A Little Bit salty? I think so!
An investigation of Salinity resistance in Bean Plants.
By Christine Young and Michael he
Purpose
Problem
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
Variables
The dependent variable in this experiment is plant growth, measured in height of the plant and number of leaves of the plant.
The independent variable is the salinity of the water that the different plant groups are being watered with.
The control group is the bean plants that are being watered with tap water with no salinity.
The experimental group is the bean plants that are being watered with salt in them.
Some constants are the type of bean, the amount of water that they are being watered with, the sunlight they are exposed to, the temperature they are being grown in, and the moisture of where they are being grown
Research
Click here to see more of the Background Research:
Hypothesis
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
Materials
In this experiment, the required materials will be needed:
400 plastic party cups to cultivate the bean plants in
400 bean seeds / seedlings
1 box of iodine table salt
1 tbsp to measure the salt
1 cup measurer
mL measurer
Plotting soil
1 measuring ruler
Regular Tap water
- 1-5 measuring beakers, depending on how many bean seeds may be fit into each beaker.
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
Procedures
The night before , soak the beans overnight to make it easier to sprout.
Label 100 cups for each group's name Control, 2% salinity, 5%, and 20%
Line up the cups in 20 rows of 20
Every 5 rows will be a different group, there'll be Control, 2%, 5%, and 20%.
Place one cup of soil and a bean about one inch deep in each party cup.
Water control group with 200 mL of water, slowly poured on the surface of the soil.
For the 2% salinity, mix 5 g of table salt in 200 mL of water, and water each 2% salinity plant with 200 mL of the 2% saline water.
For 5% salinity, repeat the procedure in step 9, but with 60 g of table salt.
For 20% salinity, repeat the procedure again from step 9, with 90 g of table salt.
Every day, water each plant with 100 mL of water, with no salt in the control group’s water, 2 g of salt in the 2% salinity, 5 g in 5%, and 20 g in 20%.
Observe and record observations every day in the lab journal until the beans sprout
When beans sprout, measure each sprout with a ruler every 3 days.
When the first leaves grow, measure the height of the plant each day and keep all measurements in a data table and make calculations on Excel.
Data
Analysis
Pictures and Calculations
Annual percent growth Formula=| [(Final-Initial)/Initial] x 100 | /27
Percent Growth rate= [(Final-Initial)/Initial] x 100
Control Group
Control:
| [(28.4-25.11)/25.11]x100 | / 27
[(28.4-25.11)/25.11]x100
Annual growth percentage= 0.49%
Percent Growth rate= 13.23%
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
2% Salinity
2% Experimental Group:
| [(35.13-30.08)/30.08]x100 | / 27
[(35.13-30.08)/30.08]x100
Annual growth percentage= 0.62%
Percent Growth rate= 16.79%
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
5% Salinity
5% Experimental Group:
| [(25.91-24.91)/24.91]x100 | / 27
[(25.91-24.91)/24.91]x100
Annual growth percentage= 0.15%
Percent Growth rate=4.01%
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
20% Salinity
20% Experimental Group:
| [(0-1.76)/1.76]x100| / 27
[(0-1.76)/1.76]x100
Annual growth percentage=-3.7%
Percent Growth rate= -100%
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
Observations (Pictures are above)
Conclusion
These photos were taken by the Experimenters in Coppell, Tx on December 1 2014
Sources of Error
As the beans were originally being placed into the cups with soil, some of the cups fell over and soil spilled out. An attempt was made to put as much soil back into the cup as possible, but the spills caused some cups to have less soil than others when the amount of soil was supposed to be a constant. While placing the beans in the cups with soil, there were a few times when the placement of the cups was confusing and beans may have been misplaced or forgotten. This could have caused a few cups without beans or a few cups with more than one bean. One other problem that could have affected the experiment is that the scale that was used to measure the salt. The amounts of salt that were needed had decimals into the thousandths, but the scale only measured up to the tenths, which could have caused a difference in salt levels of each experimental group.
Improvement
Application
Citations
Agdex 518-17. "Salt Tolerance of Plants." Salt Tolerance of Plants. Alberta Agriculture
and Rural Development, 1 Nov. 2001. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.
<http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/%24Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3303>.
Bohnert, H. J. "Adaptations to Environmental Stresses." The Plant Cell Online 7.7
(1995): 1099-111. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.
"Salinity and Water Quality Fact Sheet." Department of the Environment. Commonwealth of Australia, 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/quality/factsheet-salinity-and-water-quality>.
Painter, Tammie. "The Development of a Pinto Bean Plant." Home Guides. Demand
Media, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://homeguides.sfgate.com/development-pinto-bean-plant-54461.html>.
Warrence, Nikos E J., and James W. Bauder. "The Basics of Salinity and Sodicity Effects
on Soil Physical Properties." The Basics of Salinity and Sodicity Effects on Soil Physical Properties. Ed. Krista E. Pearson. University of Montana, 19 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/methane/basics_highlight.shtml#EffectsofSalinityonPlantGrowth>.