Effects of Caffeine on Plant Growth

(Both the teacher's name and the names of my group members have been blacked out for their
privacy)
Submitted to: Mrs. Thorn
Submitted By: Robel Atsbeha, Marnier Ngo,
David Resende, and Marco Tobio
Submitted on: Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Table of Contents
Page 1 - Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials
Page 2 - Procedure, Observations
Page 3 - Observations Continued
Page 4 - Observations Continued
Page 5 - Observations Continued
Page 6 - Observations Continued
Page 7 - Observations Continued, Discussion
Page 8 - Discussion Continued
Page 9 - Discussion Continued
Page 10 - Discussion Continued
Page 11 - Conclusion, Works Cited
Page 12 - Appendix Begins

Course Code: SBI3U1

Purpose:
To determine whether or not grinded coffee beans that are mixed into soil affect the
growth and development of plants that love acidic soil to plants that love alkaline soil.
Hypothesis:
Grounded coffee beans mixed into the soil will affect the growth and development of
acidic loving plants and alkaline loving plants. Coffee grounds are said to be acidic, thus
affecting the growth of acid loving plants (Mung Beans) in a positive way. The coffee grounds
that will be added to the soil of alkaline-loving plants (Sunflowers) will not have a positive effect
because alkaline plants thrive in soil above the ph level of 7, which is not acidic. To see if the
coffee grounds have an effect, mung beans are going to be planted in normal soil and another set
is also going to be planted in normal soil that will later have coffee grounds added. The same
will happen to the sunflowers. The mung beans are expected to thrive in the coffee grounds
mixed with soil, while the sunflowers are expected to wilt and possibly die. Coffee grounds adds
nitrogen to the soil, which is vital to the growth of plants. To make sure the experiment is as
accurate as possible the amount of water, coffee grounds, soil, and pot will be the same amount
and the same size will be used, just the slightest change in variables could throw off results. The
growth of each plant will be documented closely throughout the experiment. In the end,
acidic-loving plants will have greater results in the coffee grounds, compared to neutral soil; and
the alkaline plants will not thrive as much in the coffee ground soil as opposed to the neutral soil.
Materials:
- 20 Mung Bean seeds
- 20 Sunflower seeds
- 40 small plant pots
- 1 bag of soil
- 1 bag of pure coffee grounds
- 1 100 ml beaker
- measuring cup (or something to add coffee grounds)
- an electronic scale
- a scoopula
- 2 plastic trays with dividers or 4 lasagna trays

Procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Prepare 40 pots for planting.

Fill the 40 pots until they are about halfway filled with soil.
Dig a small hole (about 2 cm deep) into the soil.
Place the seeds of the mung bean plant into 20 of the pots and the seeds of the sunflower
plant into the other 20 pots.
5. Lightly fill the holes in the pots with the seeds in them and water them lightly (50-100 ml
depending on pot size).
6. Continue to monitor the plants until they all begin to germinate. (Note sunflowers take
much longer to grow, so you will probably add your variable to them much later than the
mung beans)
7. Once most of the same type of plant has germinated you can begin to add the coffee
grounds by dividing that species two groups of 10. ( If some of the plants have not grown
try your best to balance the two groups out so that they have roughly the same number in
each group ie 9-8, 7-7, etc.)
8. Take a measuring cup and add a mixture of coffee grounds and more soil ( a cup, 70%
coffee, 30% soil) to each of the plants in one of the two groups.
9. Separate the two groups from each other and continue to monitor them.
10. Repeat steps 7-9 for the other type of plant (whether it is the mung beans or the
sunflowers)
11. Over the course of the experiment, observe the growth of the 40 plants. Be sure to pay
attention to the plants with the coffee grounds to see if the caffeine is improving their
growth compared to the other plants. Record your results.
Observations:
Table 1: Average growth from when caffeine was added to the end of the experiment

Growth
difference
from when
caffeine
was added
to end of
experiment
(cm)

Group A (Coffee
Mung Beans)

Group B (Mung Beans)

Group C (Coffee
Sunflower)

Group D (Sunflower)

Average Growth =
3.475 cm

Average Growth =
3.725 cm

Average Growth =
0.875 cm

Average Growth =
1.167 cm

Discussion:
1. Identify the following: (5)
a) The independent variable(s) in your experiment
b) The dependent variable(s) in your experiment
c) The controlled variables
(Hint: Refer to page 648 in your biology textbook for a description of the bolded words above)
a) An independent is the one variable that you can change in an experiment, like what you
chose to water your plant with. In this experiment the independent variable would have
been the coffee grounds because it was added to the plants manually.
b) A dependent variable is a change that happens because of the independent variable. In
this experiment the dependent variables would have been the height and growth of the
plants, because the coffee grounds affected them.
c) A controlled variable is any variable that the person running the experiment would like to
keep constant or unchanging. In this experiment the controlled variables would have been
the type of pots used, how much the plants were watered, the types of plants used, and the
amount of coffee added to each plant.

