Planning a Timeline and Reflecting on my Plan Results

Hello blog,
Today I received my marks for my SRP plan. I got a 3/4 and am required to adjust my materials and aim in order to have a perfect SRP. I made the mistake of placing my protective equipment in the materials section, leading to a loss of marks as these are supposed to only be addressed in the risk assessment. I have also been faced with a problem regarding my pH test. I was originally going to use baking soda and vinegar to test for acidity, however, this only indicates whether something is acidic, basic or alkaline, rather than providing an accurate pH. I have decided to resolve this by using the electronic pH indicator that is in class. This requires me to have my soil prepared before the allocated lesson that I have for conducting my experiment. 

Today, I decided that I need to create a timeline of when I will be completing everything. 

I have come up with a logical timeline which allows me to complete my SRP whilst making the most of every moment. 

Tomorrow, I will be finalising my research for the SRP and I will also create my results table that will be used. This is a more efficient process that I believe will save time in the future.

I will be visiting Bunnings Warehouse on Thursday in order to collect all my materials needed for the SRP.

My ideal time to begin is on Friday. I will set up the experiment at 7:30 am and record the initial heights of all the plants. 

I will water the plants every afternoon at 4:00pm.

I will then record the heights three times every second day. This will continue on for 22 days. 

This is my ideal timeline for my SRP!!! 

The Submission of My Plan

Today I had to get a start on my research before I begin to conduct my SRP. My plan has been submitted and so I took this opportunity to complete all my research so that when I get my feedback for the plan, I can begin my procedure and report. I made a few adjustments to my problem before submitting my plan. My new problem is now more specific and is asking:

"DOES THE pH OF SOIL AFFECT THE GROWTH OF BASIL PLANTS?"

This places an emphasis on the growth of basil, which is what my parents want to grow in the garden. By making this SRP specifically about basil, it eliminates the possibility of having 2 independent variables. I made a hypothesis based on my research and have predicted that the basil will grow the fastest in acidic soil rather than alkaline soil. This is due to the amount of nutrients that are present in the soil. As soil becomes alkaline, it loses its nutrients and minerals that are vital for the growth of the plants. This is the main reason behind my hypothesis.

I am beginning my final research today and am looking to find out more about the different soils and the environments that basil must be grown in. 

I am also beginning to collate what my variables are going to be and I have written them into a table. As I progress through my research, I will be adding to this table. The table is shown below:

Starting Up My Plan

Hello Blog!
Today is the day that I am beginning my plan for my science SRP. I have spent the past week tirelessly trying to brainstorm an idea for my SRP and I finally landed on one that can be both interesting to work on and beneficial for my parents who are now starting up a vegetable garden. I decided that my final topic that I will be investigating is:

DOES THE pH OF SOIL AFFECT PLANT GROWTH?

This in other words is an investigation of whether the acidity of soil has an impact on how fast a plant grows. I did however have multiple other ideas that I have brainstormed but following a process of elimination whilst determining the problems that may arise from the experiment, this SRP topic turned out to be my safest option. I chose this experiment as it is a more valid, useful and complex idea in comparison with the other problems that I brainstormed. It will produce results that can be recorded in a graph and it also includes only one dependent and independent variable. Here is a digital brainstorm of what I was considering as possible topics for my SRP: