What plants should I use for my science fair?

Question

I am doing an experiment on "Do all plants react the same when over-crowded" So what plants should I use? I am going to do it like this: Get 2 pots, one pot with 1 seed, the other with 20 seeds. I am going to compare the results and why it happened (which I don't know why). Any ideas?

Answer 1

All the 20 seeds should be different plants otherwise it's just those this plant like to be over crowded?
And runner beans they are nice and easy to grow.

Answer 2

Radishes grow very quickly. You can have grown radishes in a 3-4 weeks. Another bonus to them is that you can pull the entire plant up and measure the top and root together. I would measure the mass of all of the radishes from each pot and get the average mass per radish. So if you have 15 in one pot and they come to 45 grams, then the average mass is 3 grams per radish. Also, if you want to really keep it scientific, I would suggest getting at least 6 pots. 3 for the control group and 3 for the measure group. Plant one in three pots and plant multiples in the other pots.

Make sure that you have the exact same amount of soil and nutrients in each pot. Make sure you give them the same amount of light and make sure that you give them the same amount of water at the same time. Treat both groups exactly the same except for the condition that you are testing.

It would be interesting if you could measure the mass of the pots and plants after you plant them and then measure them again on a regular basis under the same conditions, such as just before you water them. I don't know if this would be possible but it would be interesting to see how the mass of the plants and the pots change over time. I am not sure you can see too much of a difference with radishes early on. This would require a fairly accurate scale where you are growing the plants.

I would also take photographs of them every few days to show their progress. Include these in the presentation. You might want to make it a folder that is included with the presentation or put it up on the poster board that you use (if you have room). Make notes along the way of any observations that you notice, such as if there are any ones that are healthier than others or if the plants are growing at different rates. I would use a bar chart to show the difference of these groups at the end.

Answer 3

If you are going to use seed, try sweet peas. We used the to measure growth in college biology class. They are cheap, large, and grow quickly.