Task Card 3

1. Task Card 3 Biological Sciences Year 6 Investigation Investigating the affects of water, light and soil additives on the growth of plants.

2. Prior Knowledge Before you begin this investigation identify what you already know about what a plants needs to grow and stay healthy Complete this task in your science book. Title your work - Student Exploration: Growing plants

3. For this investigation you will use the online simulation: Growing Plants Gizmo This simulation allows you to investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans and turnips. You can change the amount of light and water each plant gets and the type of soil the seed is planted in and observe the effect of each variable on plant height, mass, leaf colour and leaf size. At the end of this investigation you will be able to determine how plants are affected by the physical conditions of their environment. Please click the link to get your Growing Plant Gizmo started and continue to follow the instructions on this PowerPoint. http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspView&ResourceID=615

4. How to use the Growing Plants Gizmo • Choose a seed, click and drag the seed into each pot • Click on the light bulbs to turn them on and off • Drag the water slider up or down to set the amount of water each plant gets • Click and drag soil additives (fertiliser or compost) into a pot. • When the pots are ready, click the play icon and wait for the simulation to end • Click the reset icon to clear pots. Now you are ready to use Gizmo! Click to the next slide to see what you will be investigating!

5. You will be conducting 3 experiments using the Growing Plants simulation to investigate how physical conditions of an environment affect plant growth Experiments: • You will explore whether plants need water to grow into a healthy plant, and the effects of too little and too much water. • You will examine how the amount of light affects plant growth • You will investigate the affects of soil additives on the plant growth The words highlighted are called the ‘variables’, you will be testing one variable at a time, therefore the remaining variables need to be controlled (all the same). This will ensure a fair experiment is conducted.

6. Scientific Report Format For each investigation you will need to write a brief scientific report in your science book. This will include: • Title • Hypothesis • Overview of the experiment including the variable being tested • Results presented in a table such as the one below • Discussion • Ideas for further investigation

7. Experiment A: Wet or Dry Investigating whether plants need water to grow into a healthy plant, and the effects of too little and too much water. Remember, to create a hypothesis before conducting the experiment. Instructions for Growing Plants Gizmo To test water as the variable, set up the three pots like this: Pot A: Bean seed, two light on, 0mL 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 Click the play icon to start, when simulation is done, observe the plants Fill out the results table with the height, mass and appearance of each plant on day 50 Discuss your results - You may like to research to impact of too much or too little water on the growth of plants to aid in your discussion

8. Experiment B: Light and Dark Investigating the affect of light on the growth of plants Remember, to create an hypothesis before conducting the experiment. Instructions for Growing Plants Gizmo To test water as the variable, set up the three pots like this: Pot A: Turnip seeds, 50mL of water, three lights on Pot B: Turnip seeds, 50 mL of water, one lights on Pot C: Turnip seeds, 50 mL of water, no lights on Click the play icon to start, when simulation is done, observe the plants Fill out the results table with the height, mass and appearance of each plant on day 50 Discuss your results - Conduct research into how the amount of light affects the height of plants to support your discussion

9. Experiment C: Fertiliser or compost Investigating the affect of soil additives on the growth and health of plants. Remember, to create an hypothesis before conducting the experiment. Instructions for Growing Plants Gizmo To test water as the variable, set up the three pots like this: Pot A: Tomato seeds, 50mL of water, three lights on, fertiliser Pot B: Tomato seeds, 50ml of water, three lights on, compost Pot C: Tomato seeds, 50ml of water, three lights on, no additive Click the play icon to start, when simulation is done, observe the plants Fill out the results table with the height, mass and appearance of each plant on day 50 Discuss your results - Conduct research to find out what is in fertiliser and compost, and the difference between the two

10. Have a go - Create your own experiment With the results and information you have gathered on the affects of water, light and soil additives on plant growth, have a go at creating your own experiment. Try to make the healthiest and tallest plant possible.

11. Growing Plants – Teachers Page Contextual Information Year level: Year 6 Science Understanding: Biological Sciences Content Descriptor: “The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment.” Intended Outcomes for lesson Declarative (what the students will know): - how plants are affected by the physical conditions of their environment - the effects of water, light and soil additives on the growth of plants - what a plant needs to grow and be healthy Procedural (what the students will be able to do): - investigate how changing the physical conditions for plants impacts on their growth and survival such as the amount of water, light and soil additives - make predictions and analyse their predictions - collect data from multiple trials - analyse data using tables and graphs - conduct further research to explain the data found Lesson Overview: The Growing Plants Gizmo simulates plant growth. Students can manipulate four variables: seed type, soil additives, amount of water, and amount of light. Students can use the Gizmo simulation to try grow the biggest plants they can, or to investigate the effect of each variable individually. In this investigation students will explore: a) whether plants need water to grow into a healthy plant B) how the amount of light affects plant growth c) how soil additives affect the growth and appearance of plants