The Effect of 8V Electricity on the Germination Speed of

HTHS Research Practicum, 201516 Planting Science Research Paper p1

Jessica, Daniel, Emily, Justin

The Effect of 8V Electricity on the Germination Speed of Wisconsin Fast Plants

November 22, 2015 Teacher: Mr. Roche

Mentor: Dr. Scott Russell


Introduction: Rationale: A large area of research known as electroculture claims that electricity can improve the growth of a plant if all other resources, such as food and water, are available. We were fascinated by this rapidly popularizing technique, and once we saw the DC lab power supply in our school’s research laboratory, the decision to conduct an experiment dealing with electricity was finalized. Cited literature: According to the official website, Wisconsin Fast Plants are supposed to germinate within 12 days (“Life Cycle”). Studies show that electrical charges may stimulate the metabolic processes in plant cells and tissues (“The Effect of Electricity on Plant Life”). In addition, electric currents have been shown to improve soil fertility (“Electroculture: Free cosmic energies, Electricity & Magnetism for Fertilisation, Increased Yields and Healthy Plants”). Some observations have been made that grass growing under power lines are healthier/greener than those that grow elsewhere (“Re: What effect on plant metabolism and growth does electricity have?”). Also, in 1748, Jean Nolet claimed that plants’ germination speeds and overall growth accelerated when cultivated with electric charges (“The Effect Of Electricity On Plant Growth”). These sources contributed to our choice to use electricity for our experiment Assumptions: The seeds are not defective; constant temperature; same amount of water; same amount of fertilizer in potting mix Objective: To determine whether or not 8V electricity significantly affects the germination speed of Wisconsin Fast Plants Hypothesis: Alternate Hypothesis: There will be a positive difference between the germination speed of Wisconsin Fast Plants shocked with 8V electrical charges and Wisconsin Fast Plants grown without electrical charge, as the 8V ones will germinate faster. Null Hypothesis: There will be no significant difference between the germination speed of Wisconsin Fast Plants shocked with 8V electrical charge and Wisconsin Fast Plants grown without electrical charge.


Methodology: Materials: Item Description Source

30 Wisconsin Fast Plant Seeds (F2 Nonpurple stem

Yellowgreen Leaf) HTHS

1 DC Lab Power Supply HTHS

2 Red alligator clip wires HTHS

2 Black alligator clip wires HTHS

2 Pieces of copper strips measuring 5/2 inches by 3/8 inches HTHS

3/2 Cups Of MiracleGro Potting Mix HTHS

2 Gladware plastic containers HTHS

1 Timelapse Camera HTHS

1 Thermometer HTHS

100 mL Of Water HTHS

1 Ammeter HTHS

1 Beaker HTHS

1 Lamp HTHS Equipment:

DC Lab Power Supply Desk Lamp Alligator Clip Wires Timelapse Camera Ammeter Thermometer Beaker

Facilities:

HTHS Research Lab


Experimental Design Diagram: Title: The Effect of 8V Electricity on the Germination Speed of

Wisconsin Fast Plants Hypotheses: Alternate

8V electrical charges will have a positive influence on the speed of germination. Null There will be no significant difference in the speed of germination of Wisconsin Fast Plants exposed to 8V electrical charges.

Independent variable: Presence of Electrical Charges (volts)

Levels: 0 volts 8 volts

# trials: 15 15

Control? control

Dependent variable: Time it takes for plant to break through soil (minutes)

Operational definition of Final Time Starting Time (minutes) dependent variable:

Constants: Water temperature (8486 degrees F)

Type of Water (filtered tap)

Soil with Fertilizer (MiracleGro Potting Mix)

Container (two Gladware plastic containers, each

containing 15 plants)

Type of Plant (15 Wisconsin Fast Plants F2 Nonpurple

stem Yellowgreen Leaf for each container)

Light Intensity (Desk lamp for photo purposes)


Experimental Setup:

FIGURE 1: Photo of layout of the materials, Preexperiment (Taken by Jessica)

FIGURE 2: Photo of DC Power Supply Box, Preexperiment (Taken by Jessica)


FIGURE 3: Photo of Experimental SetUp, Day 1 (Taken by Emily)

FIGURE 4: Day 1 Picture (time is 12 hours ahead, taken by timelapse camera)






FIGURE 8: Photo of Germinated Plants, Day 5 (Taken By Jessica)


Procedure:

1. Set up a timelapse camera to watch the plastic containers from an aerial view and to take

one photo every minute

2. Dump 1 ½ cups of the potting mix in each of the plastic containers and shake them so

that the soil is spread relatively evenly

3. Plant 15 seeds in each container in 5 rows of 3 such that they are spaced evenly

throughout the soil

4. Stick two copper strips in at two opposite sides of one container

5. Connect the DC power lab supply to the red and black alligator clips

6. Connect the copper strips using the red and black alligator clips

7. Turn on the power supply and make sure the charge is 8V using the ammeter

8. Setup light source for photos during the night time

9. Start the timelapse camera

10. Water the containers with 50 mL of water each using the beaker

11. Wait 1 day

12. If the seeds have not germinated, repeat step 10 and wait 1 more day. If they have

germinated, continue to step 13.

