JAMES COLE 1

Project Timeline
Student name: James Cole
Project Aim: Is soapy bath or washing water as effective as tap water for
plant growth?
Hypothesis you are testing: The soapy bath will not be as effective as
washing water or tap water since the soap will result in natural oils and
waxes being removed and may also dehydrate the plant due to the large
amount of sodium.
Variable purposely changing: The type of water. E.g. tap water, soapy water
and washing water.
Variables you keep as the same: The amount of water, type of soil, type of
seeds.
Measurements I will take and how: The height of the plants after 2.5 weeks
using a ruler.
Experiment set-up:

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 The Project Plan
Problem to be tested
Is soapy water or washing water as effective as tap water for plant growth?
Purpose of the experiment
To determine if using soapy water or washing water will allow for a
quicker growth in plants compared to tap water.
Hypothesis
The soapy bath will not be as effective as washing water or tap water since
the soap will result in natural oils and waxes being removed and may also
dehydrate the plant due to the large amount of sodium.
Sources of data and information
Sources of data and information will be from: Measurements of plants from
results and the internet from sites like gardenguides.com.
Equipment to be used
 Snow pea seeds (12 seeds)
 Three 1.3L plastic pots.
 Soil (enough to fill all pots)
 Cusson’s Radiant Laundry powder. (Amount depends on the length of
the experiment)
 Water supply
 Ruler
 A Cup
 Pen
Experiment Variables
Controlled variables- Snow pea seeds, soil, Amount of tap water used,
amount of soapy water, amount of washing water.
Independent variables- tap water, washing water, soapy water.
Dependant variable- Plant growth(height).

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Measurements to be made.
Measurement of the height of the plant to determine the more effective
type of water.
Experiment procedure
1. Fill three 1.3L pots with soil.
2. Clear the top of the pots so that the surface of the pots is flat.
3. Place 4 snow pea seeds in each pot 5cm deep into the soil making sure
that the soil also covers it.
4. Label each pot with different numbers or letters identifying the tap
water, washing water and soapy water.
5. Position the three pots in an area that allows sunlight to reach it.
6. Water the plants with ¼ cup of the appropriate type of water (tap,
washing, soapy) every 2 days.
7. Observe if the plants are growing or if they are dead as a result of the
type of water.
8. Repeat steps 6-7 for two weeks for each type of water.
9. Measure the vertical height of the plants.
Timeline of Tasks
Thursday 31th August- Search up all the information regarding my
experiment and which type of water is likely to be more effective. I also
plan to start my journal.
Saturday 2th September- Buy all the equipment needed and start my
experiment by planting the 3 plants.
Tuesday 12th September- On this day I plan to complete my project
timeline.
Sunday 17th September- I will try to complete most of my scientific
report, however, I will not do the results, discussion or conclusion until the
second last day as it will allow for my plant to grow as much as possible in
the limited time.
Tuesday 19th September- Finish of my assignment by completing all the
unfinished sections of my scientific experiment.

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Format of experiment Results
Table: Displays the height of the plants with the different types of waters
used.

Type Of Tap Washing Soapy

Water water water water

Height of
Plant(cm)

Coloum graph:

1 Growth Of Plants
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Category 1
Tap Water Washing Water Sopay Water

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 Journal
Friday, 1st September- On this day, I started to research all the
information regarding my experiment. I intended to do this yesterday as
planned in my Project Plan however, I had to attend to other matters. The
main purpose of my experiment is to determine if soapy water or washing
water is as effective as tap water in the growth of plants. This means I must
show in my experiment if using washing water or soapy water will allow
for a quicker growth in a plant rather than just using tap water. During my
research, I discovered one of the ‘real-life applications’ for my experiment.
One of which was that if washing water or soapy water is as effective as tap
water, it could be reused in plants and would not affect their normal
growth process. Websites I used to gather my information include:
 GardenGuides. (2017). What Are the Effects of Soapy Water on Plants?. [online] Available at:
http://www.gardenguides.com/100190-effects-soapy-water-plants.html [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017].
 Anon, (2017). [online] Available at:
http://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/fertilization_Householdwastewater.pdf [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017].
 Garden, U. (2017). Using Grey Water in the Garden. [online] My Smart Garden. Available at:
http://www.mysmartgarden.org.au/en/Resources/Water/Using-greywater-in-the-garden
[Accessed 1 Sep. 2017].

Saturday, 2nd September-During this day, I bought all the equipment

needed for my experiment. I had encountered many problems whilst
getting my equipment from Bunnings such as what seeds I should get and
what type of soap I should use. One of the shop assistants recommended
Snow Peas as it would show a noticeable result in 2 weeks and would also
grow vertically allowing myself to measure and make an observation. I also
intended on getting ‘Morning Fresh ultra-concentrate’ soap however, I
realised it was to strong and would kill my plant so I decided to go with
‘Radiant powder’. Below are two images of the seeds and the soap.

