Is tap water overrated?
Kassidy Jones Muyan Liu
Grade 7
Presentation
No video provided
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis: Tomatoes will grow best (tallest, most leaves, longest leaves), under
standard hydroponic conditions, if watered with Neutral water of (PH 7) vs. Acidic (PH6), or basic water (PH 8).
Research
Background research
Controlled variables
o Same seeds
o Same hydroponic growing conditions
Light per day
Growing pods
Temperature
Amount of water
Independent variable (Uncontrolled variable)
o PH of water used.
Dependent variable
o Plant growth (height, number of leaves, length of leaves)
Background research:
Why hydroponics.
o Fast growth.
o Good for the controlled variable.
o Standard environment.
Light – 14 hours a day
Water – tank refilled on measurement days (Wednesday, Sunday, @
5:00 pm)
Growing conditions.
LED light on 16 hours.
No soil.
Water on 24/7.
Well-conditioned temperature.
Plant type
Why tomatoes?
Tomatoes are fairly very easy to grow.
It is easy to grow in one month.
Easy to care for & grows quickly.
Tomatoes require minimal effort and only a fair amount of water to
nurture.
https://extension.unh.edu/resource/growing-vegetables-tomatoes-fact-sheet-
Tomatoes are a great plant to grow in hydroponics because they are easy to care for and
grow quickly.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/top-of-the-crop/5-reasons-to-grow-tomato-plants
How does basic, acidic, and neutral water affect the tomato plants?
- Acidic water (pH 6) is easier for tomato roots to absorb and helps prevent plants from lacking essential nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium.
- Neutral water (pH 7) can affect plant growth, as it does not provide much-needed vitamins and nutrition.
- Basic water (pH 8) is not much better than neutral water. It provides less necessary nutrients and vitamins and can cause deformation.
Why do we need this experiment?
We need this experiment because it helps with the plants' nutrients, making them grow faster, healthier, and greener. It also tells people if acidic water is better for plants or basic water. It could even be both! Not only that it also tells farmers whether acidic makes plants greener neutral or basic.
Variables
Controlled variables
o Same seeds
o Same hydroponic growing conditions
Light per day
Growing pods
Temperature
Amount of water
Independent variable (Uncontrolled variable)
o PH of water used.
Dependent variable
o Plant growth (height, number of leaves, length of leaves)
Procedure
Procedure
- Using a standard Hydroponics up-and-down kit from the brand: Standard Hydroponics by Dave Ocean, fill three water tanks: one with PH 6, one with PH 7, and one with PH 8 water. Add a tag that shows the pH of each tank.
- Once you have filled your tanks, take out 15 baskets (all provided within the kit) 15 sponges, 15 basket labels (stickers), and 15 seedling covers.
- Put 2 or more seeds within your 15 sponges in the baskets, then add the basket labels and cover.
- At 8:00 am, place 5 seeds (sponge, basket, sticker & cover) in each container.
- After putting the seeds in the tanks at 8:00 am exactly (you may want to start steps 3-4 earlier) set the timer to 14 and press the “power button” and your LED lights will turn on, and at 10:00 pm they will automatically turn off and turn back on at 8:00 am the next day.
- When your seeds start to come through the sticker, peel them off.
- Twice every week, measure your plant's height in cm and count their leaves, by a certain time (up to you) record your data.
Observations
Dec 24 in the morning, the acidic tomato seeds started growing as long with the neutral but barely basic.
Dec 26, tomatoes looked healthy and green.
Jan 2, 2025 today, I noticed that 5 of the seeds in total still hadn’t grown, but the rest were growing taller and had started growing yellow leaves.
January 22, 2025, The plants have grown well over the past few weeks, but some have yet to grow. Some leaves are still yellow, but overall, they look healthy.
Feb 4 Today, I observed that the lights were roasting the plants.
Feb 13, the plants have grown very well but were losing leaves and are turning yellow
Analysis
Our resluts were:
Conclusion
Our overall experiment and data collection show tomato plants, over 3 months in hydroponic conditions, have the best growth when being watered with Ph6 (acidic) water.
Application
Sources Of Error
Sources of Error
1) our tomato seeds may have been harmed or dead before or during the plantation.
2) when transported from one house to another, the seeds may have been exposed to intense temperatures affecting growth.
3) natural light may have infected growth
4) the bins may have changed the pH of the water
5) the water temperature may have been different between each bin
6) the change in time of light may have affected the growth