Graded by Mr Marshall

Soybean Plant Growth Affected by Various Liquids

Science Expo
Eryn Mae Kindervater
Mrs. McGlothlin

Science Exposition 2016

Lab Report Outline

Student Name: Eryn Mae Kindervater

Grade: 8

Title:
Soybean Plant Growth Affected by Various Liquids

Question (or Problem):

How do different liquids affect the growth and height of soybean plants?

Hypothesis:
If soybean plants are given different liquids (milk, water, sugar-water, salt-water, or
Coca-cola), but all other variables are kept the same, then the plant being hydrated
with sugar water will grow the tallest.
Sugar added to the water given to plants helps a plant grow well and be more healthy.
Also, sugar helps with a plants metabolism, so a little sugar in the water helps the
plant function.

Research Supporting Hypothesis:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8024594_sugar-water-affect-plants-growth.html: Sugarwater helps plants grow taller and more healthy.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/biology/plaene.html: Plants use sugar to
help with their metabolism.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/milk-fertilizer.htm:
Too much milk hurts the growth of plants and results can include rotting.
http://earthwiseharmony.com/GARDENS/EH-How-Does-Salinity-Affect-PlantGrowth-and-What-Can-Be-Done.html: Salt can stunt plant growth and cause the
leaves to have unhealthy colors.
https://medium.com/@kevin_ashton/what-coke-contains-221d449929ef#.pa9ihph1f:
Coke contains mostly high fructose corn syrup.

Any Other Predictions for your experiment? (optional)

The plant hydrated with coke will not grow healthy.

Independent or manipulated variable(s):

The liquid given to the soybean plants.

Dependent or responding variable(s):

The height the plants grow to, the state they are in (withered or healthy)

Controlled variable(s):
Temperature and sunlight the plants are exposed to, the container the plants are grown
in, amount of liquid given to the plants daily, solution

Materials or Equipment:
planting soil

soft planting containers (medium-sized)

plastic wrap
tin foil
whole milk
Coca-cola
Granulated sugar
Table salt
water
tray
measuring cup (for liquids)
Measuring spoon (for sugar and salt)
At least 10 green soybean/edamame seeds

Procedure:
1. plant the soybean seeds in planters (2 seeds each)
2. have 10 planters planted, two planters for each liquid
3. place the planters in tinfoil partitions (to keep excess liquid
from being absorbed by other plants)
4. give two planters water, two milk, two coke, two salt-water,
and two sugar-water (Warning: the plants watered with milk mildew and give
off a sour smell!)
5. hydrate the plants on the first day with 100ml of their assigned
liquid
6. give each salt/sugar water plant 1/2 tsp of sugar/salt with their
water
7. continue to hydrate the plants every once in awhile with 50 ml
per planter each day
8. cover the planted pots in plastic wrap if they are in a dry
environment, to prevent too much liquid from evaporating
9. get the plants in sunlight every day
10. take pictures of the plants every time there are visible changes
after theyve sprouted, and keep track of how much they grow once they start
growing
11. record which plants look the healthiest and are growing the
tallest centimeters

12. At the very end, transplant the soybean plants into a

garden/bigger planter.

Data, Results, and Observations:

The result was that the plants given plain water were always healthier. They sprouted
first and grew tallest (the tallest was 34.5 cm). The sugar-water plants were
accidentally given an overdose (1 tbsp instead of 1 tsp) on February 27 so they
stopped growing. After that, a new sugar-water sprout appeared and it was yellowish
and soft.The sugar-water plants are still sprouts trying to open and the water plants are
tall and flowers are even appearing on one of them.
The coke seeds, in the end, were brown, shrunken and hard, and the salt water seeds
were yellow and squishy, but hadnt shrunk.

Plain Water

Sugar-water

Salt-water

Milk

Coca-cola

Plant 1

34.5 cm

1.5 cm

0 cm

0 cm

0 cm

Plant 2

32 cm

1.5 cm

0 cm

0 cm

0 cm

Plant 3

28 cm

1 cm

0 cm

0 cm

0 cm

Analysis and Conclusion:

The hypothesis was incorrect because the sugar-water plants did not grow the best, the
plain water plants did. This was surprising because research shows that plants grow healthier
with a little sugar, so chances are the soybean plants were simply given too much sugar. If
this experiment were to be repeated, the sugar-water plants less should receive sugar in their
solution, and should be watered more regularly, having certain days in which to be watered.

Further Investigation:
The plants given milk quickly molded and would not sprout. Milk evidently does not
help plants grow, and it would be interesting to find out why.
It is also interesting that the seeds hydrated with coca-cola shrunk and became dark
brown. The salt-water seeds did not shrink, and they turned soft, not hard. Another good
experiment would be to reduce the amount of salt and sugar dissolved in the water.

Research

RESOURCE 1: http://www.ehow.com/info_8024594_sugar-water-affect-plantsgrowth.html
FACT(S) LEARNED: Sugar-water helps plants grow taller and healthier, but keep the
sugar amount consistent.

RESOURCE 2: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/biology/plaene.html
FACT(S) LEARNED: Sugar-water is used by plants in their metabolism (metabolism
is the chemical process in a plant that maintains its life),

RESOURCE 3: http://www.harvesttotable.com/2009/05/how_to_grow_soybean/
FACT(S) LEARNED: Soybeans grow best in direct sunlight and warm temperatures
(around 20 degrees celsius).

Works Cited
"How to Grow Soybean - Harvest to Table." Harvest to Table RSS. 17 May 2009. Web. 23
Mar. 2016.
McCloskey, Eoghan. "How Does Sugar Water Affect a Plant's Growth?" EHow. Demand
Media. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
"Plant Energy Transport." Plant Energy Transport. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.