Affect of Caffeine on Plant Growth

Aim Of Project

Since certain plants struggle to grow due to a lack of resources and exposure to sunlight, my peers and I will perform an experiment to see if using coffee grounds will help the plant grow faster. Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that has an effect on both humans and plants. The ability to photosynthesize and absorb water/nutrients from the soil, as well as lower pH levels, are all part of the process.

Scientific Question

Our experiment is about stimulating the plant growth using caffeine as a supplement. Caffeine has a clear effect on humans’ energy and therefore we wanted to test it out on plants. We are experimenting if caffeine can speed the plant growth:

How is plant growth dependent on caffeine?

Our Hypothesis

If coffee mixture is added to plants then the plants will grow faster because coffee grounds contain a lot of nitrogen, you would assume that plants grown in soil containing coffee grounds would grow faster and look better than plants grown in normal soil.

Camera

Soil

Water

Coffee grounds/mixture

Seeds

Pot

Notepad

Pencil

Area with sunlight exposure

Variables

Independent variable:

- Coffee mixed with water used to water the plant

- Plain water mixture used to water the plants

Dependent variable:

- The growth and length of the plant

Constant Variable:

- Coffee pot size

- Type of solutions

- The concentration of the solution

- Amount of sunlight the plant is exposed to

- The temperature of the environment (room temperature)

- Amount of solution and water added

To perform this experiment, follow the procedure below for accurate results:

1. Fill two pots with equal amounts of soil, planting 10 seeds in each as well.

2. In the first 5 days, water both pots with tap water only. This is for seeds to germinate within those 5 days.

3. After the 5 days pass, measure the height of each plant.

4. Prepare the coffee solution by dissolving 10g of caffeine in 100mL water in a beaker.

5. Label the pots with “coffee” and “regular.” This depends on which pot you plan to add coffee to.

6. Over the next 10 days, water the pot once with either the coffee solution or water solution only.

7. Measure and record the height and data of both plants for the next 10 days.

In 15 days, we completed our experiment. We only watered each plant with water for the first five days. After the five days were up, we started watering one plant with the caffeine mixture we had made for ten consecutive days.

Plant 1 (Ward's):

In Ward's experiment the plant growth difference is shown, in day 6 til day 9, the caffeine plant had a speeder growth while the normal plant had an average growth. Afterwards, the caffeine plant began decelerating in growth hence why the normal plant is higher than the coffee one. However, they both are still healthy, the coffee plant seemed to dry faster.

Analyzing Graph: There is a positive relationship between the number of days and the length of the plant in both lines because the plant grows more over the days. The regular plant started to grow 1 centimeter in day 2 and continued growing unit it reached 12 centimeters in day 15. The caffeine plant also started to grow 0.7 centimeters in day 2 but slower than the regular plant then continued to grow until it reached 10 centimeters in day 15.

Plant 2 (Fatema H.'s):

In Fatema's experiment, the plant growth difference is shown, in day 3 the both plants were growing an average growth, in day 8 it was clear that the coffee plant started to have a faster growth where it increased in length in the last day of the experiment the plants didn't show much of a difference where only 7cm was the difference between the coffee plant and the regular plant. This shows that the coffee really did affect the plants growth.

Analyzing Graph: There is a positive relationship between the number of days and the length of the plant in both lines because the plant grows more over the days. The caffeine plant started to grow 3 centimeters on day 2 and continued growing unit it reached 30 centimeters in day 15. The regular plant also started to grow 2 centimeters in day 2 but slower than the caffeine plant then continued to grow until it reached 23 centimeters in day 15.

Plant 3 (Layan's):

In Layan's experiment, there was a difference between the length of both plants but it wasn't very obvious or visible. There was about a 2 cm difference between both plants by the end of the project or experiment. since day 1, they started growing almost at the same rate. On day 7, a difference in length started appearing and the caffeine plant started going faster up until the last day, day 15. Throughout this experiment and observations, I was able to conclude that caffeine does play a role in the plant's growth.

