Jane and Jill wondered if the water plants required was related to the temperature of the air around the plants. The girls plant
ed three pots of grass seed. Once the seeds germinated, they placed one pot in the sun, outdoors. They placed the second pot in the shade, outdoors. Finally, they place the third pot in a sunny greenhouse. All conditions were kept constant. The girls did not water any of the pots. They recorded the daily air temperature in all three locations, three times per day: 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM; 4:00 PM. After the greenhouse plant died, they decided to re-evaluate their experimental procedure. They placed three new plants in three separate greenhouses, one with a hot temperature, 90 degrees, one moderate, 80 degrees, and the last they kept at a temperature of 70 degrees. The plants were all exposed to the same amount of light, as the greenhouses were adjacent to one another. The girls watered the plants when it seemed necessary; they used visual wilting as a sign to water. They added water until the soil in the pot was consistently moist throughout and recored how much water they used in each case. They charted the growth of the three groups of plants for one month. Did the girls' second experiment address their original research question? A) No. There was no way to determine how much water was given to each pot. B) Yes. The girls regulated air temperature while recording the amount of water added to the pots. C) Yes. The girls kept the temperature consistent while regulating the amount of water each pot received. D) No. There were too many manipulated variables in the experiment to determine the answer to their question.
