A Contained Atmosphere

Ryan Henderson

Problem: If a mainly carbon dioxide atmosphere is provided to a kidney bean plant (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), will its growth be affected?

Rationale

• I enjoy growing plants

• I enjoy learning about combustion

Research

Topics

• The Various Parts of a Plant

• Photosynthesis - the Light and Dark Reactions

• Combustion

Hypothesis

• If a kidney bean plant (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is exposed to a mainly carbon dioxide atmosphere over the course of one week and six days, then it will grow faster than a plant of the same species under normal circumstances for the same period of time.

Materials

• Dried organic beans (Bag)

• Outdoor soil

• Tub Ware Dishes (Entrée size)

• Sheets of Paper

• Ruler

• Lighter

• Scissors

• Straws

• Pencil

• Tape (roll)

• Aluminum foil (sheet)

• Measuring cup

• Disposable plastic gloves (pairs)

• Tear dropper

•Plant support beams•A computer (with Microsoft Excel)•A Source of Tap Wate r•Paper towels•Manual (Crank) Drill

Procedure• Pre-experiment bean germination

– Wet 2 paper towels and put them on the tops of two lids of the 15 Tub Ware dishes

– Take 15 red kidney beans out of the bag of mixed beans and place them on the paper towels and sprinkle a drop of water on each with the tear dropper- sprinkle some more on in another day but otherwise leave them alone for 1 day so that the beans can germinate

• Using the measuring cup, place 2.5 deciliters (250 milliliters) of soil into the bottom of all 15 of the plastic dishes

•  At the end of the 1st  day, plant 5 beans in the soil in the 5 plastic dishes– With gloved hands, make an indentation in the soil in the plastic container and press

each seed deep into the soil (2.5- 5 centimeters)

– Cover the seed with soil

– Water the seed- sprinkling around each of the buried beans

– Place 1 support rod next to each planted bean-but not too close to the seed

• Repeat step 3 twice so that there are now 15 potted beans; place 5 of them onto the table to the side with lid off to not be tampered with for two more weeks except to be watered once a day-these are the “control group” plant

Procedure• Use the manual drill to put a hole about 1-2 millimeters wide in the top-right corner of the

10 remaining plastic dishes (the other plants- not the control group plants) – **Note: When using the drill, put the object that is to be drilled on a hard backing surface, and wear gloves

when handling machinery that is sharp**  

• Put 5 of the straws through holes in the tops and angle them diagonally to the top right (the holes might have to be adjusted with the scissors for the straws) - push down  just enough so that they do not go completely through the hole but stick into the soil

• Affix the straws into place with  large amounts of  tape - enough so that the holes are completely sealed and air-tight, then cap of the top of the straws by bending part of it  down and placing a single piece of tape in the position to hold them tightly down

• Place  the 5  plastic containers with straws to the side- continue to water them (through the straws with the tear droppers) but make no additional changes to them

• Make 5 cylinders of aluminum foil (approximately 5 centimeters in diameter) for the remaining 5 plants and  place in the soil in a corner far away from the planted beans and press it into the soil at least 0.5 centimeters deep

• Take the pieces of paper and measure out 5 squares with lengths and widths of 10 centimeters

Procedure• Cut  out the squares

• Place each of the measured pieces of paper in each of the 5 remaining plant containers that are to be sealed with straws in the tops, crumpled up, into the center of the tin foil.

• Light the paper and close the lid as fast as possible-the straw needs to be through the lid of the plastic dish enters the soil at a diagonal angle– **Make sure that the containers with burning flames is a least four meters away from

any object that is flammable in the environment**  

• Make sure that there is a fire extinguisher somewhere nearby **within 5 meters of the area of experimentation**

• Observe the burning to make sure the plant is not threatened by the flames– A.     Water all plants with the measuring cup (and sometimes the tear dropper) every 4

days at 6:00 PM  with 100 milliliters of tap water for 1 week and 5 days- water the plant with the straw-top with the tear dropper to make sure that all of the water gets to the plant through the straw.

– B.     DO NOT water directly onto where the seeds are located- water around the sides and “sprinkle” around where the seed is buried. (Obviously this cannot be done with the sealed plants, so make sure that the straws are not too close to beans) 

Procedure

• At the end of 1 week and 4 days, take all of the plants out of the soil, one at a time, by scooping them with very careful hands and making sure to not break any roots

• Measure the plants’ length with a ruler from the longest downward root to the end of the tallest leaf or bean shell and record in Microsoft Excel– **Note: Be careful with the plants after cutting them- they will not be fully

developed so they may be fragile. **

• Average recorded data and organize into presentable format that compares the 15 plants’ growths over 1 week and 5 days using Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint and the differences between the heights

• Note: "Sealed Group 2" refers to the group with added carbon dioxide

Images of the Experiment

Step 3: Materials, including growing rods and beans

Step 5: Materials to make holes in the tops of the containers

Step 5: A hole made by the manual drill

Steps 9 and 16: Six finished plants

Pictures

Step 18 Plant B of Sealed Group 1

Step 18: Roots of Plant B of Group 2

Step 1: Beans in "Pre-Germination" Stage

Step 3: A completely setup Control Group Plant

Pictures

Step 18: Plant A of the Sealed Group 2

Step 18: Plant C of the Sealed Group 2

Data: Control Group (in centimeters)

Data On Google

Conclusion•The experiment, “A Contained Atmosphere,” reached its conclusion on January 14, 2012. •After the preparations at the beginning of the experiment, it was very uneventful.

•     After the plants were measured, the subject group with the greatest growths and average growth were from Sealed Group 2.

• This experiment was valid even though there were several flaws, including:

-overwatering -equal sunlight availability to all of the plants

        

Conclusion

• All of the plastic dishes were the same brand model

• This experiment could possibly help greenhouse operators grow their plants faster.

Thank you for your time. Are there any questions?