Method:
1.Divide the 6 pot plants into 3 groups (2 plants per group)
2. Label the first group as "Salt Mixture"
3. Label the second group as "Sugar Mixture"
4. Label the third group as "Pure Water"
5. Take one of each group to a sunny area where they will each receive equal sunlight and for the time being, just water them with plain water; as they won't be needed until the experiment is repeated a second time
n.b. this photo was taken when i had just bought the plants- this is not an ideal spot, as you can clearly see one of of the plants receiving more sunlight than the others- the aim is to eliminate as much of the variables as possible...
as you can see here, the plants receive a much more equal amount of sunlight- this is a more ideal place to place the plants
6. There should be three left; one labelled "Salt Water", one "Sugar Water", and one "Pure Water"; take them to anther sunny area where they will receive equal sunlight
once again, not an ideal spot to place the plants
a more suitable location to place the plants (check post titled "location spotting" for more information)
7. Dissolve 3 teaspoons of salt into 200 mL of warm water. Remove any salt that does not dissolve. This will be watered to the pot plant labelled "Salt Water" everyday for a period of three weeks. (200 mL of salt mixture per day)
8. Dissolve 3 teaspoons of sugar into 200 mL of warm water. Remove any sugar that does not dissolve. This will be watered to the pot plant labelled "Sugar Water" everyday for a period of three weeks (200 mL of sugar mixture per day)
9. Measure 200mL of plain water which is at room teperature. This will be watered to the pot plant labelled "Pure Water" everyday for a period of three weeks (200 mL of water per day)
10. Take notes and photos on the growth of each pot plant every three days and record these observations. these can be the varying in their heights, the colour of their leaves, etc
11. At the end of three weeks, pack up any equipment, organise the results and compare the growth of each of the pot plants. Label this group of results as "Trial 1"
12. Now get the other three pot plants that were previously set aside. Repeat steps 5-10.
13. Organise the results and label this group of data as "Trial 2"
14. Compare the results from both trial one and two. Draw a conclusion as to how the use of different liquids has affected the growth of the same pot plants.
YAY!!!!
N.B. just a note, rememebr to make your salt and sugar mixtures daily, as they can develop germs and mould if left for too long