HOW DOES THE TYPE OF SOIL AFFECT PLANT GROWTH?

MATHEMATICS

SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT

PROJECT

Name:

Center:

Registration Number:

Center Number:
Territory: Jamaica
Table of Content

Acknowledgement………………………………………………….3
Project Title…………………………………………………………4
Introduction…………………………………………………………5
Method of Data Collection………………………………………….6
Presentation of Data………………………………………………...7-11
Analysis of Data……………………………………………………12-13
Discussion of Findings…………………………………………….13
Conclusion………………………………………………………….13
Appendix: Questionnaire…………………………………………...14-15
 Acknowledgement
I want to first thank God for helping me to complete this project successfully and also to my
teachers Mr. Hug and Miss Davis in assisting me in this project.
 Project Title

How does the type of soil affect plant growth?

 INTRODUCTION
With the increasing demand for agricultural produce in Jamaica there is a need to clearly

identify the type of soil that contributes to greater productivity; this project will identify a

specific soil type that increases the production of agricultural produce. During the period of the

investigation the three types of soil that are currently used by famers will be assess over a six-

week period. The limitation was that the researcher had to observe the plants growing in each

soil and the cost of traveling from home to the school plant nursery for observation. However,

enough information was gathered to successfully complete this project.

In order to determine how the three types of soil affects plant growth, an investigation will be

conducted over a six-week period at a school plant nursery. Throughout the investigation, the

researcher will:

● Conduct a survey by issuing questionnaires to 20 random students to gather data relating

to how three different types of soil affect plant growth.

● Traveling to plant nursery to observe the growth rate of plants using three types of soil

(Silt, Sand, Clay)

● Examine and compare the questionnaire results with the researcher own observation.

● Determine which type of soil is best for plant growth

 Method of data collection
The type of research that will be used is the qualitative research and quantitative research.

Qualitative research aims in gather an in-depth understanding of how different soil affect

plant growth and how it contributes to greater productivity. Besides this the researcher

will also examine the phenomenon through observations in numerical representations and

through statistical analysis. Along with questionnaires that will be given out to

respondents for statistical representation of the findings in the study, the researcher will

also carry out his/her analysis by observing the three main types of soils that are mainly

used for plant productivity and how they affect plant growth at plant nursery.
 Presentation of Data

This chapter is a compilation of data collected over the six-weekperiod. A total 3 soils (Sand,Silt,

Clay) were used during this study. This investigation was conducted at the school plant nursery

to see how different soil affects plant growth.

The following table (table1) show how the growth rate of a plant was allotted in all three

soils.

Table 1.

Number of weeks Height in silt soil Height in clay soil Height in Sand soil

Grown

Week 1 0.54 0.25 0.27

Week 2 1.4 1 1

Week 3 2 1.5 1.3

Week 4 2.2 2 1.8

Week 5 3 2.3 2

Week 6 4 3 2.5

TOTAL 13.14 10.05 8.87

The following below shows the mean height for all three types of soil over the six-week period.
Mean height for Silt =

= 2.19

Mean height for Clay =

= 1.675

Mean height for Sand =

= 1. 478
Figure 1: Line graph shows the growth rate of each soil over a six-week period.

The following table (table2) show how different soil type affect plant growth?

Table 2.

Different soil type affect Tally Frequency

plant growth?

Strongly agree I III 5

Agree I IIIII 7
 Disagree I IIII 6

Strongly Disagree II 2

Figure 2: Pie Chart shows how different soil type affect plant growth.

The following table (table 3) shows which type of soil was best used for plant growth?
Table 3.

Which type of soil was best Tally Frequency

used for plant growth?

Sand I III 4

Silt I IIII II 8

Clay I III 5

Other I II 3

Figure 3: Bar Graph shows which type of soil was best used for soil growth.
 Analysis of Data
20 questionnaires were given to 20 random students to fill based on their observation on

the plant nursery. Table 1 shows how the growth rate was allotted in all three soils over the six-

week period. Silt has the best growth rate of 4ft and sand has the least growth rate of 2.5ft while

Clay has a growth rate of 3ft. The growth also shows that in week 2 both clay and sand have a

growth rate of 1 ft. A line graph was done to clearly show the growth rate of plant for a six

weeks period. The mean for each height of soil was also calculated, Silt has a mean height of

2.19, Clay has a mean height of 1.675 and Sand has a mean height of 1.478.

Table 2 shows the response of each students for the question “Different soil type affect

plant growth?”. The table showed 5 people who strongly agree to “Does different soil type affect

plant growth”, while 7 people agree to“Does different soil type affect plant growth”, while 6

people disagree toDoes different soil type affect plant growth and 2 people strongly disagree to

“Does different soil type affect plant growth”.

Based on the questionnaire administered in a pictorial representation, it was revealed in a pie

chart that:

● 35% of the respondents agree that different soil type affects plant growth.

● 30% of the respondents strongly agree

● 20% of the respondents disagree.

● 10% of the respondents strongly disagree

Table 3 shows the response to the questionnaire question “which type soil was best used

for plant growth?”. Based on the respondent of the results silt was considered to be best for plant

growth because it showed a better result in plant productivity. 8 people thought that silt was best

used for pant growth while 5 thought that clay was better, 4 respondentsthought that sand was

better and 3 others had different opinions. A bar graph was drawn to clearly analyze the result for

table 3. The Bar Graph showed that 8 respondents choose silt as the best soil used for plant

growth, 5 respondents choose Clay as the best soil used for plant growth, 4 respondents choose

sand as the best soil used for plant growth and 3 respondents did not choose any of the three

types of soil.

Discussion of finding
During the investigation, the researcher gathered information which indicates that on the plant

nursery silt soil was best used for plant growth than sand and clay. Secondly, when comparing all

three soil types, it is clear that silt will give a better plant productivity based on the questionnaire

results and researcher observation showing that on the plant nursery silt affect plant growth faster

which result in a 4ft growth rate which is 1 ft higher than clay and 1.5 higher than sand.
 Conclusion
It can be concluded that silt soil gave a better productivity than both clay and sand. While it is

possible to use different soils to plant, all soil will not give the same result. It will be

recommended that farmers use silt soil for farming.

Appendix: The Questionnaire

Please answer each question by placing a tick in the appropriate box.

1. What is your age group?

a. 12 - 14 b. 15 - 18 c. over 18
2. Are you familiar with the type of soil used?
a. Yes b. No

3. Identify the type of soil used?

a. Silt b. Sand c. Clay d. others

4. Different soil types affect plant growth?

a. Agree b. Strongly agree c. disagree d. Strongly disagree

5. What is the growth rate of plants using the three types of soil over the six-week period?
 3 ft. 4ft. 5ft. Others

6. Which type of soil was best used for plant growth?

Silt Sand clay others

7. How long does a plant takes to germinate?

4-5 days 8-9 days 10-12 days others

8. Describe the soil drainage characteristics

Excessive Good Fair Poor very poor

9. What were the type of plants observed?

Sunflower Corn Peas Others

10. How do plants react in the three-different soil type?

Excessive Good Fair Poor very poor