Experiments with Plants

1. Experiments with Plants Mr. Huttle’s Class Green Group Ethan, Faith, Katelynne, Simone

2. Wisconsin fast plant Conclusion Fertilizer Light , space temp., and pollination, water. We put 8 pellets of fertilizer.

3. History of the Wisconsin Fast Plant Dr. Williams bred these rapid-cycling Brassica rapa plants as a research tool that could be used for improving disease resistance of cruciferous plants (a large group of plants that includes mustard, radish, cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, and more). In order to speed up the genetic research in the crucifers, he began breeding Brassica rapa and six related species from the family Cruciferae for shorter life cycles. The end result: petite, quick-growing plants known as Fast Plant. After about 20 years of planting, growing, and selecting, his breeding process had reduced a 6-month life cycle to 5 weeks. Further breeding refined the population of plants so they were relatively uniform in flowering time, size, and growing conditions - but the remaining variation among the plants is what serves today as the launching point for investigations in classrooms and research. The shortened life cycle has proven effective in reducing the time required for traditional breeding programs, which has led to advances in cellular and molecular plant research.

4. Variable we tested (Manipulated) • The variable we tested is fertilizer. We picked this variable because we wanted to see if our plant would grow wider on the stem or grow taller without the normal amount. • We put in 8 fertilizer pellets. Our group didn’t want to put in a quantity of fertilizer pellets that would overwhelm our plant, which would cause the plant to die or it would not sprout. • We tested this by putting in 8 pellets inside the two controlled cells of our 2 by 2 cube container . Our two cells were 3 and 4.

5. Variables Not Changed (Controlled) • We didn’t change light, temperature, space, pollination, and water because the Brassica fast plant needs 24 hours of water of it will die. The temperature was 68-71 degreesand if we change the perfect temperature it could get to cold and the roots would probably freeze and stop growing. Then we could not observe any more. If it got to hot it would over heat and start to slowly die. The amount of space is in tell it can actually grow tall and grow more leaves (including flowers and buds). Everything needs room to grow, go through the life cycle and grow pods which gives us more seeds to grow more brassica plants. That is why we didn’t change space. The last variable we didn't change was light because light and water is the plants food. So if we don’t give the plant the right amount of light then it will starve and die just like humans and animals. That’s why we didn’t change light, temperature, space, pollination and water. The variables we did not change for the controlled plants were… Light Temperature Space Pollination Water The variable we did change was… 1. fertilizer

6. How we tested the variable (Responding) We are doing this to compare what happened to our plants for example if somebody's plant had more leaves or had more buds or if the plant was taller or reproduce more, and see the different from our tested plant. On the 1st week the average centimeters for our plants was two, and on the 2nd week the average was four centimeter, and the 3rd week the average was 4 ½ or five centimeters ,then on the 4th week the average was 5 centimeters, then on the 6th week the average was about 6 centimeters, on the 7th week the average was 12 centimeters, finally on the 8th week the average was 21 centimeters. Our group collected the: Height Number of leaves Number of pods Number of buds The appearance since last observation and big changes. .

7. Graph of Plant Growth: Control Plants The most common average in cm in a 8 week time span was three cm. the plants , for a short time , stopped their growth spurt. This was not long ( 3 weeks to be exact) though. The plant that grew the most was grew to 12 cm. that I one of the tallest in are class. This plant was at its peek on week 8. the shortest plant was recorded on week 6. It was 0 cm. The plant could not hold its own weight and the plant collapsed. The controlled plants grew taller than the tested plants. Even though we gave the plants extra food, the plants that where tested did not grow as tall as the controlled plants. I do not know how the test came out with a negative result, the still remains unclear to me.

8. Graph of Plant Growth: Test Plants This graph shows the average of my group’s growth of the tested plants. On the first week the average of our groups plants were about 2 centimeters, the second week the average was 4 centimeters, then next week the average was about 4 ½ or 5 centimeters tall on the fourth week the average was 6 centimeters, the fifth week the average of the was 6 centimeters, then on the sixth week the average was 8 centimeters, the seventh week the average was 12 centimeters, on the last week the average of all our plants was 21 centimeters

9. Sketch of flowering Plant This is more or less what a close up the fast plant would look like, you would most likely not even notice the anther but it has a huge job. Just like the human body, there are no, none essential parts to the plant. You may think that that the pedals are just to show off, but they attract pollinators such as bees. All yellow flowers do that. They are also the source of food for plants. They take in sun light and yous it to make food, I a process called photosynthesis.

