growth and ways to improve the same time each day. Fungi soil structure What do you think will happen? the seeds will seeds in the – ‘All grow?’; ‘The dark won’t participate in an investigation grow at all.’ to identify and resolve a What did you observe? seeds in the pot with the hole in it grew to the – ‘The side’; ‘The specific nutritional problem seeds with light grew the best’. for a plant What conclusions can you make from this investigation? Further student questions from investigation may include did the seed with no light – ‘Why still plants that need light to grow?’; ‘Are there don’t grow?’ Students undertake further research to identify plants that need light to grow and report don’t findings to the class. The video can be used as a stimulus or to The Dark World of Fungi understanding. support students’ Investigation 4: Does fertilising help plants grow better? Having established that seeds and seedlings need water, loamy soil and light to grow, students investigate the use of fertiliser for plant growth. Investigation: Before conducting the investigation, discuss what is meant by is it size, colour, weight, ‘better’ – height? What do you need? Tubs, mineral salts or liquid fertiliser, water, radish seeds. – What will you do? Plant the same number of seeds in each tub. Add varying amounts of – fertiliser to each tub (ensure one tub receives no fertiliser). Place tubs in the same location. Water the tubs with the same amount of water and at the same time each day. What do you think will happen? seeds with the most fertiliser will grow the – ‘The best’; ‘Just water is good enough’. What did you observe? Compare the size and width of the largest slices of radish to find – which amount of fertiliser gave the best result. Gardening Australia – What conclusions can you make from this investigation? Compost
growth and ways to improve soil structure participate in an investigation to identify and resolve a specific nutritional problem for a plant the same time each day. What do you think will happen? – ‘All the seeds will grow?’; ‘The seeds in the dark won’t grow at all.’ What did you observe? – ‘The seeds in the pot with the hole in it grew to the side’; ‘The seeds with light grew the best’. What conclusions can you make from this investigation? Further student questions from investigation may include – ‘Why did the seed with no light still grow?’; ‘Are there plants that don’t need light to grow?’ Students undertake further research to identify plants that don’t need light to grow and report findings to the class. The video The Dark World of Fungi can be used as a stimulus or to support students’ understanding. Investigation 4: Does fertilising help plants grow better? Having established that seeds and seedlings need water, loamy soil and light to grow, students investigate the use of fertiliser for plant growth. Investigation: Before conducting the investigation, discuss what is meant by ‘better’ – is it size, colour, weight, height? What do you need? – Tubs, mineral salts or liquid fertiliser, water, radish seeds. What will you do? – Plant the same number of seeds in each tub. Add varying amounts of fertiliser to each tub (ensure one tub receives no fertiliser). Place tubs in the same location. Water the tubs with the same amount of water and at the same time each day. What do you think will happen? – ‘The seeds with the most fertiliser will grow the best’; ‘Just water is good enough’. What did you observe? – Compare the size and width of the largest slices of radish to find which amount of fertiliser gave the best result. What conclusions can you make from this investigation? Fungi Gardening Australia – Compost