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? Use the data from the table to support your answer. Explain how you would know whether this effect was likely due to environmental or genetic factors.
Based on the data from the table, it can be observed that the plants in Group B, which had more root space in the 10 centimeter deep containers, grew taller on average compared to the plants in Group A, which had less root space in the 3 centimeter deep containers. As the plants in Group B consistently had higher average heights than the plants in Group A throughout the 6-week observation period, it can be concluded that having more root space positively influenced plant growth.
To determine whether this effect was likely due to environmental or genetic factors, it would be necessary to control for any potential confounding variables. In this case, the student mentioned that both groups of plants received the same amount of water and sunlight, and grew in the same type of soil. This suggests that environmental factors were controlled, and therefore, the effect of root space on plant growth is likely due to the increased availability of space for root development and nutrient absorption.
If genetic factors were the primary cause of the observed differences in plant growth, the plants in Group A and Group B, being of the same variety, would be expected to display relatively similar growth rates regardless of root space. However, the consistently higher average heights of the plants in Group B indicate that root space was a significant contributing factor.
In conclusion, the investigation showed that increasing root space by using deeper containers positively affected plant growth. The data supports this conclusion, and it is likely that this effect was due to increased root development and nutrient absorption rather than genetic factors.
can you make it shorter
thank you