Introduction and Hypothesis
Seeds are essential to human life and without them, humans would have no food. In this experiment, we tested the relationship between germinating seeds and worms in the same pot. We chose worms because our experience with them shows they release nutrients from their castings into the soil. Taking our prior knowledge into this experiment, our hypothesis is, If the number of worms in a pot correlates with the number of seeds that germinate, then the more worms there are in a pot, the more seeds will germinate.
Materials
- Twelve red worms
- Three identical pots
- Potting soil
- Sharpie
- Blue tape
- Cabbage express red seeds
- Beaker
- Tap water
Procedure
1. labeled the pots with control, 8 worms, and 4 worms
2. Poured potting soil in the container with a centimeter to the rim
3. Placed seven seeds in each pot half of a centimeter deep in the soil
4. Put the designated number of worms in the experimental groups
5. Gave every pot 150 ml of water every other day
Data and results
day:
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
Control
|
no germination
| no germination | no germination |
1 germinated
|
no new germination
| no new germination | no new germination | no new germination | no new germination | no new germination |
died
|
dead
|
dead
|
4 Worms
|
no germination
| no germination | no germination | no germination | 1 germinated | no new germination |
second seedling germinated
|
no new germination
|
no new germination
| second seedling died |
no new germination
| no new germination | no new germination |
8 Worms
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
no germination
|
1 germinated
|
no new germination
|
no new germination
|
no new germination
|
died
|
Conclusion
In this experiment, we expected a clear correlation between the number of worms and the number of germinating seeds in a pot, but this did not happen. Our control seeds died, our pot with four worms had two germinating seeds, and the pot with eight worms had one germinating seed. These results were inconclusive. To resolve our issues with it, we need to make sure that we identified all the possible unwanted variables and controlled them. Some of these variables are how deep the seeds were in the soil, and how much soil there was in the pots. Other experiments that could be done off of this one include the type of worms and how they affect the soil. We can also redo our experiment with varying types of seeds.
