Hydroponics

Science Fair

Big Question: I’m wondering if a plant

will grow without soil. I will grow a plant with

soil (plant 1), a plant without soil (plant 2),

and a plant with a sponge (plant 3).

Hypothesis: I think that plant 1 will grow,

plant 2 will not grow, and plant 3 will grow. I

think this because plant 1 has lots of nutrients,

plant 2 has no nutrients from soil, and plant 3

has an area were the roots can stay.

Facts• Hydroponics comes from the Greek words hydro, water and ponos, labor.• Researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential

mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. • It is also known as “soil less agriculture”.• If we were forced to live underground, and we had power, we could

survive• Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics.

Materials

– Two pots– Some grass seeds – A sponge – Water – Soil – Sun lamp – Bowl

Experiment1. Collect materials.2. Get one of the pots and put seeds in soil. This is plant 1.3. In one the pots and sprinkle some of the seeds in it with no

soil. This is plant 2.4. Sprinkle some of the last seeds inside the sponge. Then put

the sponge in the bowl. This is plant 3.5. Make sure that the sun lamp is on from when you awake to

before you sleep.6. Finally give each of the plants water and the sun lamp

everyday.7. Record what happens to the plants every day in a note

book. Keep on doing this for about a week or so.

Control / Variables

My control is plant 1 and my variables are plant 2 and 3.

Observations• I realized that plant 2 was what I expected, but I did do some more

research on hydroponics later on and learned that the seeds should have sprouted instead of only roots.

• Another thing I realized was that the seeds I sprinkled on top of plant 3 were growing but the ones on the inside didn’t.

• A thing I found in the experiment was the roots under the pot.

Data

• Plant 1: Grew a lot. (Day 3) • Plant 2: Germinated and had roots on the

bottom of the cup, but no grass. • Plant 3: Grew out of sponge. (Day 6)

Analysis of Data

My experiment definitely tested my hypothesis and I could see the difference everyday.

Conclusion

My hypothesis was partly correct because my hypothesis on plant 1 and 3 were correct but on plant 2 I thought that nothing would happen but the plant germinated and grew roots. I would change my experiment by adding seeds in small rocks, (like a fish tank) I would like this because you could pull the plant out and see the roots. The question I thought of was, if you were to use real sunlight will it changed the results.

The Following Slides are some pictures I took during my experiment

Plant 1

Plant 2

Plant 3