Do Plants Drink Cola or Water?

Posted by David Wetzel

Cola or Water?

One way to peak the interest of your students is to conduct an experiment using objects of things that they encounter often or even on a daily basis.

This investigation is designed to determine if plants prefer cola or water to grow.

An Inquiry Investigation

Materials

• 2 small plants

• soil

• 2 small plant pots with saucers

• water

• cola

• marker

• digital camera

• paper for data collection

• pencil

• ruler

Procedures

1. Place each plant in a small plant pot
2. Label one pot - water
3. label the other pot - cola
4. Add water to the pot labeled water until the soil is moist
5. Add cola to the pot labeled cola until the soil is most
6. Take pictures of both pots
7. Measure and record the height of the both plants, along with any other observations made of the two plants
8. Make daily observations of the plants for 5 days, record observations and take pictures
9. Ensure the soil in both plants remains slight moist throughout the investigation

Findings

Answer the following questions:

• Write a short story describing all observations and what happened to both plants.

• Which plant was surviving after 5 days?

• Why was the plant that was not surviving, dying?

• What would happen if diet cola was used instead of cola?

• What would happen if another type of carbonated drink were used instead of cola?

• How could the investigation be redesigned to test if plants like cola or water?   (hydroponics is one alternative)

Typical Results

Students will find that acidic level of cola, along with the other ingredients in cola, will kill the plant only given cola.

Resources

20 Questions to Ask Students in Science

Problem Solving and Science Process Skills

Effects of Acid Rain on Plants