Observation: Plants seem to grow at different rates when planted in different types of soil

Hypothesis: Plants grow best in loamy soil.

Aim: To compare the growth rate of corn (you can choose a different plant if you like) seedlings
in sandy, clay, and loamy soils.

Materials:
3 cups (state the size and material)
Sand (choose a suitable volume, eg between 200 and 300 mL)
Clay (same volume as the sand)
Loam (same volume as the sand)
Water
(Something to measure the amount of water with)
(something to measure the height of seedlings with)
Seedlings
Choose whether you want to plant 1, 2, or 3 seedlings in each cup of soil. Then multiply that
number by 3 to get the total number of seedlings.

Method:
1. Place a mark at the same height (state the height, eg 10 cm) for all three plastic
containers.
2. Fill one of the containers with loam soil, one container with clay soil and the other
container with sandy soil to the marked height.
3. Place (how many seedlings you decided in the method, eg 2) corn seedlings in the soil
in each container at a depth of ____(eg,1 cm, don't go too deep)
4. Label one of the corn seedlings in each container A and the other seedling B.
5. Measure and record the height of the shoot of both corn seedlings above the soil in each
container.
6. Measure (a volume of water, eg 50 to 100 ml) of water and pour it into the soil in each
container, ensuring that the water was poured over the roots of the seedlings.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 every other day for a duration of 15 days.

Variables:
State the manipulated variable in the experiment. This is the 1 thing that is changed between
the scenarios being tested.
For example: The manipulated variable is the type of soil in each container

State some controlled variables in the experiment. These are the things that are being kept the
same between the scenarios being tested.
For example: _____ and ______ were controlled in all 3 scenarios.

State the responding variables in the experiment. These are the variables that are being
measured or recorded.
For example: the _____ of the seedlings in the different soils is the variable being measured in
this experiment.

Expected Results: Give a blank example of a table that will be suitable for collecting the results
from the investigation.

For example:
Height of seedlings (cm)

Sand Clay Loam

day A B A B A B

11

13

15

Fill in a title for the table

State what results you expect. (eg, I expect the seedling to grow tallest in _____ soil, and be
shortest in _____ soil.)
This expected result must match what you said in the hypothesis.

Opportunities for errors: List two ways that errors can be made during the investigation.
Usually, errors can be from the experimenter doing something incorrectly, or from
malfunctioning equipment.

Precautions: List two precautions that can be taken to avoid errors or to increase the safety of
the experimenter.