The Effect of Miracle- Gro Concentration on the Height Grown by a Plant

1. The Effect of Miracle-Gro Concentration on the Height Grown by a Plant By Matt Balick

2. Problem Statement / Hypothesis Problem Statement- Does the concentration of Miracle-Gro affect the height that a plant will grow? Hypothesis- If a plant is given a concentration of 1 mL of Miracle-Gro mixed with 32 mL of water, then that plant will grow taller than plants with other concentrations of Miracle-Gro.

3. Basic Concepts What is Miracle-Gro?: “Miracle-Gro is a synthetic fertilizer that contains ammonium phosphate and several other chemicals.” What does Miracle-Gro do for plants: Miracle-Gro allows plants to live longer and grow taller. Is Miracle-Gro healthy for plants?: Some gardening experts believe that Miracle-Gro is detrimental to plants because of the chemicals that the fertilizer uses, but others believe that, because it helps the plants to grow and live longer, the positives outweigh the negatives.

4. Materials • 100 sun flower seeds • 4 Large trays (Jiffy Professional Greenhouse) • 100 mLs of Miracle-Gro granules • Water • Spray bottle • Ruler • Measuring cup

5. Procedure • Add water to each of the “pellets” until they expand • When they expand, pull back the mesh wrapping so that you can plant the seeds • Plant 2 seeds in each “pellet” and then cover the seeds with the rest of the soil • Water until damp (each time watered approx. 4 mL/tray) with spray bottle on diffuse spray setting • Place trays in indirect sunlight with equal amounts of sun exposure. Place the “dome (turns into green house effect)” over tray. Remove dome once plants sprout. • 3 days later add the specified amount of Miracle-Gro granules along with 32 mL of water to each pellet tray • Repeat this step every 7 days • When the seeds start to grow, take out the smaller of the two plants (if two have grown), and measure the taller plant • Take an average for each tray (height of each plant added together divided by 25). Repeat this step weekly.

6. Design Diagram Title: The Effect of Miracle Grow Concentration on the Height Grown by a Plant. Hypothesis: If a plant is given a concentration of 1 mL of Miracle-Gro mixed with 32 mL of water, then that plant will grow taller than plants with other concentrations of Miracle-Gro. IV: Concentration of Miracle-Gro; DV: Growth of the plants (cm) Constants: soil, plant type, sunlight, times watered Control: 2 mL of Miracle-Gro (suggested by the company)

7. Photo Documentation

8. Graph of Averaged Data

9. Graph of Average Data (continued) • Averages: • After 10 days: 1 mL= 3.56, 2 mL= 5.224, 4 mL= 6.4, 8 mL= 5.9 • After 17 days: 1 mL= 3.98, 2 mL= 8.78, 4 mL= 7.36, 8 mL= 6.2 • After 24 days: 1 mL= 3.98, 2 mL= 11.24, 4 mL= 7.76, 8 mL= 3.62

10. Results • Used the ANOVA test • P Value= 32.20 • Other results:

11. Conclusion Data is significant Null hypothesis is rejected My hypothesis was confirmed/accepted

12. Sources of Error and Improvements Human error- I could have measured something wrong and I rounded to the nearest .5 Watered until moist- some plants might have gotten more Miracle-Gro than others Light- all of the plants might not have gotten the exact same amount of light Trial Period – if longer period of time was observed, would the plants continued to maintain growth differences? Time of year- not the best weather which could have affected the growth

13. Applications and Extensions • Applications • Easy • Cheap • I’ve never been able to grow any plants before and wanted to see if it would help • Extensions • The Effect of Soil Type on the Productivity of Miracle-Gro • The Effect of the Amount of Sunlight on the Productivity of Miracle-Gro

14. Acknowledgements My mom who put up with a mess in my basement Mrs. Pietrangelo for helping me through this project The people at PJAS that accepted this project