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Tuesday, 12th September- On this day, Mrs Sebok asked us to complete
our project timeline and hand it in so that she could double check that we
were on the correct path. In the project timeline, we had to identify our
hypothesis, our variables and the measurements we planned to take. We
also had to draw up our experiment. This task was part of our assignment
and was relatively easy as it was only a draft to what we planned to do. Mrs
Sebok also explained to us the difference between controlled, Independent
and Dependant variables which helped us in answering the questions in the
project timeline. I encountered a problem during class as I was not able to
complete my hypothesis. I found it quite difficult to construct a hypothesis
however by the end of the lesson I was able to complete it.
Saturday, 16th September- On this day, I completed most of my
assignment except the parts that required a result for my experiment. This
was due to the fact that I wanted my plant to grow to its full potential in 2.5
weeks that I had. This was relatively easy as most of it had already been
covered in class with Mrs Sebok when she asked us to complete our Project
Timeline.
Tuesday, 19th September- This day is the final day of my experiment and
is also the day before it is due. The major problem I encountered
throughout the two weeks was that I was not able to start my scientific
experiment report. This was because I wanted to wait as long as possible so
that my plant could grow until its full potential within the two weeks. This
would provide me with a clear result which would allow me to conclude on
my hypothesis. This meant that on this day, I had to complete me results
and discussion. The picture below shows one of the successful plants that
was able to grow so that a noticeable result could be seen.

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 Effect of different waters on
Plant Growth
Aim: To determine whether washing water or soapy water is effective as tap
water for plant growth.
Hypothesis: The soapy bath will not be as effective as washing water or tap
water since the soap will result in natural oils and waxes being removed
and may also dehydrate the plant due to the large amount of sodium.
Equipment
 Snow pea seeds (12 seeds)
 Three 1.3L plastic pots.
 Soil (enough to fill all pots)
 Cusson’s Radiant Laundry powder. (Amount depends on the length of
the experiment)
 Water supply
 Ruler
 A Cup
 Pen
Diagram

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Method
1. Fill three 1.3L pots with soil.
2. Clear the top of the pots so that the surface of the pots is flat.
3. Place 4 snow pea seeds in each pot 5cm deep into the soil making sure
that the soil also covers it.
4. Label each pot with different numbers or letters identifying the tap
water, washing water and soapy water.
5. Position the three pots in an area that allows sunlight to reach it.
6. Water the plants with ¼ cup of the appropriate type of water (tap,
washing, soapy) every 2 days.
7. Observe if the plants are growing or if they are dead as a result of the
type of water.
8. Repeat steps 6-7 for two weeks for each type of water.
9. Measure the vertical height of the plants.
Results
Figure 1: Tap water, Figure 2: Washing water, Figure 3: Soapy water.

Figure 1: Tap water

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Figure 2: Washing water

Figure 3: Soapy Water

Table of results

Type Of Tap Washing Soapy

Water water water water

Height of
Plant(cm) 4.4cm 3.6cm 0.8cm

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Graph of Results

5 Growth Of Plants
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Category 1
Tap Water Washing Water Soapy Water

Discussion
The growth of a plant increased dramatically as a result of the tap water
and washing water however, soapy water caused the plants growth to stunt
and only made minimal progress. The soapy water caused the plant to not
grow as fast as the other two because it removed the natural oils and waxes
that all plants have. The soap used also had a standard concentration which
was still harmful for the plant as the increased amount of sodium caused
the plant to dehydrate. The washing water was also not as successful as the
tap water however, it was much more successful than the soapy water
because of the much lower concentration of soap which was diluted in the
water. This meant that water was able to get to the roots of the plants. The
greatest problem with this experiment was the limited time allowed for the
plant to grow. The snow pea seed has an average growth of 1.2m after 14
weeks however, two weeks meant that the plant was nowhere near its full
potential. If it were allowed to grow to this size, there would be an obvious
difference between the plants due to the different waters. This problem
could be removed if more time was given for the plant to grow. A difficulty
faced in the experiment was the risk of drowning the plant. The soapy
water and washing water did not sink into the soil as fast as the tap water
which meant that watering the plants consistently presented the risk of
drowning the plant. The significance of this result shows that tap water is
still the most effective, however, washing water can replace the tap water
at a less effective rate that can still benefit the plant.

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Conclusion
All in all, the hypothesis was supported as seen in which the soapy bath and
washing water was not as effective as tap water because of the chemicals
within the soap which is shown in the results. The tap water was able to
grow the most successfully at 4.4cm unlike the soapy water caused the
plant to grow at 0.8cm. The experiment went smoothly over the 2.5 weeks;
however, more time needs to be given to see a more noticeable result in the
plant. More experiments should be conducted to review if different seeds
are effected by the different types of waters.
Evaluation
Method: The method used in the experiment was effective as it allowed a
noticeable result to be produced. It could have been more effective if larger
pots, more soil and extra seeds where used. This would allow for a larger
view of the effect of different waters used. In the future, I would also like to
have more time allowed for my plant to grow so that its height may
increase and measurements would become more accurate. It would also
show a larger difference between the plants of different waters.
Results: The results from the experiment enabled me to answer the
question that I was investigating. The results showed a difference in height
between all three plants which allowed me to conclude that the different
waters made a difference. I could have made my results more accurate if I
were to record my results more often which would show an exponential
growth of the plant. This would have allowed me to observe the days in
which the plants made a noticeable jump in height. It would also allow me
to realise if other variables came into effect such as the weather. All in all,
the experiment was successful as it conveyed the difference that different
waters have on plants.

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