2. According to your research (specifically textbooks, websites) how did you expect your
independent variable to influence the growth and health of your plant? Explain (4)
(Hint: review your hypothesis)
After thorough research using textbooks and the internet, the independent variable, coffee
grounds was supposed to affect the growth of the plants in many ways. The independent
variable, coffee grounds was used as fertilizer. It is said that coffee grounds contain nitrogen
which is beneficial to the growth of a plant. The plants should have benefited slightly with the
coffee grounds because of the extra nitrogen. Coffee grounds are also acidic. The plants that are
acidic loving should have grown taller faster compared to the same type of plants grown in
normal soil. The alkaline plants should not have a huge effect with the coffee due to its acidic
nature. The growth of the alkaline plants should have little to no effect or slower growth patterns
with coffee grounds compared to the plants grown in the regular soil. The outcome of the
alkaline plants in coffee grounds was expected to look yellow and dried out compared to the
plants growing in regular soil. Overall it was expected that the acidic loving plants would thrive
in coffee grounds and the alkaline loving plants would die in the soil mixed with coffee grounds.
3. Did your independent variable affect the growth of your plants? If not, support with your
observations. If so, describe how. Support your claim using your observations. Observations
include, but are not limited to, the following: plant height, overall health, number of leaves,
germination rates, size of leaves, quantity of roots, length of roots, health of roots, colour of
plants, and health of leaves. Consider 4 observations (2 marks per observation/explanation=8
marks)
The independent variable had evidently affected the plants, the sunflowers(group C) and
mung beans(group A), by not only limiting their rate of growth, but also their development. The
effect on their growth is shown in Figure (2) where the average heights of the sunflowers in
group C, and the mung beans in group A, were shorter than the sunflowers in group D, and the
mung beans in group B, respectively. This is considering how the groups B and D were the lot of
plants that had not been affected by the grinded coffee. As for the coffee grounds effect on the
plants development, although it is not obvious for sunflowers, it can be apparent when looking
at the 2 groups of mung beans. To help clarify the effect the variable had, the mung beans which
had not been affected by the coffee grounds were healthier than the mung beans that had been
affected. This may be due to how the life processes of the mung beans had actually slowed
down. In fact, it had slowed to the point where although the mung beans in group B also seemed
to be wilting like the plants in group A, they were wilting at a slower rate in comparison. This is
clearly seen when comparing Figures(3) and (4). Other than plant height and overall health, the
coffee grounds had not seemed to affect the sunflowers and mung beans in any other areas. For

instance, the size and length of the leaves and roots, respectively, did not have any noticeable
change between groups A and B, and C and D as shown in Figures (3, 4, and 9).
4. How did your experimental results compare to two other scientific experiments that had a
similar experimental design?
Note: the experiment does not necessarily have to involve bean plants
Remember you must cite the journals within the question as well as in the reference
section to avoid plagiarism.
1)In Watkins experiment, although she had used other different types of plants such as
soybeans, spinach seeds and radish seeds, her tests yielded very similar results to this
investigation for mung beans and sunflowers. For instance, all of her plants which had been
affected by high concentrations of caffeine were either unable to germinate, or were growing far
slower than the other plants of the same type which had not been influenced by the caffeine, just
like the result of this experiment which had used mung beans and sunflowers. One of the major
differences between both experiments, aside from the used plants, was that Watkin had mixed in
the caffeine into her water using increasing concentrations for each pot for each plant with the
first pot having no caffeine. In addition to this, she had also watered her desired plants with the
caffeine solutions after her initial sowing of the seeds, but had only done so for day 1.
Consequently, yellow, withered edges had appeared on the sprouts of one of her pots which had
contained spinach. In contrast, however, the mung beans in this experiment had started withering
after three to four weeks, unlike Watkins experiment, although the beans which were affected
by the coffee were withering at a slower rate.
2)In Fergusons experiment, using the wisconsin fast plant, otherwise known as Brassica
rapa, her investigation for looking at the effects of caffeine on this plant resulted in actually
increasing the rate of growth. This is essentially the opposite of what had happened between the
grounded coffee and the mung beans and sunflowers which had their rate of growth limited.
Although, one would note that Ferguson had used the powder in green coffee bean pills instead
of grounded coffee for her experiment.
5. Suggest at least four ways to improve upon your experimental design. Describe how these
changes would improve your experiment.
One suggestion that could have improved the experiment was to not have left the mung
beans in direct sunlight for long periods of time, as it was stated on the back of the seed package.
This would have improved the experiment because the mung beans grew at a consistent rate at
first, but later began to die during the fourth week. Another way the experiment could have
improved was to research every aspect of the experiment thoroughly; because this wasn't done,

