SBA#: 7

DATE: March 13, 2022

TITLE: Ecology

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

A farmer notices a difference in the yield of his pepper plants on his farm. His farm is one plot

of land which only peppers were sowed plan and design an experiment to determine the factor

that results in the diff

HYPOTHESIS:

If pepper seeds are fertilized and watered on a daily basis they will not die but if the pepper

seeds are fertilised and not watered on a daily basis they will die.

AIM:

To determine the effects of water supply and fertilizer on the growth of two separate sets of

pepper seeds.

APPARATUS/MATERIALS:

● 8 large plastic containers

● An analytical Balance

● A hand shovel

● 24 pepper seeds

1
 ● A nitrogen-based fertilizer

● 50 cm3 of distilled water

● Loam soil

● 2 Measuring cylinders

● Pencil

● Book

● String

● Ruler

PROCEDURE:

1. Using the analytical balance weigh eight samples of 100 g of loam soil and add them to

separate plastic containers. .

2. Use the hand shovel to dig a hole of 6 cm in each plastic container and insert three

pepper seeds in each.

3. Create two ( 2) groups of 4 with the plastic containers and label one set A and one set B.

4. Using the measuring cylinder add 50 cm3of water to the soil of all the plastic containers.

5. Repeat step 4 for the seeds in group A everyday for 2 weeks.

6. Using the measuring cylinder add 30 cm3 of the nitrogen-based fertilizer to the soil of all

the plastic containers one week after experiment begins.

7. Repeat step 6 for seeds in group B everyday for the one week.

2
 8. Ensure that all the containers are placed in the same location and that they are kept

sheltered for the next 2 weeks.

9. During the 2 weeks period take daily measurements of both sets of plants and record the

measurements in the appropriate column of the provided table.

VARIABLES:

Control Variables:

● The same type of soil was used for both sets of seeds.

● The amount of garden soil used.

● Each seeds was placed at the same depth beneath the soil.

● The same amount of ach seeds were placed in each plastic container.

● The time used for the experiment to be carried out.

● The same amount of water was added each day to plant to the ppper seeds in group A .

● The amount of fertilizer added each day to the plants in group B .

● The location of both sets of plants containers.

Manipulated variables:

● The addition of fertilizer to the pepper seeds in group B over the 14 days.

● The addition of water to the pepper seeds in group A over the 14 days.

Responding variables:

● The growth of both sets of seeds.

3
EXPECTED RESULTS

It is expected that all seeds in group A will begin to germinate and none of them will die over

the two weeks period thus leading to a greater yield. This is because the water potential gradient

inside of the seeds is lower than that of its environment (soil) hence water will begin to move by

the process of osmosis from the region of high concentration (soil) to the region of low

concentration (seeds) through the micropyle. This causes the seed to swell thus rupturing the

seed coat which then causes the embryo plant to emerge. The addition of water also activates

certain enzymes such as amylase which breaks down starch which is stored in the cotyledon to

maltose. This provides energy to the seed in the early stage of development where the radicle

emerges first and grow downwards with response to gravity and the pumule emerges next and

grows upwards with response to light. The water molecules will also decrease the solute

concentration of the fertilizer that was added to the plant after the first week and also the

different minerals in the soil. This will cause the fertilizer and the minerals of the soil to become

more dilute making it easier for them to travel through the different parts of the pepper plants.

This will provide the seeds with the necessary nourishments it needs to grow after depleting its

food store. The plants will remain green and healthy because the constant supply of water will

keep them hydrated.

It is expected that the set of grass labelled B will not germinate and will eventually die over the

two week period thus resulting in a lesser yield. Water was intially added to the soil of the seeds

and this will result in the water potential inside of the seeds to be lower than that of the soil. This

will cause osmosis to occur i.e. water will move across from a region of high concentration (soil)

to a region of lower concentration (seed). Even though water is being absorbed by the seed it is

4
 not enough to rupture the the seed coat thus the seed will not germinate. Over the two week

period beacuse of the lack of water, the water potential gradient in the seed will be higher than

the soil causing the water to move from the seed to soil at a fast rate causing the seeds to become

withered. Fertilizer is also being added to the plant for seven consecutive days and because of

the lack of water the nutrients in the fertilizer and the soil which are essential for plant growth

would not be dissolved.

TABLE SHOWING THE FORMAT OF RECORDING THE GROWTH OF BOTH

SETS OF SEEDS FOR THE 14 DAYS (2 WEEKS)

Days Growth (cm)

Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4

10

11

12

5
 13

14
The average
length of plant
of each plant
LIMITATIONS:

1. The water already present in the soil could also affect the water potential gradient.

2. Other factors such as temperature could affect the water potential of both groups of

seeds thus affecting their growth rate.

PRECAUTIONS:

1. It should be ensured that the measuring cylinder is read at eye level to prevent parallax

error.

2. It should be ensured that the fertilizer is added one week after the experiment begin as

seeds do not require fertilizer to germinate.

3. It should be ensured that the analytical balance is zeroed before measuring the mass of

soil.

4. It should be ensured that all the seeds are placed at the same depth in the soil.

5. It should be ensured that both groups of seeds are placed in the same safe location where

they are kept sheltered.

6
Source of Error

Human error- This can occur when measuring the growth of the plants and also when measuring

the depth to place the seeds in the soil.

7
8