Name: ______________________________________
Date: _______________ Period: _____
Growing Plants Gizmo
Vocabulary: compost, fertilizer, mass, seed, soil, variable, independent variable, dependent variable,
controls (or controlled variables)
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. What do you think plants need to grow and stay healthy?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Soil is a combination of tiny rock fragments and decayed plant materials. How do you think soil helps a
plant?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Gizmo Warm-up: Grow the Biggest Tomato Plant!
1. In the Gizmo set up the three pots as described below:
•
Choose a tomato seed to drag into each pot.
•
Click on the light bulb to turn on the center bulb only.
•
Drag the water slider up or down to set the amount of
water for each plant. Make the amount of water match the
amounts shown in the data table below.
•
The water is the one variable being tested. This is also
known as the independent variable.
•
The conditions kept the same are called the controls
(same kind of seed in each pot, same amount of light,
same kind of soil).
•
When the the Gizmo is set up click Play (
the simulation to end.
) and wait for
2. Record the results of this trial in the table below.
Trial 1
Independent variable: amount of water
Dependent variable: height of plant
Controlled variables: tomato seeds, light level, plain soil
Pot Seed
Light Water
Soil Type
Height
Type
Level
(ml) (plain--compost-fertilizer)
A
tomato 1 on
10ml plain soil
B
tomato 1 on
20ml plain soil
C
tomato 1 on
30ml plain soil
3. How tall was your tallest plant? _________.
The height of the plant is the dependent variable (because the height
depends on the amount of water the plants received)
Gizmo Warm-up continued
4. Click Reset (
) and Clear pots. You will now set up three more trials still using tomato seeds, but with
different conditions for water or light or soil type to grow the tallest plants you can.
Fill in the table for Trial 2, and run the test, and record the height of the plants before moving on
to trial 3. Use what you learn from the results of Trial 2 to help you decide how to set up the
conditions for Trial 3.
Remember, there can only be one independent variable, all the other conditions are kept the same for
all 3 pots during the trial (these are the controls). If the plants have different heights at the end of the trial,
it can be shown that the independent variable (the one condition that is not the same for each pot) was the
reason for the difference.
Trial 2:
Independent variable: the amount of water
Controlled variables: tomato seeds, compost in the soil, light level
Dependent variable: height of plant
Pot
Seed Type
Light Level
Water (ml)
Soil Type
(plain--compost--fertilizer)
A
tomato
2 on
compost
B
tomato
2 on
compost
C
tomato
2 on
compost
Height
Trial 3
Independent variable: ___________________________
Controlled variables: tomato seeds, light level, water level
Dependent variable: height of plant
Pot
Seed Type
Light Level
Water (ml)
A
tomato
3 on
60ml
B
tomato
3 on
60ml
C
tomato
3 on
60ml
Soil Type
(plain--compost--fertilizer)
Height
Trial 4
Independent variable: ____________________________
Controlled variables: ___________________________________________________________
Dependent variable: height of plant
Pot
Seed Type
A
tomato
B
tomato
C
tomato
Light Level
Water (ml)
Soil Type
(plain--compost--fertilizer)
Height
5. What combinations of conditions (variables) led to the tallest plant?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
•
•
Wet and dry
Click Reset.
Click Clear pots.
Identify the Problem to be solved:
Question: Do seeds need water to grow?
1. Hypothesis: ______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Design the Expriment: In the Gizmo, set up the three pots like this:
•
•
•
•
Pot A: Bean seed, two lights on, 0 mL water per day
Pot B: Bean seed, two lights on, 50 mL water per day
Pot C: Bean seed, two lights on, 100 mL water per day
Fill in the data table below with these conditions
3. Experiment to test the hypothesis: Click Play to start. Make observations during the simulation.
When the simulation is done, observe the plants.
4. Collect and organize the data: Fill in the data table below with the height and mass of each plant on
day 50. (The mass of a plant is the amount of matter in the plant. It is related to how heavy it is.) In the
last column describe what each plant looks like.
Pot
A
B
C
Seed type
Water/day (mL)
Height (cm)
Mass (g)
General plant appearance
bean
bean
bean
5. Analyze the results: study the data table to see what happened during the test.
6. Draw conclusions: Based on the data, was your hypothesis correct? Write a brief conclusion.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. Revise and repeat: Is more water always better? Repeat the experiment using different amounts of
water to find the ideal (best) amount of water for growing beans.
Pot
Seed type Water/day (mL) Height (cm)
Mass (g)
General plant appearance
bean
A
bean
B
bean
C
8. Explain your findings below.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Activity B:
Get the Gizmo ready:
•
•
Light and dark
Click Reset.
Click Clear pots.
Identify the Problem to be solved:
Question: Does the amount of light affect how plants grow?
1. Hypothesis: ______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Design the Expriment: In the Gizmo, set up the three pots like this:
• Set up the three pots with 50 mL of water per day, plain soil, and turnip seeds.
• Turn on three lights over pot A, one light over pot B, and zero lights over pot C.
• Fill in the data table below with these conditions
•
3. Experiment to test the hypothesis: Click Play to start. Make observations during the simulation. After
30 simulated days, click Pause (
). Record results in the data table.
4. Collect and organize the data:: In the table below, describe each plant after 30 days.
Pot
Number of
lights
Height (cm) Mass (g) on
on day 30
day 30
Appearance on day 30
A
B
C
5. Analyze results: select the Data tab. Look at the graphs for Plant Height and Plant Mass. How did
the amount of light affect the growth of plants?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. Draw conclusions: Based on the data was the hypothesis correct? Write a brief conclusion.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
7. Think and discuss: Click Play and let the simulation continue to 50 days. Based on what you have seen
so far, what do seeds need to grow into healthy plants?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Activity C:
Design an
experiment
Get the Gizmo ready:
•
•
Click Reset.
Click Clear pots.
Identify the Problem to be solved:
Question: You come up with your own question! (See below.)
1. Create question: Fill in the blanks below with the independent variable and the type of plant you would
like to study in this activity. (Do not repeat an experiment you have already done.)
How does ___________________ affect a __________________ plant?
2. Hypothesis: ______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Design the Expriment: In the Gizmo, set up the pots to test the variable you are investigating.
Describe how you set up each pot in the table below.
Pot
Type of seed
Water/day
Number of lights
Type of soil
A
B
C
4. Experiment to test the hypothesis: Click Play to start. When the simulation is done, observe the
plants. Record results in the data table.
5. Collect and organize data: Examine your plant data on the Data tab. Record your results here.
Pot
Height (cm)
Mass (g)
Appearance
A
B
C
6. Analyze results: Based on the data what did you discover? Why do you think it happened that way?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
7.
Draw conclusions: Based on the data was the hypothesis correct? Write a brief conclusion.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
8. Assessment Questions: 1. _____
2. _____
3. _____
4. _____
5. _____