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 and group a or grown and cube shaped containers that were 3 cm deep Plants in group B were grown in cube shaped containers that were 10 cm deep. The table shows the students observations one a 2 cm one plant B is 3 cm week two plant a is 3 cm two for plant B is 6 cm three is 5 cm B is 8 cm on week three on week four plant a is 7 cm and on plant B for week four it is 10 cm for week five plant a is 8 cm for week five for plant B. It is 14 cm , six is 10 cm and for plant B it is 18 cm on week six so what was the effect of root space on plant growth based on the students investigation use the data from the table to support your answer. Explain how you would know whether the effect was likely due to environmental or genetic factors.
Based on the data provided, it is clear that the plants in group B, which had more root space (10 cm deep containers), exhibited greater growth compared to the plants in group A (3 cm deep containers). Throughout the observation period, the plants in group B consistently showed larger measurements than the plants in group A.
The effect of root space on plant growth can be attributed to the availability of space for the roots to grow and expand. With deeper containers, the roots are able to grow longer and spread out more, allowing for better nutrient absorption and overall plant growth. This was evident in the data, as plants in group B consistently outperformed plants in group A in terms of growth measurements.
In order to determine whether the effect of root space on plant growth was due to environmental or genetic factors, additional experiments would be necessary. One way to distinguish between these factors would be to repeat the experiment with different varieties of plants, as genetic differences may affect plant growth. Additionally, controlling for other environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and light intensity would help isolate the impact of root space on plant growth. By conducting multiple experiments and analyzing the results, it would be possible to determine whether the observed differences in plant growth were primarily due to environmental factors or genetic factors.