In year two we have been growing into Scientists and sowing the seeds of our very own experiment!
As you know, we have been studying the life of a plant and thinking scientifically about what we think a plant needs to begin to grow. We learnt that this means when a plant germinates.
We began our science less discussing the main variables that enable a plant to grow: water, soil, oxygen and sunlight. With our Scientist hats on, we thought of an important experiment question: What do seeds need to germinate?
With our question in mind, we began designing a method to test if a seed might need all the variables in order to grow. We decided one group had to have all the variables to make it a fair test, this we call the control group. Then, the other four groups each changed a variable. Take a look at each group below, what they changed and what they have noticed.
Group 1: The seeds would have not sunlight.
“We noticed that after one week, some cress has tried to grow but it has then died without sunlight.”
Group 2: The seeds would be planted in cotton wool!
“We saw some cress seeds grew, but we aren’t sure if more will grow yet.”
Group 3: The seeds would not get watered.
“No seeds have grown and we don’t think they will because seeds need water.”
Group 4: The seeds without oxygen.
“After one week, we have noticed that the cress grew a little bit but then died.”
Group 5: The control group.
“With all the variables we can see lots of cress growing well.”
We are now all wondering how well they will keeping growing! Ask us at home about our experiment and what we have learnt from it.