Question: Is Microwaved Water Harmful to Plants
Some social media posts claim that microwaving is harmful. To support this claim, they show photos of plants watered with purified water compared to plants given microwaved water.
You are skeptical about these claims and have decided to test them yourself.
You will be given the following materials:
- 2 germinating bean seeds that have been soaked in water microwaved for 30 seconds
- 2 germinating bean seeds that have been soaked in water distilled (pure) water
Procedure:
1) Place your seeds in a cup filled with soil, label each cup as pure or microwaved - keep track of your seeds
2) Place cups under a light source.
3) Water daily with each type of water (provided by your teacher)
4) Measure plant growth over 2 weeks and record any other observations
5) Construct a data table
Lab Report
At the end of the 2 weeks, compile your data and submit a report that answers the experimental question. The lab report should include each of the following
1) Introduction
- Write the experimental question
- State your hypothesis
- Identify the independent and dependent variables
2) Material and Methods
- Describe your experimental set-up
- Optional (include sketches or photos)
3) Results
- Display a table showing growth over the 2 week period
- Create a graph from your data on Google Sheets
4) Conclusion
- Answer the experimenta questions
- Indicate whether your reject or support the hypothesis
- Summarize the data to support your claim
- Provide REASONING for the results you obtained
Related Resources
Investigation: What Are the Processes of Science – students design an experiment about lung capacity; requires spirometers, AP Biology
Sponge Capsules – quick lab using capsules and water (toys) to collect data on how fast the “animals” grow
Investigation – Heat Storage and Loss – Use a jar and different types of insulation to explore how heat is lost and which materials are better insulators (Key, TpT)
Plop Plop Fiz Fiz – measure the rate of dissolving in alka-seltzer tablets in both hot and cold water (a basic experiment for introducing the scientific method)
Investigation: What Factors Affect Seed Germination – simple experiment where students use beans and different variables (water, light, temperature)