DISCUSS:
Do you think plants need dirt to grow? How could you find out?
Hint...
Think about how we found out that seeds need water to grow.
DISCUSS:
What do you think will happen?
Compare these two tomato plants. The one on the left grew in dirt. The one on the right grew in water, but no dirt.
DISCUSS: Which plant looks healthier? Why?
DISCUSS:
Our experiments show that plants need water and dirt to be healthy. What else do they need?
DISCUSS:
Which plant do you think is healthier: the one that grew in the light or the one that grew in the dark?
Why do you think that?
Draw the Radishes worksheet | 30 copies |
Crayons
Ideally each student will have green and yellow colors available.
Colored pencils or markers will also work.
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Details
60 crayons
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Aluminum Foil
Need enough to cover the aluminum pan.
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Details
3 feet
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Aluminum Pan
Must be large enough to hold half of the Dixie cups.
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Details
1 pan
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Baking Soda
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8 teaspoons |
Dixie Cups (3 oz)
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38 cups |
Paper Plates
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8 plates |
Spray Bottles
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8 bottles |
Sticker Labels (1" x 3")
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30 labels |
Peat Pellets
You need to soak peat pellets in water so that they are moist enough.
Potting soil will also work. You will need about a quart of potting soil for a class of 24 students.
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Details
30 pellets
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Radish Seeds
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1 3-gram packet |
This is a two-part activity. We recommend that you allow at least three days (up to one week) in between Part One and Part Two of the experiment to give the radish seeds time to germinate.
You will need access to a sunny windowsill for radish seeds to grow in the light. You will also need access to water so that you can fill up the spray bottles.
We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own but will need to prepare at least two Dixie cups so that they can compare what happens to the plants in sunlight versus in the dark.
For each group of four students, put about ⅛ teaspoon radish seeds (at least 40 seeds) in a Dixie cup.
For each student (or one homeschool student), fill one Dixie cup halfway with moist potting soil. Or if you are using peat pellets, place one pellet in each cup, fill the cup with water, and let the pellet soak up the water for at least 30 minutes.
In each spray bottle, mix about 1 cup of water with about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Adding baking soda will inhibit mold growth in the soil, but won’t affect the plants.
After students complete Part One of this activity, they will need to wait at least three days (up to one week) to give the radish seeds time to germinate. Make sure to spray both the cups in the sunlight and the cups in the dark with water during this time.
When most of the leaves have come up, show Part Two of the activity.
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