the sunflowers were over watered, and replanting of the sunflowers was done. This would have
improved the experiment because we would have had more plants to base our experiment on
instead of only 10 sunflower plants. Also, the sunflower seeds were placed deep in their pots.
Due to how deep they were, measuring and recording the plants height came further along in the
experiment. If they were to be more noticeable, than there would be more sunflowers that would
have been able to be included with the caffeine sunflowers. The experiment might have been
more successful if there was more time for the sunflowers to grow, as during the final days the
sunflowers really started to grow. Therefore, if there was more time, there is a possibility that
there could be a larger difference between sunflowers with caffeine and sunflowers without
caffeine.
6. How does your experiment relate to society, technology and/or the environment? Explain (4)
In other words, what is the relevance of your experiment?
The experiment of mixing coffee grounds into soil connects to the the current situations
of the real world and relates to the changes in society. The world is currently in an environmental
downfall with global warming and pollution affecting environments. Coffee grounds is a great
way to fertilize and help grow certain types of plants.The experiment relates to society because
of the constant reminder to recycle. Composting and using coffee grounds as a fertilizer is a great
way to reuse organic material that would otherwise go to waste. The use of coffee grounds as
fertilizer will improve the health and well being of plants that grow well in acidic soil.This could
help the population save money on fertilizer products not needed and to help grow your own
produce. The outcome of the experiment should educate the use of coffee grounds as a fertilizer
could also force big coffee industries and companies to educate buyers into using coffee grounds
as fertilizer in their personal plants.The use of coffee grounds can be beneficial to the
environment and the society humans live in.
Conclusion:
This experiment tested the effects of caffeine on sunflowers and mung beans growth. On
December 4th caffeine was added to the mung beans and on December 11th caffeine was added
to the sunflowers. The recorded data shows that mung beans with caffeine grew about 3.4cm
after December 4th and mung beans without caffeine grew about 3.7cm after December
4th(Table 1 and Figure 2). Also, the recorded data shows that after December 11th sunflowers
with caffeine grew about 0.8cm and those without caffeine grew about 1.1cm(Table 1 and
Figure 2). This shows that there was a very small growth difference in favour of the plants
without caffeine. This goes against the initial hypothesis which stated that the caffeine would
benefit the mung beans but not the sunflowers, where the experiment actually shows that the
caffeine had negative effects on both plants. Some errors that were caused that affected the final

results were that mung beans dont like direct sunlight for very long periods of time, but
unfortunately they were left under a grow light most of the time. This caused the mung beans to
begin to wilt and die. Another source of error was the the sunflower seeds were over watered
which resulted in the replanting of new seeds. This further resulted in the sunflowers starting to
really only begin to grow during the last week. Unfortunately, there wasnt more time for the
sunflowers to further grow and show a larger difference between sunflowers with caffeine and
sunflowers without caffeine. Also, the holes that were originally made when planting the
sunflower seeds were too deep which resulted in a slower germination rate. All, in all regardless
of the fact that the experiment did not go as well as planned, it was in some ways a success
because it did showed two things, one was that sunflowers do appear to not like coffee grounds
and if given more time would have shown great results, and that surprisingly the mung beans
also didnt like the acidity of the coffee grounds.

Works Cited:
(n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from
http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=biw
(n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from
http://www.journys.org/articles/caffeines-effects-plant-germination
(n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016 from
http://makeitandmendit.blogspot.ca/2009/06/weird-and-wonderful-things-to-nourish.html
(n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016 from
https://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2013/Projects/J1707.pdf

Appendix table: (Growth is measured in cm)

Days

Growth of Mung Beans

with coffee (Group A)

Growth of Mung Beans Growth of Sunflowers

without coffee (Group
with coffee (Group C)
B)

Growth of Sunflowers
without coffee (Group
D)

Nov. 30

A-1 = No results
A-2 = a) Germination
Begins
A-3 = No results
A-4 = a) Germination
Begins
A-5 = No results
A-6 = No results
A-7 = No results
A-8 = a) Germination
Begins
A-9 = a) Germination
Begins
A-10 = a) Germination
Begins

