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by Mort Barish

Much has been said and argued about music affecting the growth of plants.

Back in 1973 it was reported that geraniums grew faster when they were played Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. In 1991 someone reported that he had stimulated plants to generate more protein by playing audible notes which produced vibrations occurring in molecules during protein formation.

Another experimenter reported that young bean plants subjected to heavy metal music grew faster than those subjected to soft classical music. This result was mentioned to a renowned biologist who commented that one should get the same result using an electric fan in place of a loudspeaker with music. He said that plants in nature grow well and strong with mechanical agitation such as wind and storm. Therefore one might do the right experiment and draw the wrong conclusion.

Well it appears that there is only way to settle the argument and find out once and for all whether plant growth is affected by music. Ready? We’re going to do this project with seeds and with plants.

You are going to need five pots and saucers, potting soil, water, a CD or cassette player and four different types of music. You might try classical (soft), hard rock, country, and Sinatra. You can substitute different music but make your selection of very different kinds of music. You will also need ten bean seeds, five plants of similar type and size, labels, marking pen, camera, and paper.

Get five plants of the same size and type, and put them where they get sun from the east.

Every day, play music for twenty minutes to each plant. Each plant will get a different type of music. You can try country music on one plant, and with the others, play classical, rock and oldies. Water the plants every other day. One of the plants will get no music. This is your experiment control.

Photograph your plants at the beginning of the experiment, and keep careful records of which plant gets what kind of music.

At the same time that you started with the plants, take ten bean seeds and plant two seeds in each pot. You will need five pots in all. Water as needed. Make sure that each gets exposed to one of the four different types of music. One pot should hear no music. Keep careful records, take lots of photographs. Be sure to give all plants the same amount of water and light. After one month, check and see which plant is the tallest.

What have you learned in this fun science project? Does music help plants grow?

Plants and music make great material for winning science fair projects! This and more plant and music science fair project ideas can be found at http://www.terimore.com.

Mort Barish is co-founder of Terimore Institute, Inc. Terimore Institute provides science fair projects for children in grades K-12 to help them successfully compete in science fairs. He has been creating educational materials for children and related graphic communications for almost fifty years. He is the author of seven books and has won numerous awards for his graphic presentations. He was the President and Founder of an award winning Marketing Communications firm for 27 years.

by Mort Barish

Good for students looking for an exciting project, as well as party hosts who want their drinks to last longer.

New Year’s Eve as well as other holidays, weddings, birthdays and proms are the right time for a fizzy punch drink. Introduced in India and enjoyed by British sailors during the 1700′s, the idea was brought back to England and quickly became a social tradition for special events.

The secret of great punch is effervescence, which describes the foaming or fizzing caused by the gas in the liquid. This effervescence is what makes the bubbles in punch, soda, sparkling wines and beers, and is really carbon dioxide escaping from the beverage. Fizz describes the sound of gas bubbles as they pop when escaping from the drink.

Is this wonderful fizzing quality affected by temperatures which are higher or lower than the usual room temperature? You can do this experiment to find out.

Here are some suggested materials to use for a science fair project. You will need two hot plates or stove burners. Select at least four of your favorite carbonated beverages such as Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper or 7-Up. Then get enough metal bowls for each beverage you are going to test. Each bowl should be the same size. You will also need two thermometers, and a straw.

Label each bowl 180 F, 120 F, Control, Cold

Pour 1 can of soda into each of the 4 bowls.

With a straw, take a small taste of each soda and record your results. You want to rate the carbonation on a scale from 1-10, 10 being very carbonated.

Place the 180 F bowl on a hot plate or burner and heat to 180 degrees F. Maintain that temperature throughout the testing.

Place the 120 F bowl on a hot plate or burner and heat to 120 degrees F. Maintain that temperature.

Place about 15 ice cubes in the Cold bowl.

Every 30 minutes taste a small amount of each to determine carbonation. DO NOT burn yourself on the hot soda. Pour a little into a cup and let cool first.

Record all your results. You can test the amount of carbonation by filling a test tube with the liquid, placing a deflated balloon over the top and watch to see how much gas is collected in the balloon.

This is a cool science fair experiment that makes science fun. For more cool science fair projects, visit http://www.terimore.com

Mort Barish is co-founder of Terimore Institute, Inc. Terimore Institute provides science fair projects for children in grades K-12 to help them successfully compete in science fairs. He has been creating educational materials for children and related graphic communications for almost fifty years. He is the author of seven books and has won numerous awards for his graphic presentations. He was the President and Founder of an award winning Marketing Communications firm for 27 years.