How does watering volume affect plant

growth? (convert aim into a question for

title)
Dr Fisher

Aim: to determine the effect of water volume on plant growth.

Hypothesis: that the plant with more water will cause a decrease in plant growth.

Introduction: plants require water to survive for a number of reasons including write at least one
paragraph explaining any theory behind how your independent variable may affect your dependent
variable. Provide some information relating to the species of plant you are using. Include references
that support your introduction and use in-text citation.

Independent Variable: difference in watering volume.

Dependent Variable: growth of the plant.

Controlled Variables: identify some factors that have been kept the same between the experiment
plant and the control plant (i.e. how much they are watered, how regularly, the soil they’re in,
sunlight exposure)

Method: this should be written in the 3rd person in the past tense, NOT as instructions. i.e. “Two
tomato seedlings were placed in black pots 5x5cm across and 15cm tall. Seedling potting mix was
filled to 2cm below the top of the pot. One plant was placed in direct sunlight and the other was
kept in a dark cupboard. The plants were watered once every three days with 20 mL of tap water.
The plants’ growth was measured every day for two weeks.

All things kept the same, all things that are different, all things that have been measured.

Include pictures of your experiment

Results: include a table of your data (i.e. measurements of height of both plants across the time
period of your experiment)

Discussion: include a graph of your data (i.e. measurements of height of both plants across the time
period of your experiment). All plants measured should be on the same graph.

Discuss the observed trend in the graph (i.e. if one plant grew faster than the other) and what this
might mean for plant growth (i.e. does it improve or hinder plant growth). Discuss any other relevant
observations (i.e. change in colour of the plant). Discuss whether these observations and trends
agree with the theory discussed in your introduction.

Discuss whether you encountered any errors during your experiment and how you could change the
experiment to better reflect what you were testing. Discuss any further experiments you could do to
test your hypothesis.

Conclusion: provide a brief summary of what you found in your experiment, how the experiment
was conducted, and whether this agreed with the theory.
References: provide a reference list in the Harvard referencing style – provide at least 2 references
you used to support the theory discussed.