B-1 = a) Growth
B-2 = a) Germination
Begins
B-3 = a) Growth
B-4 = a) Growth
B-5 = a) Growth
B-6 = a) Germination
Begins
B-7 = a) Growth
B-8 = a) Growth
B-9 = a) Growth
B-10 = a) Germination
Begins

C-1 = No results
C-2 = No results
C-3 = No results
C-4 = No results
C-5 = No results
C-6 = No results
C-7 = No results
C-8 = No results
C-9 = No results
C-10 = No results

D-1 = No results
D-2 = No results
D-3 = No results
D-4 = No results
D-5 = Germination
Begins
D-6 = No results
D-7 = No results
D-8 = No results
D-9 = No results
D-10 = No results

Dec.
2

A-1 = a) No results
A-2 = a) 4 b) 0
A-3 = a) 3.5 b) 2
A-4 = a) 4.5 b) 6
A-5 = a) 4 b) 2
A-6 = a) 1.5 b) 0
A-7 = a) No results
A-8 = a) 6.5 b) 2.5
A-9 = a) 6.5 b) 4
A-10 = a) 6.5 b) 4

B-1 = a) 10.5 b) 9.5

B-2 = a) 8.5 b) 2
B-3 = a) 6.5 b) 6
B-4 = a) 13 b) 7.5
B-5 = a) 10 b) 8.5
B-6 = a) 6 b) 4.5
B-7 = a) 7 b) 3.5
B-8 = a) 9 b) 8
B-9 = a) 10 b) 11
B-10 = a) 5 b) 5

C-1 = No results
C-2 = No results
C-3 = No results
C-4 = Germination
Begins
C-5 = No results
C-6 = No results
C-7 = No results
C-8 = No results
C-9 = No results
C-10 = No results

D-1 = No results
D-2 = No results
D-3 = No results
D-4 = No results
D-5 = 3
D-6 = No results
D-7 = No results
D-8 = No results
D-9 = No results
D-10 = No results

Dec.
4

A-1 = a) 15 b) 10
A-2 = a) 10 b) 5
A-3 = a) 10 b) 11
A-4 = a) 10 b) 13
A-5 = a) 8 b) 10
A-6 = a) 7 b) 0
A-7 = a) 14
(Transplanted from
extra)
A-8 = a) 12 b) 6
A-9 = a) 12 b) 8
A-10 = a) 12 b) 9

B-1 = a) 16 b) 15
B-2 = a) 15 b) 7
B-3 = a) 11 b) 10
B-4 = a) 18 b) 12
B-5 = a) 13 b) 12
B-6 = a) 11 b) 8
B-7 = a) 11 b) 10
B-8 = a) 14 b) 12
B-9 = a) 16 b) 16
B-10 = a) 7 b) 9

C-1 = No results
C-2 = No results
C-3 = No results
C-4 = 1
C-5 = No results
C-6 = No results
C-7 = No results
C-8 = No results
C-9 = No results
C-10 = No results

D-1 = No results
D-2 = No results
D-3 = No results
D-4 = No results
D-5 = 5
D-6 = No results
D-7 = No results
D-8 = No results
D-9 = No results
D-10 = No results

Dec.
7

A-1 = a) 15 b) 12
A-2 = a) 14 b) 11
A-3 = a) 10 b) 16
A-4 = a) 12 b) 15
A-5 = a) 9 b) 16
A-6 = a) 11.5 b) 0
A-7 = a) 12.5 b) 0
A-8 = a) 13 b) 5
A-9 = a) 14 b) 12.5
A-10 = a) 14 b) 13

B-1 = a) 19.5 b) 15.5

B-2 = a) 17.5 b) 12.5
B-3 = a) 12 b) 11.5
B-4 = a) 20.5 b) 16
B-5 = a) 13.5 b) 13.5
B-6 = a) 13.5 b) 10
B-7 = a) 14.5 b) 15.5
B-8 = a) 17.5 b) 13
B-9 = a) 18 b) 19
B-10 = a) 10 b) 10

C-1 = No results
C-2 = No results
C-3 = No results
C-4 = 1
C-5 = No results
C-6 = No results
C-7 = No results
C-8 = No results
C-9 = No results
C-10 = No results

D-1 = No results
D-2 = No results
D-3 = No results
D-4 = No results
D-5 = 5.5
D-6 = No results
D-7 = No results
D-8 = No results
D-9 = No results
D-10 = No results

Dec.
9

A-1 = a) 15 b) 12
A-2 = a) 15 b) 11
A-3 = a) 10 b) 16
A-4 = a) 12 b) 15
A-5 = a) 10 b) 17
A-6 = a) 12 b) 6
A-7 = a) 13 b) 3
A-8 = a) 13 b) 3
A-9 = a) 15 b) 10
A-10 = a) 15 b) 12

