The goal of the research project was to reformulate an all-organic hydroponic nutrient solution for growing lettuce using ingredients from households. The researchers tested the new organic solution against a commercially available inorganic solution by growing lettuce in each for 36 days and measuring circumference and leaf growth every 3 days. The independent variable was the type of nutrient solution (organic vs inorganic) and the dependent variables were lettuce growth measurements. Conditions like light, temperature were kept constant to isolate the effect of the nutrient solution. The researchers hypothesized that the organic solution would be safer and cheaper than synthetic solutions.

1. Guide questions
1. What was the goal of the research project? What problem was the research
project trying to solve?
2. Make a diagram of how the research was carried out (e.g., with a flowchart).
Be sure to indicate which of the set-ups is the EXPERIMENTAL set-up and
which one is the CONTROL set-up.
3. What variable did the researchers change or manipulate to be able to answer
their objective (INDEPENDENT or MANIPULATED variable)? How was it
manipulated?
4. What variable/s did the researchers monitor to see the effect/s of the
manipulated variable (DEPENDENT variable/s)? How were these effects
observed?
5. What conditions did the researchers keep constant to be able to single out the
effect of the manipulated variable (CONSTANT or EXTRANEOUS
variables)? How were these kept constant?
6. What improvements could be made in terms of how the researchers designed
the experiment?
7. Describe how the researchers should present their data (use graphs, pictures,
charts, etc.). Keep in mind that the presentation should fit the nature of the
data, so that the results of the experiment/s may be easily understood.

2. Case Study No.1
ABSTRACT
Re-formulation of an all-organic hydroponics nutrient solution for growing lettuce was
done as an improvement to a previous formulation which had incorrect nutrient
concentrations that led to abnormal growth of leaves. Mango flesh scraped off collected
mango peelings, crushed eggshells and leftover peanuts gathered from households,
emulsion obtained from centrifuged fish entrails, and coconut water were mixed together
in the following quantities: 135g of mango flesh, 200mg of eggshells, 28mg of peanuts, 0.5
mL of fish emulsions and 1L of coconut water. Three-week old lettuce plants germinated
from seedlings were then transplanted to a nutrient film hydroponics set-up. Eighteen of
the thirty plants were treated with the formulated solution, and twelve with commercially
available inorganic solution. The circumference of the lettuce heads and the number of
leaves were noted every three days for thirty-six days. The re-formulated hydroponics
solution is hypothesized to be safer alternative to synthetic ones since it is organic, which
lessens waste disposal problems. Hydroponics growing may also be made cheaper because
ingredients to be used for the solution are mostly leftovers which will drive down the price
of organically grown lettuce.
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in nutrient-enriched solution instead of
soil. It has been known to produce healthier plants due to elimination of bacteria and some
impurities of the soil. A major factor in determining plant health is the hydroponics nutrient
solution, classified as either inorganic or organic. Most hydroponics farms use inorganic
nutrient solutions which are mainly composed of expensive chemicals that may contain
inessential metals that could build up in plants and harm its consumers. Perfect mixture of
chemicals for an inorganic solution must be done because excess in concentrations of
chemicals in the solution would lead to plant death or consumer poisoning. Organic
solutions are preferable but their formulation has not been quite worked out yet.
An all-organic nutrient solution for hydroponics will be formulated made up of fish
emulsion, eggshells, scraped flesh mango peelings, leftover peanuts and coconut water. The
fish emulsion solution will be the source of nitrogen and phosphorus. Oyster shells will be
the source of calcium while the mango peelings will be the source of potassium. Magnesium
will be provided by nut shells. Coconut water will be used to enhance the growth of the
plants. Also, due to its antibacterial properties, coconut water may be used to protect the
plants against bacterial contaminants.