Analyzing Graph: There is a positive relationship between the number of days and the length of the plant in both lines because the plant grows more over the days. The regular plant started to grow 1 centimeter in day 2 and continued growing unit it reached 23.9 centimeters in day 15. The caffeine plant also started to grow 0.7 centimeters in day 2 but slower than the regular plant then continued to grow until it reached 19.6 centimeters in day 15.

Plant 4 (Fatema J.'s):

In Fatima's experiment, there isn't a much difference in the length of the plants. We can see that in day 6, the caffeine plant on the right started to grow while the regular plant didn't show up. By the end of Day 15, the regular plant seems to be a little shorter than the caffeine plants which means that adding caffeine as a substitute to water to the plant fastens its growth.

Analyzing Graph: There is a positive relationship between the number of days and the length of the plant in both lines because the plant grows more over the days. The regular plant started to grow 1 centimeter in day 4 and continued growing unit it reached 9 centimeters in day 15. The caffeine plant started to grow 0.5 centimeters in day 6 and it is slower than the regular plant then it continued to grow until it reached 5 centimeters in day 15.

After each student has observed the two of her plants, one with caffeine and the other without, we found out that our hypothesis was inaccurate. Our hypothesis was "If coffee mixture is added to plants then the plants will grow faster because coffee grounds contain a lot of nitrogen, you would assume that plants grown in soil containing coffee grounds would grow faster and look better than plants grown in normal soil." It was generalized, meaning all plants should have the same effect, however, it turned out that each plant reacted to it differently. Ward's caffeine plant decelerated its growth, while Fatema H.'s and Fatema J.'s caffeine plants grew drastically compared to the regular watered plant, on other hand Layan's plant had little to no effect.

Our hypothesis is inaccurate and we're unable to state whether or not our hypothesis was successful due to the variety in results. Therefore, we concluded that caffeine does indeed speed up the process, but it there are surrounding factors such as the amount, plant type and placement to sunlight.

The finalized graph shows all eight plants us four students have planted for the experiment.

Purple represents -> Ward Al-Jawad's plants (plant 1)

Blue represents -> Fatema Al-Helal's plants (plant 2)

Red represents -> Layan Al-Khushams plants (plant 3)

Green represents -> Fatima Al-Jamea's plants (plant 4)

Strengths

The experiment was easy to conduct and all materials were provided at home. Furthermore, given the circumstances, our group was able to communicate properly and we were able to work through our project. A major skill we displayed is writing accurate information and using trust worthy websites. Finally, we were able to assign and distribute tasks amongst ourself to get great results.

Weaknesses

Not all the plants had the same reaction, which means our hypothesis is inaccurate and incorrect. Additionally, having online school made it really difficult as it was harder and each girl had to grow her own plant instead of being able to meet in school and having one shared plant. We also faced a struggle with time management and ended up finalizing our experiment in the last 3 weeks rather than beginning it once assigned.

Improvement

The first improvement that our group should make was to manage our time better and start the task as soon as it is given instead of waiting and starting everything late and pressuring ourselves, in other words, improve our time management skills. Another improvement we could've done was to choose a more challenging experiment idea next time. Another improvement is to improve communication skills and try being more active with the group and updating each other more often.

To raise yields, organic farms resist using pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals. Yields are extra healthy, and berries ripen conveniently and easily within a few weeks. Farmers use coffee beans if they're assured it's organic, and to ensure so, the coffee must have been made without the use of pesticides or chemicals. When opposed to regular coffee beans, organic coffee commands a price. In Brazil, this is a common occurrence. This is how about 20% of farms that aren't owned by families are managed. Coffee farming has become commercialized in Mexico and Vietnam, and these farms produce a lot of coffee. Coffee grounds are commonly added to the garden or compost by several gardeners. The consistency of the soil increases as the grounds gradually decompose. They contain around 2% nitrogen by volume, and the nitrogen is released when they decompose.

Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that boosts biological processes in both humans and plants. The ability to photosynthesize and absorb water and nutrients from the soil are among these processes. In addition, it reduces the pH of the soil. Some plants are poisoned by this rise in acidity, while others, such as blueberries, thrive on it.