I am currently working on an experiment involving snap beans for a 7th
grade science fair project.  My problem is: "Does the frequency of
watering affect the growth of Stringless Blue Lake Bean plants if the
quantity of water supplied is held constant?"  My data after 43 days
has revealed that plants watered daily have a faster growth rate as
opposed to those watered every third or seven day, however I am unable
to explain why all the plants had a surge in growth around the 23rd
day after planting.  Germination occurred around the 7th day on most
plants. Why did all the plants have a surge in growth around the 23rd
day after planting?

Hi ladyp55,

I couldn't find anything that talked about day-to-day growth rate of
snap beans, but I do know about science projects so have a couple of
things you might want to think about.

When doing a study such as yours you always have to think about other
variables – things you may or may not have measured. Ask yourself
these questions and see if any of them lead to a hypothesis. Then, if
you have time before your project is due, maybe you could test out one
of your hypotheses. The new project might even be more interesting
than the one you started with.


Think about what else makes plants grow besides water.  

Where do they get their energy?

What might have happened to the plants on or just before day 23?

Did you move the plants? 

Did the length of day change? Or the brightness? Was it sunnier? 
Darker?

Was there a change in temperature in the room? Warmer? Cooler?

Was there a difference in the water you gave them? Ice cold vs room
temperature?

What about leaves? Think about what the leaves do for a plant. Now
think about how many leaves the plants had on or around day 23.  Or
what kind of leaves they had.

Or, maybe you are correct in thinking that day-23 is important to
plants for some reason. How could you test this?



Sorry I don’t have a definitive answer for you but maybe you’ll be
able to figure it out if you just ask yourself the right questions. 
That’s what real scientists do. They try to ask the right questions. I
hope this helps.

Meanwhile, remember, the great scientists of the world are the ones
who don’t ignore “weird” findings, but instead follow up on them. Who
knows, you may be on to something here!

Good Luck!

-K~