Vanessa Stauffer Orefield Middle School Research Question Background Information

➢ Hydroponics: The cultivation of plants by placing the roots in liquid nutrient solutions rather than soil; soilless growth of plants ➢ Growing Medium: Part that a plant grows in, never soil ➢ Mediums Used: Expanded Clay Pebbles, Perlite, and Rockwool ➢ Plant Used: Spider Plants ○ Scientific Name: Chlorophytum comosum ○ Found in Southern Africa; House Plants ➢ Starting Height: 8 Centimeters ➢ 5 plants for each medium ➢ Measured over 4 weeks ➢ Measured in centimeters ➢ Light was on 12 hours a day Independent Variable The medium being used

Dependent Variable The height of the plant Controls Starting height of each plant Amount of medium in each pot Days the plant is being measured Amount of Light Hypothesis

If using three different mediums, expanded clay, perlite, and rockwool, then a researcher would choose to use perlite to increase the height of the plant. According to Maximum Yield (the website), perlite will prevent the toxicity issues while still providing an oxygen-rich environment for the roots. Materials ➢ Hydroponics system ➢ Spider Plants- 15 (offshots) ➢ Expanded Clay Pebbles- 175 grams ➢ Perlite- 250 mL ➢ Rockwool- 5 Blocks ➢ Pots- 10 ➢ Scissors ➢ Ruler ➢ Electronic Scale ➢ Graduated Cylinder 1. Build your hydroponics base 2. Fill the black bin with enough cold water to fill about half of the container 3. Hang your LED light over top of the black bin and make sure that it will be able to cover the area you will be using. 4. Place your first 5 pots on a steady surface and fill them with 35 grams of expanded clay pebbles 5. Next, place 5 more of your pots on the steady surface and fill them with 50 mL of perlite 6. For the last 5 plants, you will be using rockwool 7. Take all 15 of your plants and cut them to 8 centimeters tall, which is your starting height 8. Place 5 cut plants in the pots with expanded clay pebbles 9. Next, place 5 more cut plants in the pots filled with Perlite 10. Place the last 5 cut plants inside the cut holes in the rockwool 11. Place all 10 pots and 5 rockwool blocks in the water under the LED light 12. Record the starting height for every plant, which is 8 centimeters 13. For the next 4 weeks record the height once a week 14. Input the data into a table and then create graphs

Data Analysis (Expanded Clay Pebbles)

➢ Plant 4 was the tallest at 14.5 centimeters ➢ Plant 2 was the shortest at 11.6 centimeters ➢ Difference of 2.9 centimeters

Data Analysis (Perlite)

➢ Plant 5 was the tallest at 16.2 centimeters ➢ Plant 2 was the shortest at 9.2 centimeters ➢ Difference of 7 centimeters

Data Analysis (Rockwool)

➢ Plants 3 and 4 were the tallest at 18.5 centimeters ➢ Plant 1 was the shortest at 12.8 centimeters ➢ Difference of 5.7 centimeters

Data Analysis (Averages)

➢ Rockwool was the most productive medium with a average of 11.34 centimeters ➢ Perlite was the second most productive with an average of 10.82 centimeters ➢ Expanded clay was the least productive with an average of 10.32 centimeters ➢ Difference between rockwool and expanded clay was 1.02 centimeters Conclusion

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➢ ➢ In Addition ➢ Starting height might have been a little taller or shorter ➢ Plant height might have been a little off ➢ Plants that start as seeds might have worked better ➢ Less water is being used- benefit to society ➢ No pesticides on the plants- benefit to society ➢ Less fossil fuels being used- benefit to society ➢ Would the height of the plant be more spread out with more mediums? ➢ Does the type of plant affect the outcome of the medium? Bibliography

"Benefits of Perlite as a Grow Medium." PowerHouse Hydroponics, 30 Dec. 2018,

www.powerhousehydroponics.com/benefits-of-perlite-as-a-grow-medium/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.

"You Can't Lose with Grow Cubes." Fifth Season, 2 Oct. 2018, fifthseasongardening.com/you-cant-lose-with-grow-cubes. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.

"What Grow Medium Is Right For You?" Maximum Yield, 22 Jan. 2018, www.maximumyield.com/what-grow-medium-is-right-for-you/2/1218.

Accessed 10 Nov. 2019.

"5 Benefits Of Using Clay Pebbles In Hydroponics." Construction 21 International,

www.construction21.org/articles/h/5-benefits-of-using-clay-pebbles-in-hydroponic.html. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.

"Growing Plants With Perlite." Mother Earth, www.mother-earthproducts.com/page/growing-plants-with-perlite/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.

"Growing Spider Plants; How To Grow and Care For Spider Plants." The Old Farmer's Almanac, www.almanac.com/plant/spider-plants. Accessed

Oct. 2019.

"Hydroponic Gardening For Beginners." GreenTrees Hydroponics, www.hydroponics.net/learn/hydroponic_gardening_for_beginners.php. Accessed

18 Oct. 2019. Thank you for your time!

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