A student investigated the effect of root space on plant growth. The student grew two groups of plants of the same variety. Both groups received the same amount of water and sunlight and grew in the same type of soil. The plants in Group A were grown in cube-shaped containers that were 3 centimeters deep. The plants in Group B were grown in cube-shaped containers that were 10 centimeters deep. The table shows the student's observations Week Plant Group A (Average Height, cm) Plant Group B (Average Height, cm) 1 2 3 2 3 6 3 5 8 4 7 10 5 8 14 6 10 18 What was the effect of root space on plant growth based on the student's investigation?%C2%A0 Use the data from the table to support your answer.%C2%A0 Explain how you would know whether this effect was likely due to environmental or genetic factors.%C2%A0%C2%A0 (2 points)

Question

A student investigated the effect of root space on plant growth. The student grew two groups of plants of the same variety. Both groups received the same amount of water and sunlight and grew in the same type of soil. The plants in Group A were grown in cube-shaped containers that were 3 centimeters deep. The plants in Group B were grown in cube-shaped containers that were 10 centimeters deep. The table shows the student's observations Week Plant Group A (Average Height, cm) Plant Group B (Average Height, cm) 1 2 3 2 3 6 3 5 8 4 7 10 5 8 14 6 10 18 What was the effect of root space on plant growth based on the student's investigation?%C2%A0 Use the data from the table to support your answer.%C2%A0 Explain how you would know whether this effect was likely due to environmental or genetic factors.%C2%A0%C2%A0 (2 points)

Answer 1

Based on the data from the table, it can be observed that the plants in Group B, which were grown in containers with a greater root space (10 cm deep), had a higher average height compared to the plants in Group A, which were grown in containers with a smaller root space (3 cm deep).

In Week 1, the average height of plants in Group A was 2 cm, while in Group B it was 3 cm. This trend continued throughout the experiment, with the average height of plants in Group B consistently higher than in Group A. By the end of Week 6, the average height of plants in Group B was 18 cm, while in Group A it was 10 cm.

This indicates that a larger root space had a positive effect on plant growth.

To determine whether this effect was likely due to environmental or genetic factors, it would be necessary to control for other variables that could potentially influence plant growth. In this case, the student ensured that both groups of plants received the same amount of water and sunlight and grew in the same type of soil. This suggests that the environmental factors were held constant.

If there were differences in genetic factors between the plants in Group A and Group B, it could potentially lead to differences in growth. However, since both groups of plants were of the same variety, it is likely that genetic factors played a minimal role in the observed differences.

Therefore, based on the provided information and the controlled conditions of the experiment, it is reasonable to conclude that the effect of root space on plant growth in this investigation was primarily due to environmental factors, such as the availability of space for root development.