An investigatory project, or "experiment," seeks to pose a testable question, research, provide a hypothesis and test for validity. Scientists (or students) record data from the test, draw a conclusion and present the data for peer review. Many investigatory projects done by students for science fairs often involve plants.A simple investigatory project regarding plants would involve the
. hypothesis, "Does music affect the way plants grow?"Preparation for such a project would include three separate, but identical plants (including a "control" plant), an isolated environment (such as a closet or rarely-used room) for each plant and a radio. This experiment could also be conducted using a single plant over a long period of time, however results are usually more accurate using multiple plants.The three plants would be separated, however each plant would be treated identically. The plants' feeding schedules, watering, available natural light, soil type and if possible, type and size of pot would all be identical, in order to prevent the experiment from being changed by external factors.Once set-up, two of the plants would have a radio placed very nearby, so that the speakers are facing the plant's leaves. This would cause the sound waves from the radio to be localized onto the plant and give more accurate results. The first plant would be exposed to at least an hour per day or more of loud, aggressive music, preferably heavy metal or angry gangster rap. The second plant would be exposed to at least an hour per day or more of gentle, soothing music such as classical or new-age instrumental. The third plant would be exposed to no music.The plants would then be observed and measured daily for one week, for signs of change between them. Signs of change would include a plant growing more quickly or slowly than another, a plant growing toward or away from the musical source against its natural growth pattern or a plant losing leaves or dying.Typically in this type of experiment, the expected results would be as follows: the plant exposed to gentle music should be healthiest, followed by the control plant, followed by the plant exposed to aggressive music. For more information regarding this specific experiment, please see: http://www.miniscience.com/projects/plantmusic/index.html. For information regarding more complex botanical investigatory projects, please see: http://www.investigatoryprojectexample.com/botany/. More reference links: http://www.miniscience.com/projects/plantmusic/index.html http://www.investigatoryprojectexample.com/botany/
