Fast Plant

| Advantage of Outbreeding in Brassica rapa | | | Kelly Porterfield | 11/26/2012 |
Biology Lab 180 Section C

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Introduction
The purpose of this experiment was to practice applying the use of the scientific method. One of the main steps in the scientific method is forming a hypothesis. Increasing fertilizer is expected to increase rate of growth and increase number of leaves.
Materials and Methods
The materials used included seeds of Wisconsin fast plants Brassica rapa, Styrofoam planting quads, potting soil, 14- 14- 14- NPK fertilizer beads, labeling tape, quad wicks, plastic water container with wick cloth, and anti-algal squares. To construct two different planters for our fast plants we used two Styrofoam planting quads. Each planter and squares inside of the planter were labeled. Each square was filled about half way with soil. The Brassica rapa seeds and fertilizer pellets were then added and topped with more soil. Each square was watered and placed under a light. For the next five weeks in each lab the height of each plant (cm) and the number of leaves on each plant were recorded.
Results

Figure 1
Figure 1 shows that increasing the amount of fertilizer did affect the plant height. The height was increased by 3 to 5cm each week.

Figure 2 Figure 2 shows that increasing the amount of fertilizer did affect the number of leaves. The amount of leaves increased 2 to 3 leaves each week. Discussion The results for the first fast plant grew taller by three centimeter or five centimeters each week. The number of leaves also increased each week by two to three leaves. Because of the more fertilizer added to a plant the fast plant grew taller and grew more numbers of leafs. The results for the second fast plant were very similar. The height of the plant had increased by three centimeter to five centimeters. The number of leaves also increased each week by two to three leaves. The last week of the experiment fast plants became dry making it hard to measure the plants accurately. This allows room for error because it is not positive that the same method of measurement was used throughout the entire experiment.