B-1 = a) 21 b) 15
B-2 = a) 18 b) 12
B-3 = a) 12 b) 12
B-4 = a) 21 b) 17
B-5 = a) 13.5 b) 13.5
B-6 = a) 13 b) 10
B-7 = a) 14 b) 16
B-8 = a) 18 b) 13
B-9 = a) 19 b) 19
B-10 = a) 9 b) 10

C-1 = No results
C-2 = No results
C-3 = No results
C-4 = 1
C-5 = No results
C-6 = No results
C-7 = No results
C-8 = No results
C-9 = No results
C-10 = No results

D-1 = No results
D-2 = No results
D-3 = No results
D-4 = No results
D-5 = 5.5
D-6 = No results
D-7 = No results
D-8 = No results
D-9 = No results
D-10 = No results

Coffee
Grounds
added to
Group A

Dec. 11
Coffee
Grounds
added to
Group C

A-1 = a) 15 b) 12.5
A-2 = a) 15 b) 13.5
A-3 = a) 9.5 b) 17
A-4 = a) 11.5 b) 14.5
A-5 = a) 9.5 b) 17
A-6 = a) 13 b) 12.5
A-7 = a) 13 b) 10.5
A-8 = a) 12.5 b)
DEAD
A-9 = a) 14.5 b) 9
A-10 = a) 16 b) 12.5

B-1 = a) 21 b) 13.5
B-2 = a) 18.5 b) 12.5
B-3 = a) 12 b) 11
B-4 = a) 21.5 b) 16
B-5 = a) 12 b) 12
B-6 = a) 14 b) 9
B-7 = a) 14 b) 17
B-8 = a) 18.5 b) 14
B-9 = a) 19 b) 20
B-10 = a) 10 b) 10.5

C-3 = 2
C-4 = 1.5
C-6 = 2.5
C-7 = Germination
Begins
(Plants that hadnt
grown were removed
from findings but left
to grow)

D-4 = Germination
Begins
D-5 = 6
D-6 = 2
D-8 = Germination
Begins
(These plants were left
to grow without coffee,
so they were added to
non-coffee section)
C-2 = 2
C-8 = 1

Dec. 16
Total
Growth
(cm)

Growth
Difference
(cm)

A-1 = a) 14.5 b) 13
A-2 = a) 20 b) 17
A-3 = a) 16.5 b) 11
A-4 = a) 11.5 b) 16
A-5 = a) 10 b) 16
A-6 = a) 12 b) 10
A-7 = a) 12.5 b) 10.5
A-8 = a) 13
A-9 = a) 8.5 b) 9.5
A-10 = a) 17 b) 13

B-1 = a) 22.5 b) 14
B-2 = a) 20 b) 14.5
B-3 = a) 14.5 b) 14
B-4 = a) 25 b) 15.5
B-5 = a) 14 b) 8
B-6 = a) 14 b) 11
B-7 = a) 13.5 b) 19.5
B-8 = a) 18.5 b) 11
B-9 = a) 11 b) 13
B-10 = a) 20 b) 24

C-3 = 2.5
C-4 = 1
C-6 = 3.5
C-7 = 2.5

A-1 = a) -0.5 b) 3
A-2 = a) 10 b) 12
A-3 = a) 6.5 b) 0
A-4 = a) 1.5 b) 3
A-5 = a) 2 b) 6
A-6 = a) 5 b) 10
A-7 = a) -1.5 b) 10.5
A-8 = a) 1 b) -6
A-9 = a) -3.5 b) 1.5
A-10 = a) 5 b) 4

B-1 = a) 6.5 b) -1
B-2 = a) 5 b) 7.5
B-3 = a) 3.5 b) 4
B-4 = a) 7 b) 3.5
B-5 = a) 1 b) -4
B-6 = a) 3 b) 3
B-7 = a) 2.5 b) 9.5
B-8 = a) 4.5 b) -1
B-9 = a) -5 b) -3
B-10 = a) 13 b) 15

C-3 = 0.5
C-4 = -0.5
C-6 = 1
C-7 = 2.5

Average Growth =
3.475 cm

Average Growth =
3.725 cm

Average Growth =
0.875 cm

D-4 = 2.5
D-5 = 6.5
D-6 = 3.5
D-8 = 1.5
C-2 = 2.5
C-8 = 1.5

D-4 = 2.5
D-5 = 0.5
D-6 = 1.5
D-8 = 1.5
C-2 = 0.5
C-8 = 0.5

Average Growth =
1.167 cm