Question

rita has a small vegetable garden, which includes a compost pile of food scraps. she notices that some of the squash plants growing next to the compost pile grow differently than squash plants that are farther away. she wonders what factors affect how her squash plants grow. she has the following supplies available: one type of squash seeds, one type of cucumber seeds, four large clay pots, soil, a compost pile, water. using only these supplies, which two questions can rita investigate with an experiment? do squash plants grow larger if the seeds are planted with compost or without compost? if squash seeds and tomato seeds are planted with compost, which type of plant grows larger? do squash plants grow larger if the seeds are planted in small pots or in large pots? do squash seeds or cucumber seeds sprout more quickly when planted with compost?

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze available supplies

Rita has squash seeds, cucumber seeds, compost, pots, soil and water.

Step2: Evaluate each question

• For "Do squash plants grow larger if the seeds are planted with compost or without compost?", she can use squash seeds, divide into compost - added and non - added groups with pots, soil and water.
• For "Do squash seeds or cucumber seeds sprout more quickly when planted with compost?", she can use squash and cucumber seeds, compost, pots, soil and water for comparison.
• The question about tomato seeds cannot be investigated as she has no tomato seeds.
• The question about pot size (small vs large) cannot be investigated as she only has large pots.

Answer:

1. Do squash plants grow larger if the seeds are planted with compost or without compost?
2. Do squash seeds or cucumber seeds sprout more quickly when planted with compost?