13. Review the camera footage to see exactly when the seeds sprouted

14. Record the amount of time between finishing watering the seeds and the seeds breaking

through the soil (minutes).


Data:

Unfortunately, 4 of our control group plants were cut off by the camera and their germinations

could not be viewed. Therefore, we have 11 control group plants and 15 8V group plants.

Table 1: Germination Times of Control Group and 8V Group (Start Time: October 29, 11:45 AM EST)

Control Group

Germination Time (EST) 8V Group Germination Time

(EST) Control Group

Germination Time (minutes)

8V Group Germination Time

(minutes)

(1) October 31, 8:27AM (1) October 31, 8:06PM 2682 3381

(2) October 31, 2:00PM (2) October 31, 8:27PM 3015 3402



(5) November 1, 1:25AM (5) October 31, 9:37PM 3700 3472




(9) November 1, 3:56AM (9) November 1, 1:02AM 3851 3677

(10) November 1, 10:45AM

(10) November 1, 1:16AM 4260 3691

(11) November 2, 11:08AM

(11) November 1, 2:01AM 5723 3736

(12) November 1, 7:07AM 4042

(13) November 1, 7:10AM 4045

(14) November 1, 11:31AM 4306

(15) November 2, 3:13AM 5248


Summative Data Table For The Germination Speeds (minutes) of Wisconsin Fast Plants

(Control Group)

Mean 3762.8

Range 3041

n 11

Summative Data Table For The Germination Speeds (minutes) of Wisconsin Fast Plants

(8V Group)

Mean 3764.8

Range 1867

n 15

Graph 1: Distribution Of The Germination Speeds For The Control Group Wisconsin Fast Plants


There are two outliers: Plant #1 and Plant #11.

Graph 2: Distribution Of The Germination Speeds For The 8V Group Wisconsin Fast Plants

There are two outliers: Plant #14 and Plant #15.

Findings/Results:

Our data did support our alternate hypothesis that the plants exposed to 8V electricity would

have faster overall germination speeds than those that received no charge, but the difference was

too minimal to be considered significant. The means of both groups were extremely close,

differing by just 2 minutes. However, the range was more diverse, with the control group’s range

being about ⅔ more than the 8V group’s. The first and last plants of the control group

germinated at 2682 and 5723 minutes, respectively. The first and last plants of the 8V group

germinated at 3381 and 5248 minutes, respectively. This shows that the control group had the


first and last plants that germinated. Other variables that may have affected results include

uneven light distribution and uneven fertilizer amounts. The lamp we used to illuminate the area

may not have been centered, thus giving one group an advantage. The fertilizer came from the

potting mix, so it was most likely not even distributed. We have concluded that electrical charges

have no influence on the germination speeds of Wisconsin Fast Plants. If you wish to check out a

compressed version of our timelapse video, please visit this link:

http://plantingscience.org/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=2&pid=6379. It

will be on the right side, under all of our photos, named “pstimelapse.mp4 (3526.32k)”. Make

sure that you download the paper in order to view it correctly.

Suggestions for Further Study:

We could continue the experiment to measure the effect of electricity on the growth of the

Wisconsin Fast plants after germination. We could also move the timelapse camera to achieve a

side view, as opposed to the previous aerial view photos, and place a ruler straight up in both of

the experimental groups to measure the effect on plant height. In addition, we could develop a

new experiment to measure the effect of different volts of electricity on the germination of

Wisconsin Fast Plants.

Works Cited:

“Fast Plants Life Cycle.” Fastplants.org. University of Wisconsin Madison, n.d. Web.

21 September 2015.

http://plantingscience.org/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=2&pid=6379

http://plantingscience.org/index.php?module=pagesetter&type=file&func=get&tid=2&fid=movie1&pid=6379


This website introduced us to the life cycle of Wisconsin Fast Plants and showed just how fast

they progress through all of the stages.

Jeanty, Jacquelyn. “The Effect of Electricity on Plant Life.” Ehow.com. Demand Media Inc., n.d.

Web. 29 September 2015.

This website talked about both benefits and detriments electricity can have on plants and what

some past studies have concluded.

Van Doorne, Yannick. “Electroculture: Free cosmic energies, Electricity & Magnetism for

Fertilisation, Increased Yields and Healthy plants.”

Electrocultureandmagnetoculture.com. n.p., 2013. Web. 29 September 2015.

This website explained what electroculture was and how it improved the growth of the author’s

sunflowers.

Tsang, Evelyn. “Re: What effect on plant metabolism and growth does electricity have?”

Madsci.org. MadSci Network, 20 May 1999. Web. September 2015.

This website mentioned more previous experiments on electroculture. Some concluded that it is

beneficial, while others found no significant effect on the plants.

Artem, Barinov. “The Effect Of Electricity On Plant Growth.” 2012. PDF file.

This website described the history of electroculture and what many past experiments have

concluded on the topic.

Documents

The Effect of 8V Electricity on the Germination Speed of