The Effects of Soil Price on Cabbage Seeds Lab Report

Our experiment was testing whether or not the price of soil affected the germination of seeds inside the soil. We did this to test that exact thing. We hypothesized that if soil price affected seed germination, then seeds planted in more expensive soil would germinate at a higher rate. We used basic materials for our experiment; 3 price ranges of soils, 9 pots, 27 cabbage seeds, water, and sunlight. We conducted it by placing 3 seeds into every 9 pots, where there were 3 pots for each soil price. 7 seeds germinated from the cheap, 2 from the regular, and 6 from the expensive. At the end of our experiment, we found that the price of soil does not have a correlation to seeds germinated. Our findings are significant because in the future, even if it has not been proven, we have background knowledge that it has no correlation. 

Introduction:
The majority of plants need soil to grow. There are certain factors that affect seed germination, such as the substance used to water, amount of sunlight, amount of irrigation, etc. But would the price of the soil in which cabbage seeds were grown in effect the amount of germinated seeds? To find the answer, we purchased 3 differentially priced soils.  We planted 3 seeds in each of the prices, having 3 pots of each price. We did this so it would give us results that we could analyze. We hypothesized that if the amount of germinated cabbage seeds is affected by the price of the soil in which they are planted in, then more cabbage seeds planted in the higher end soil will germinate. We predicted that our results would support that, but that was not the outcome. (Highest priced to lowest in the image).

All 9, on the day planted (9/1/18).

Purpose:

The purpose of our experiment was to test whether or not the price of soil in which a cabbage seed is planted in will affect the speed of germination of the seeds. 

Hypothesis:

If the amount of germinated cabbage seeds is affected by the price of the soil in which they are planted in, then more cabbage seeds planted in the higher end soil will germinate.

Procedure:                               

Left: Cheap. Top Right: Expensive. Bottom Right: Regular

Materials: 

9 Small Pots
3 different priced soils ($6, $8, $11)
27 cabbage seeds
Water
Sunlight
Water bottle for watering




Steps:

1. Put Soil into Pots. 
2. Label pots according to the soil.
3. Place 3 seeds into each pot.
4. Cover seeds with Soil.
5. Water the same amount to all, every day. 
6. Put in sunlight for 6 hours each day. 



Regular, Cheap and Expensive 9/4

7. Check every 3 days. 
8. Collect results. 

Results: 

Graph

Growth Status by day

Data analysis:
Out of 9 total seeds planted in the cheap soil, 7 seeds germinated, and out of 9 in the regular soil, only 2 germinated. In the expensive soil, 6 out of 9 seeds germinated. This bar graph correctly represents our data because it shows the number of seeds germinating depending on the change in the independent variable, being the type of soil. The chart simply explains the status of the plants at certain days and the number of seeds germinating. We created the graph to show the data on the last day of conducting the experiment, to show a ‘total’.

Conclusion/Discussion:
Our results showed that, in contrast to our hypothesis, a higher priced soil did not result in more germinated seeds than soils priced at a lower rate. With each different soil type came a different number of germinated seeds that showed no correlation with the price of soil, as they appeared random. We got this result because the type of soil does not affect germination. This was not the result that we necessarily expected to get. We anticipated that our results would support our hypothesis, but that simply was not the outcome because that variable does not affect seed germination. Our experiment could have been conducted in a more efficient manner if we would have had more seeds per pot. We did not really have any strengths or limitations to our experiment. Our findings are significant and relate to the real world because, although we have not proven anything, we now have some data on whether or not soil price correlates with seed germination. If a hypothesis is proven wrong, you won't have to worry about soil price next time you plant seeds.

 PLANTS ON FINAL DAY OF EXPERIMENT 9/14