the different types of super absorbent
polymer; luvs, huggies, and the honest company.
The dependent variable is what brand of diaper is
the most effect is plant growth. My controlled
variables are the type of soil (topsoil), the type of
plant (Zinnias), the size containers, the amount of
sunlight each plant gets, and the amount of water
each plant receives (2 tablespoons).

EXPERIMENTAL PICTURES

day
s

Plant #1
Growth
(cm)

Plant #2
Growth
(cm)

Plant #3
Growth
(cm)

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.6

0.6

0.9

0.9

1.4

1.2

1w

1.7

1.5

2.0

1.6

2.1

2.0

10

2.2

2.1

11

2.4

2.2

12

2.6

2.4

13

2.6

2.5

2w

3.5

2.5

15

3.6

2.7

LUVS

day
s

Plant #1
Growth
(cm)

Plant #2
Growth
(cm)

Plant #3
Growth
(cm)

0.4

0.1

0.2

0.7

0.4

0.5

1.0

0.6

0.8

1.1

0.7

1.0

1.5

1.0

1.2

1.8

1.2

1w

1.3

2.0

1.2

1.5

2.5

1.5

1.7

2.7

1.7

10

1.8

1.8

11

2.0

3.1

12

2.0

3.1

2.4

13

2.1

3.2

2.8

2w

(Plant Died)

3.3

3.1

15

3.6

HUGGIES

Day
s

Plant #1
Growth
(cm)

Plant #2
Growth
(cm)

Plant #3
Growth
(cm)

0.2

0.4

0.2

0.1

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.9

0.7

0.6

1.2

0.9

0.8

1w

1.4

1.0

1.8

1.3

Died

2.1

1.5

10

2.5

1.8

11

2.5

12

2.9

2.1

13

3.1

2.2

2w

3.4

2.2

15

3.6

2.3

HONEST
COMPANY

Day
s

Plant #1
Growth
(cm)

Plant #2
Growth
(cm)

Plant #3
Growth
(cm)

0.4

0.2

0.8

0.5

1.2

0.7

1.6

0.9

1.7

1w

1.2

2.3

1.5

2.5

1.8

10

2.7

1.9

11

2.8

12

3.1

2.1

13

4.1

2w

4.5

3.1

15

4.6

3.6

CONTROL

GRAPH
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Luvs

Huggies
Series 1

Honest Company
Series 2

Series 3

Control

CONCLUSION
The controlled plant group had the most increase in growth. To determine
the most results I took the last lengths of each test subject of one of the
groups and added them, them I divided it by three; I did this process with
the remaining 3 groups(mean). This method helped me determine what
had the greatest and least growth over a time of 15 days. The greatest
increase in growth was the control, the greatest increase in growth with
polymer was huggies, will the Honest Company had the least increase in
growth. My hypothesis was incorrect.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app.1990/abstract
http://www.burpee.com/flowers/zinnias/all-about-zinniasarticle10019.html