activity
many farmers and gardeners compost their plant and animal waste. the living material naturally decays in compost bins, forming a dirt - like substance that’s rich in nutrients. the next season, farmers use this substance as a natural fertilizer for their crops.
a biology student has grown tomato plants for several years. until now, he used an artificial fertilizer formulated for tomato plants. this fertilizer caused his plants to grow faster and taller than they grew in unfertilized soil. the student wants to know whether using natural compost will cause his tomato plants to grow faster and taller than his artificial fertilizer.
answer the following questions to plan an investigation using the steps of the scientific method and help the student find the answer to his question.
part a
what are the student’s observations and inferences before he starts his investigation?
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part b
what’s the student’s scientific question?
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part c
construct at least two possible hypotheses for the student’s experiment.
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part d
choose one of the hypotheses to make a prediction.
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Question

Accepted Answer

### Part A
# Brief Explanations:
Observations: Farmers/gardeners compost waste (forms nutrient - rich dirt); student’s tomato plants grew faster/taller with artificial fertilizer than in unfertilized soil. Inferences: Compost is a natural fertilizer; natural compost may make tomato plants grow faster/taller than artificial fertilizer.
# Answer:
- Observations:
    - Many farmers and gardeners compost plant and animal waste, and the waste decays to form a nutrient - rich, dirt - like substance which is used as a natural fertilizer.
    - The biology student's tomato plants grew faster and taller when using an artificial fertilizer formulated for tomato plants compared to when they were in unfertilized soil.
- Inferences:
    - Compost (the nutrient - rich substance from decaying waste) can act as a fertilizer for crops.
    - Using natural compost may cause the student's tomato plants to grow faster and taller than using the artificial fertilizer.

### Part B
# Brief Explanations:
The student wants to know if natural compost (natural fertilizer) makes tomato plants grow faster and taller than artificial fertilizer. So the scientific question is about comparing the growth (speed and height) of tomato plants with natural compost vs artificial fertilizer.
# Answer:
Does using natural compost (natural fertilizer) cause tomato plants to grow faster and taller than using artificial fertilizer?

### Part C
# Brief Explanations:
A hypothesis is a testable prediction. For the first hypothesis, we predict that natural compost is better. For the second, we can predict the opposite or no difference.
# Answer:
1. Hypothesis 1: If tomato plants are fertilized with natural compost, then they will grow faster and taller than tomato plants fertilized with artificial fertilizer.
2. Hypothesis 2: If tomato plants are fertilized with natural compost, then they will grow at a similar rate and to a similar height as tomato plants fertilized with artificial fertilizer. (Or Hypothesis 2 alternative: If tomato plants are fertilized with natural compost, then they will grow slower and be shorter than tomato plants fertilized with artificial fertilizer.)

### Part D
# Brief Explanations:
Using Hypothesis 1 (natural compost is better), the prediction is about what will happen when we use natural compost on tomato plants compared to artificial fertilizer.
# Answer:
Using Hypothesis 1: If tomato plants are fertilized with natural compost, then the tomato plants fertilized with natural compost will grow faster (e.g., reach a certain height in fewer days) and be taller (e.g., have a greater final height) than the tomato plants fertilized with artificial fertilizer.

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QUESTION IMAGE

Question

Explanation:

Part A

Answer:

Part B