More specifically, we predict that the salt will have an adverse affect on bean growth, and that this bean will either die or become sickly as a result of the changes to the water. I suspect that this may be due to the fact that salt dehydrates.

We predict that the tea and sugar beans will survive, but that the solutions may have some impact on their growth rates, health and colour. We hope to find out whether the effects will be positive or negative through the experiment.

The control bean will grow as normally expected and will provide a good comparative with the other beans.

As a group we planted the seeds in the same way, each group member filled a white plastic cup halfway up with soil. We then placed the bean on the soil and filled the plastic cup up the rest of the way. We also agreed that the bean should be kept on a window sill but not near any heating appliances.

Once the seedling sprouts (is visible to the eye) we will begin the experiment. We decided this because we believe that the seeds will sprout at different times. Each group member will continue to water their plant with either: tea, salt water, sugar water and normal tap water. For the salt and sugar solutions – one teaspoon of either salt or sugar will be added to the agreed water amount. We will water the plant every other day as before.

Each day we will measure the growth of the bean. We will measure the bean from the top of the soil using a mm ruler. The group has decided that we will do this for eight days, day one will be when the plant is visible. We will record our results on a table. Once all group members have their results we shall compare findings.

These pictures show the beans before they were planted. They were all healthy normal beans before the start of the experiment. We each had our own plastic cup were we planted the beans.

Day 3: Seed has germinated! Added second amount of water today. Was quite exciting to see something sprout from the soil. Hopefully as the control plant, mine will grow quickly and healthily!

Day 5: Plant is growing quickly. It has healthy looking green leaves and appears to be growing quite straight. It is now 70mm tall….Success!

Day 7: Plant seems to have stopped growing for some reason, or else is not growing as quickly. (80mm)Am not sure why this is, think I may have overwatered it the other day. Am now quite worried that plant will stop growing/die. Added slightly less water today just in case.

Day 9: Control bean is back on track-it has grown quite a bit over the last 2 days and sprouted a few more leaves. It is now 130mm tall. It still looks healthy and strong. I am relieved!

Day 11: This plant is growing very rapidly…I may have to remove it from my windowsill in order to see out the window! It is now 175mm in height and full of leaves. Obviously, the combination of regular water and sunlight has done the trick- I wonder how the other beans have fared with salty water and tea, etc!

Day 13: The bean plant is now at the majestic height of 200mm (more or less-there are leaves poking out everywhere!) It is perfectly green, straight, strong and healthy. As this is our control bean, I am delighted that it has sprouted and grown so uneventfully, apart from the slight hiccup in Day 7! I feel quite proud of my plant!

The bean has germinated!

My bean has germinated too! It is about 2.5 cm long and has also grown towards the light. I will begin feeding it a salty diet as of today.

Interestingly, though an aside from the main experiment, the first salt bean that I mistakenly fed salt water to from the start, never germinated. The seed is pulpy and colourless. This might help confirm our predictions for the new salt bean…

He’s around 2 inches tall, and seems to be growing but very very slowly. Also, interestingly, since being fed a high-salt diet his leaves seem to be turning black and crispy at the ends. Hopefully the photo is clear enough to give an incling of what’s going on! I have a strong suspicion that salt and beans don’t mix!

The dying salt bean

Salty Bean has taken a turn for the worse. It stopped growing several weeks ago, and started to show black spots on the leaves. The leaves have now shrivelled up and turned black, and I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple more weeks the plant was dead. Not surprising, since we know that the salinity of water in bodies such as the Dead Sea and the Salt Lakes prevent all but the hardiest life forms from surviving, and this bean is recieving a very high concentration of salts in the water solution.