A Compendium of Chia Knowledge
By Marion Deal and Andrew Ellstrom
The Research and Purpose Behind the Chia
Sources: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Famine.aspx
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/top-10-health-benefits-chia-seeds-6962.html
http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/maps/africa_atlas/Meeting112007/Africa_Continent.pdf
Hypothesis and Variables
Our Independent Variable: Ratio of soil and sand
Our Dependent Variable: Plant growth
Our Control Variables: Amount of time spent in the incubator (amount of light), amount of water, amount of soil, how many chia seeds were planted, what type of seeds were planted, the depth at which the seeds were planted.
Our Extraneous Variables: Amount of carbon dioxide each plant is able to wrest from the air, how much sugar was in each chia seed, how much nutrition were in each cup's soil, the weather and/or temperature in the room, whether the seeds were knocked down or watered mistakenly by strangers.
How We Set Up the Lab and What We Recorded
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we measured the growth, in centimeters, of the tallest chia plant within each group.
Our Results
After recording the data from our test groups for a few weeks, we found somewhat surprising results. The control group (wholly soil, which we assumed would be the most successful) had created a single sprout from Wednesday to Friday the first week, but it died when we returned on Monday. In our 1:3 mixture, the tallest plant was 7 cm. tall at the end of our observations. In our 1:1 mixture, the tallest sprout measured in at 7 cm. tall as well. Finally, the tallest sprout of our 3:1 mixture at the final measurement was 5.5 cm. The 1:3 and the 1:1 sprouts ended up being the tallest in the experiment.