Margaret D. Andrews
(Step by step instructions for specific experiments can be ordered from The Bottle Biology Program, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Department of Plant Pathology, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, (608) 263-5645.
It’s free!
What I am including here works very well in a grow lab in your classroom. It always works if you consider that even when the plants die it can be a learning experience. I have had a great deal of success, and my students have learned a great deal from it.)
Objective
Students will document growth in an enclosed system.
Materials
2 liter plastic soda bottles with tops
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water
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soil
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seeds
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anything from their environment they may want to add.
Thoughts and Ideas to Consider Before You Begin
How will this mimick life on earth and in Biosphere 2?
Why won’t the bottle need to be watered?
What would happen if you put living things in the environment (worms)?
If you were going to be closed away from the world and your family for two years what would you take?
What would concern you about being away for so long?
Procedures
Clean out the soda bottles. Remove any labels.
Put about 2 inches of soil in the bottle. You can use dirt from outside or potting soil.
Put in seeds or sticks or whatever the students choose.
Put in a few teaspoons of water. Your bottles will not have to be watered again.
Put the tops back on.
Watch to see what happens. The bottles will begin to grow. You should chart the growth by measuring with rulers, or documenting visual changes within the bottle.
You may want to try some variations. Use a green bottle. Put in a worm or a slug or ants, consider what they will need to survive. Try anything you or your students can come up with, consider the things you would take with you into Biosphere 2.