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Student Exploration: Growing Plants

This document discusses a student exploration activity where students grow virtual plants using different conditions to determine which conditions lead to the tallest plants. Students are prompted to form a hypothesis about how a variable like fertilizer or light affects a specific plant type, then set up experiments in the simulation to test their hypothesis, collect data on plant height and mass, and draw conclusions.

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518 views2 pages

Student Exploration: Growing Plants

This document discusses a student exploration activity where students grow virtual plants using different conditions to determine which conditions lead to the tallest plants. Students are prompted to form a hypothesis about how a variable like fertilizer or light affects a specific plant type, then set up experiments in the simulation to test their hypothesis, collect data on plant height and mass, and draw conclusions.

Uploaded by

PV39349234
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Student Exploration: Growing Plants

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary: compost, fertilizer, mass, seed, soil, variable

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. What do you think plants need to grow and stay healthy?

2. Soil is a combination of tiny rock fragments and decayed plant materials. How do you think soil helps a
plant?

Gizmo Warm-up: Grow the Biggest Plant!

1. In the Gizmo set up the three pots however you like:


● Choose a seed to drag into each pot.
● Click on the light bulbs to turn them on or off.
● Drag the Water slider up or down to set the amount of water
each plant will get.
● If you like, drag fertilizer or compost into a pot.
● When the pots are ready, click Play ( ) and wait for the
simulation to end.

2. How tall was your tallest plant?

3. Click Reset ( ) and Clear pots. Run a few more trials to grow the tallest plants you can. What conditions
led to the tallest plant?

Get the Gizmo ready:


Design an
experiment ● Click Reset.
● Click Clear pots.

Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Question: You come up with the question! (See below.)

1. Create question: Fill in the blanks below with the variable and the type of plant you would like to study in
this activity. (Do not repeat an experiment you have already done.)

How does affect a plant?

2. Form hypothesis: What is your hypothesis for the question above?

3. Set up Gizmo: Set up the pots to test the variable you are investigating. Describe how you set up each pot
in the table below.

Pot Type of seed Water/day Number of lights Type of soil


A
B
C

4. Experiment: Click Play to start. When the simulation is done, observe the plants.

5. Collect data: Examine your plant data on the DATA tab. Record your results here.

Pot Height (cm) Mass (g) Appearance


A
B
C

6. Draw conclusions: What did you discover? Why do you think it happened that way?

7. Copy the relevant answers to your digital notebook - include at least one graph

Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved

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