THE EFFECT OF SUGAR
CONCENTRATION IN WATER ON
THE
GROWTH OF PLANT
Bjay Hyun
PROBLEM STATEMENT/HYPOTHESIS
Will the sugar concentration affect the pinto bean
plant growth?
 If the concentration of sugar levels in water
increases then plants will grow less.
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BASIC CONCEPTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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Photosynthesis - process by which plants, some bacteria, and some
protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar,
which cellular respiration converts into ATP, the "fuel" used by all
living things.
Sugar - Sugar is sucrose, a molecule composed of 12 atoms of carbon,
22 atoms of hydrogen and 11 atoms of oxygen. Also, a sugar is a
carbohydrate. It is found mostly in plants.
Water - Water's chemical description is H2O, two Hydrogen atoms
and one Oxygen atom formed by a covalent bond. They tend to clump
together, and molecules attract each other. Water has three states,
liquid, solid and ice. It is colorless and has no smell. It can dissolve
into substances better than any other liquid. Through ground, bodies
and takes along chemicals, minerals and nutrients just like for plants.
Pinto Beans - The scientific name for this bean is called Phaseolus
vulgaris.
DESIGN DIAGRAM
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LEVELS - Plants watered by 2 g/100ml,
4 g/100ml, 6 g/100ml, (3) ,Plants without sugar (1)
TRIALS – 10 for each Level
IV: The amount of sugar in water - (grams)
DV: The weight of the plant - (grams)
CONSTANTS: Same amounts of dirt/water, sunlight, temperature and
location of the plant.
Materials - 40 pinto beans, Soil bought from the market (Natural, Organic,
Tomato, vegetable plant mix)
Foil cups of the same size, where the plants are planted in the soil, A weighing
device to weigh the mass of plant.
Regular Sugar, bought from the market.
Regular tap water.
A digital camera to take pictures of my experiment and materials.
Water giving bottle (for plant)
Plate.
A measuring cup to measure amount of water to be watered.
Wooden sticks to hold up the plant if it gets taller
PROCEDURES
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Prepare all the materials.
Bring out a plate.
Put beans on a plate.
Pour water on the plate until it covers half of the beans.
Wait until the beans have grown a slight root coming out of the bean
When the beans have grown a root, plant each bean in different plastic cups with soil.
Place holes under the cups to let the water flow.
Place the cups at the indicated area where sunlight can be reached.
Place a aluminum plate below the cups to avoid water flood.
Water each plant with 100ml cup once every three days consistently with different
concentrations of sugar depending on the level. (2 g/100ml, 4 g/100ml, 6 g/100ml)
If the plant gets tall, support it with a wooden stick to avoid bending of plants.
After the experimental time, December 4th prepare to weigh the grown plants.
Place each individual cup and dump out the soil until only the plant remains.
Remove all possible soil sticking to the plant.
Measure the plant with a triple beam balance.
Record the data results.
Repeat steps 13 ~ 16 for all of the rest of cups.
OVERALL DATA RESULTS
Control (No sugar)
2 (g/100ml)
4 (g/100ml)
6 (g/100ml)
Trial 1
0.8g
0.2g
0.2g
0.7g
Trial 2
3.6g
0.1g
0.2g
0.2g
Trial 3
1.1g
0.1g
0.1g
0.1g
Trial 4
1.2g
0.1g
0.2g
0.4g
Trial 5
1.1g
0.1g
0.3g
0.2g
Trial 6
0.6g
0.2g
0.2g
0.2g
Trial 7
2.9g
0.1g
0.2g
0.1g
Trial 8
0.9g
0.1g
0.1g
0.2g
Trial 9
2.6g
0.1g
0.1g
0.2g
Trial 10
3.8g
0.2g
0.1g
0.3g
Average
1.86g
0.12g
0.17g
0.26g
AVERAGES OF DATA
Average
Control (No sugar)
2 (g/100ml)
4 (g/100ml)
6 (g/100ml)
1.86g
0.12g
0.17g
0.26g
As you can see, there is a clear difference
between the growth of plant in water verses
the growth of plant in sugar concentrations
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
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Used Statistical Analysis method: ANOVA
ANOVA: Results
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The results of a ANOVA statistical test performed at 15:49 on 30DEC-2010.
Source of
Variation
Sum of
d.f.
Squares
Mean
Squares
F
between
21.18
3
7.062
18.18
error
13.99
36 0.3885
total
35.17
39
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The probability of this result, assuming the null hypothesis, is 0.000
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I have a p value of < .001 thus meaning that the null
hypothesis can be rejected.
PHOTODOCUMENTATION
Start of Experiment when
plants were all healthy
Middle of Experiment when
Plants started to smell and
grow fungus in soil and die
PHOTODOCUMENTATION (CONTINUED)
End of the experiment when I started to
weigh the plants with the triple-beam balance
GRAPH OF AVERAGED DATA
(XY SCATTER PLOT)
The Weight of Bean After Growth In Different
Sugar Concentrations
2
1.8
Mass of Bean ( Grams )
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
Amount of Sugar in water ( g/100ml )
6
7
CONCLUSIONS
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The plants grown in water were mostly healthy,
while the plants grown in the different levels of
sugar concentration were smaller, and most of
them died. Small amounts of sugar (less than
what I've experimented with) usually does not
affect the plant's growth. But if the amount of
sugar in the soil becomes too high, it promotes a
higher incidence of fungi and bacteria, which
causes an increase risk of infection to plants. It
was clearly shown during the experiment that
plants can grow with sugar, but after a period of
time, the excessive amounts of sugar leftover
creates bacteria and fungi that kills the plants.
CONCLUSIONS (CONTINUED)
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Sources of error:
Human errors – This could have occurred anytime during the experiment
where inaccurate measurements or calculations were made.
Conditions of beans – From the start of the experiment, each bean had
different sizes and weights, and different health conditions.
Placement of beans – The bean plants did not have a good placement
because even though it had a stable temperature and was exposed to
sunlight, there was not enough sunlight for the plant to grow healthy,
which was probably a reason why the plants were not as healthy.
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Improvements that could be made:
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Use better measurement tools and technology to get better results.
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Use similar beans (in size and weight) next time to minimize errors within
the results.
Place them in a better area next time where the plants can see more
sunlight so it lives more healthy.
Place the plants outside where it could live in the natural environment.
CONCLUSIONS (CONTINUED)
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Extensions
The effect of sugar concentration on the growth of plant (With more
precise levels ranging from less than a gram to number of grams)
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The effect of amount of sunlight on the growth of plant
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The effect of temperature on the growth of plant
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Test with different kinds of plants other than pinto beans
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Why Did I do this Experiment
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I did this experiment because I wanted to figure out if when we come out
of McDonalds or any stores and we have leftover soda, we could give the
drink and water it to the plants; If this experiment worked. Many drinks
have sugar concentrations. Also, photosynthesis is related to sugar, where
sugar is converted to ATP for energy, so I was curious to know the results.
THANK YOU TO…
 Me
and my parents for following the
project.
 Audience
 Mrs. P for helping with the project and
the triple-beam balance