10. Sketch of fertilized Plant In my group we added more fertilizer pellets than other groups and we noticed that it made a bigger difference with the height growth. When I looked back at my heights my plant was growing rapid speed. On the first day my height of the tallest plant was almost 3 cm. On the last day when I measured my tallest plant I found that is was 20 cm. During all the weeks of our plants growing it grew about 17cm. When I looked at my groups height they all had about the same. By looking at my group member’s observations I saw that on the first day her tallest plant was almost 2cm. Then 2 days later her plant grew about 2-3 cm. On the last day for her observations I saw she ended up with the same number as me. 20 cm. it was unusual because every day it was different measures but on the last day she ended up with the same number.

11. Sketch of worker bee Even though the worker bee has a 2 – 6 week life span, it does a lot. It doesn't come home from work. It literally works till it drops! 90% of the hive does. There is one up side though. The worker bee gets to collect nectar, so it gets to drink honey all day. And did you know that all worker bees are female. In a way they also get to do art. They get to make wax, and make the hive. That is another up side. So they all in all have an okay life.

12. Illustration of interdependence between flowering plants and bees In the picture on the right as you can see it is a worker be pollinating all of the flowers. This is an example of interdependence between bees and flowering plants. Interdependence is when a animal and plant rely on each other, so with the bee the bee takes some of the plants pollen and gives away pollen from another plant. The flower produces the pollen for the bee to take. So when the animal takes something from the plant it give something back that the plant needs. This is the same for the plant giving to the animal. That is what interdependence means for plants and animals. Here is the scientific definition of interdependence: Interdependence is a relationship in which each member is mutually dependent on the others. This concept differs from a dependence relationship, where some members are dependent and some are not.

13. Conclusion The tested variable affected the growth of the plant by increasing the height by an average of 4cm. The conclusion we can make is that over fertilizing a plant is like over feeding a human. The subject gets bigger. But instead of getting wider, it got taller. There are many different comparisons that could be made about controlled vs. tested plants. The one that stood out the most was the height. I think it is simple, more food = bigger, less food =smaller. That is just logic. The part that isn't is that the tested plant died faster than the controlled plant. Just like a human, if a human is over weight or un-healthy, it dies faster. I think that is the case. That is what I can conclude. We learned that… The plant has to die before you can take the pods out. The only type of light the plant takes in is LED lights. If you pollinate one plant with one bee and pollinate another plant with the same bee its called cross pollination. The yellow flower attracts bees. The plant system is very sensitive, if the phylum is broken the plant will not survive.

14. Extra facts According to Fastplants.org, the first fast plant was a brassica plant, normally thought of as a weed. A collector of seeds from Iowa obtained some brassica seeds from Nepal, India that were known to grow very quickly. They were deposited at Iowa State University in a seed collection. Williams contacted the university because he was trying to develop disease-resistant plants. Williams had the idea to crossbreed brassica plants with cabbages and other plant types in order to develop faster-growing plants that could be quickly tested for disease resistance. There for, the first fast plant was born.Wisconsin fast plants have a life cycle that leads to early sprouting as well as harvestable seeds within 40 days of planting. According to Fastplants.org, a typical fast plant will bud in the soil after one day of planting. By day seven, it will be 5 centimeters tall and have visible leaves. The plant will flower on day 13. By days 28 to 35, the plant will be a full 20 centimeters tall and will bear seeds for planting additional fast plants.In addition to the standard (or improved basic) Fast Plant, several specialized varieties have been bred to study plant genetics. Several types of purple-stemmed plants, both hairy and hairless, with solid and variegated leaves have been developed to use for research into both Mendelian (monohybrid and dihybrid) and Non-Mendelian (quantitative) genetics. Tall, petite and dwarf rosette varieties are used for research into plant physiology. "Astro Plants" travel into space for experiments in a weightless environment.