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Science · Drill 105

Science practice 105

6 questions ~9 min recommended
⏱ 00:00
Score
—

Table 1

Soil/compost mixture (Pot #) 1 2 3 4
% Soil/% compost 25%/75% 50%/50% 75%/25% 100% soil

Table 2

Soil/compost mixture (Pot #) 2 3 4
Average plant height (cm)
14 days 4.2 3.8 3.3 3.2
21 days 5.3 4.8 4.4 4.1
28 days 6.2 5.1 4.8 4.4
Average number of leaves
14 days 5.5 4.5 3.5
21 days 8 6.5 5.5
28 days 3 4 4.5

Table 3

Soil type Sand1 Potting soil (2) Soil from field near the school (3) Even mixture of sand and potting
Average plant height (cm)
14 days 3.9 4.7 5.3
21 days 3.2 4.2 4.3
28 days 3.1 3.3 4.2
Average number of leaves
14 days2 2 3.5 4.5
21 days 2 4.5 5.5
28 days 3 5.5

PASSAGE VI

Compost is the name given to a mixture of decaying leaves and other organic material. This mixture is often used as fertilizer. Several students designed experiments to test various types of soil, and various combinations of soil and compost on plant growth.

Experiment 1

The students dug a soil sample from an empty field next to the school. They put soil into 4 different clay pots, and mixed in various amounts of compost so that the volume of soil mixture was the same in each pot. They then planted the same number of radish seeds (4) in each pot. The soil/compost mixtures for each pot are shown in Table 1.

The clay pots were placed next to each other on a windowsill and watered at the same time each day. The students took care to ensure that the pots each received the same amount of sunlight and water each day. After 2 weeks, the students began recording the growth of the radish plants. They continued recording this data for two more weeks. The results are shown in Table 2.

Experiment 2

The students repeated Experiment 1, with the following changes; each pot contained a different soil type, and no compost was used. This experiment was begun at the same time as Experiment 1. The results of Experiment 2 are shown in Table 3.

1. Based on the results of Experiment 2, which soil type yielded the most overall growth after 28 days?

2. Based on the results of Experiment 1, which soil/compost mixture yielded the greatest average plant height after the first 2 weeks?

3. Experiment 2 was different from Experiment 1 in that none of the clay pots:

4. The results of Soil Type 3 in Experiment 2 and Pot Number 4 in Experiment 1 were almost identical. This is most likely because:

5. In Experiment 2, how many seeds were planted in each clay pot?

6. According to the results of Experiment 1, what percentage of compost yielded the highest average number of leaves?

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