Bottled Water and Soybean Science Fair Projects

Soybeans and Water

When developing a soybean science fair project that deals with the impact of various types of water on the growth and health of the plant, you will want to make sure that you focus your experiment on the chemical makeup of the water. This means that you will need to measure out your water dosages and that you will need to monitor the temperatuar of the water. You will also want to make sure that other factors like sunlight and air temperature are consistant from experiment to experiment to prevent them from impacting the growth of the soybeans.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effect of four common types of domestic water on the growth of soybeans: chlorinated municipal water, un-softened well water, potassium salt softened water, and sodium salt softened water.

I became interested in this idea because every summer I helped my mom water our plants. She always told me not to water them with our softened, chlorinated water. I often wondered what would happen.

The information gained from this experiment could be very useful to gardeners and farmers who irrigate with domestic water. It would help them decide which type of water to use (or avoid) to help their plants grow best.

HYPOTHESIS

My first hypothesis was that the potassium salt softened water would result in the most plant growth in mass.

My second hypothesis was that the potassium salt softened water would result in the most plant growth in height.

My third hypothesis was that the sodium salt softened water would result in the least plant growth in mass.

My fourth hypothesis was that the sodium salt softened water would result in the least plant growth in height.

My fifth hypothesis was that the un-softened well water would result in less soybean growth in mass than potassium salt softened water, but more than the chlorinated water.

My sixth hypothesis was that the un-softened well water would result in less soybean growth in height than potassium salt softened water, but more than the chlorinated water.

I based my first and second hypotheses on information I collected from the Morton Salt website. The website stated, “Potassium is one of the 16 elements necessary for plant growth. It also helps plants resist disease and optimize moisture utilization.”

I based my third and fourth hypotheses on information I found from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. In their website they stated, “Calcium and magnesium compounds are the components that make water hard. They are important nutrients for plants and sodium is not. Softened water can also affect the soil structure for a potted plant.”

I based my fifth and sixth hypotheses on information I found at a website created by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. They stated, “If there is a source of un-softened water, use that water for your plants. If you have a faucet in your water line before the water softener, you can also use that tap as the source of un-softened water for your plants.”

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

MATERIALS