Food & Climate 

Basics

Worksheet: Plants and environment

Sheet 1: Experiments on crop yields

In the chapter "plants and climate / plants and the environment"
the effects of high temperatures and humid soil on the most important crops are described.

Experiment

A little experiment helps you to find out how important water, warmth, and light are on the growth of plants.

What you need:

- 1 package of seeds of water cress 
- 3 plastic boxes (e.g. screw boxes) 
- filter paper (e.g. coffee filter) 
- ruler 

Sowing:

- Mark the plastic boxes
with the numbers 1, 2 and 3.

- Cut the filter paper to the size of the boxes
and put one into each of them.

- Dispense the seeds of the water cress
in the 3 boxes.

Box No. 1: Keep wet / place it near a window facing south

Box No. 2: No water / place it near a window facing south

Box No. 3: Keep wet / place without light (e.g. fridge) 

Water the seeds of  box No. 1 and 3 once a day!

You will have to wait several days for germination .

But then you should measure the height of the water cress every day with the help of a ruler.

Enlist the results in the table below.

Keep an eye on the boxes!

Height in cm/inches	Cress 1	Cress 2	Cress 3
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

...And if you want a quick experiment:

What you need:

- 3 boxes of water cress
(e.g. from the supermarket)

- ruler

- kitchen scales

Instruction:

- Mark the plastic boxes with the numbers 1, 2 and 3.
- Weigh each box and enlist the results in the table below!
- Measure the height of the cress and enlist it in the table as well.
- Put the boxes of water cress at different places:

Box No. 1: No water / place it near a window facing south

Box No. 2: Keep wet / place it near a window facing south

Box No. 3: Keep wet / place it 24 h in the refrigerator.

Water Box 2 regularly!

After 24 hours weigh and measure the cress boxes once more and enlist the results in the table below.
Keep an eye on cress box No. 3 after you took it out of the ice box.

About this page:

- Author: S. Ancot - University of Nürnberg - Germany
- scientific reviewing:
- educational reviewing: Dr. Schrettenbrunner / J. Heres
- last update: 15.09.03