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 plants in Group B, which were grown in containers with deeper root space, had a greater average height compared to plants in Group A, which were grown in containers with shallower root space. This indicates that root space has a positive effect on plant growth.
To determine whether this effect is likely due to environmental or genetic factors, further analysis is required. One way to investigate this is by conducting a controlled experiment. In this experiment, plants of the same variety can be grown in containers with varying root space, while all other variables such as water, sunlight, and soil remain constant. By doing so, any differences observed in plant growth can be attributed to the differing root spaces.
Additionally, the plants can be grown in controlled laboratory conditions where environmental factors can be tightly regulated. This will help in isolating the effects of genetic factors on plant growth.
Overall, the effect of root space on plant growth can be confirmed to be due to environmental factors if the plants in the controlled experiment with differing root spaces show similar results as those observed in the initial investigation. Conversely, if the differences in plant growth are not observed in the controlled experiment, it suggests that genetic factors play a major role in determining the effect of root space on plant growth.