ARIA & ELLIE & SAATVIKA (G5)
Which material is the best for building a greenhouse?
Hypothesis
We think that the wood box would be the best for a greenhouse because it is a great insulator and when it warms up, it doesn’t cool down as quickly.
Procedure
Step 1: Make a wood box by driving nails into boards for walls that are 12 in. squared but open at the top
Step 2: Cut and fold a Styrofoam box with a knife to cut with the same size of 12 in. squared and open at the top.
Step 3: Make a cardboard box the same way we made the Styrofoam box
Step 4: Fill the boxes with the same amount and type of soil
Step 5: Cover the box with cling wrap
Step 6: For next ten days place the boxes outside and record the temperature of the soil in Fahrenheit
Step 7: Average the results and the warmest one of all will the best one for us to use
Conclusion
According to our data, wood traps the most heat and Styrofoam traps the least heat. This is because wood is a better insulator compared to Styrofoam and cardboard.
Hence, it is able to hold more heat and making it more favorable for growing vegetables in places that have extreme temperatures.
Our hypothesis, wood is a better insulator than Styrofoam and cardboard, turns out to be correct.
After this project, we learned that wood is the best material for building a greenhouse
Materials
- Styrofoam board cut into 12in squared box
- Wood boards cut into 12in squared box
- Cardboard cut into 12 in squared box
- 3 digital thermometers
- Soil
- Nails
- Hammer
- Tape
- Saw
- Knife
- Pencil
- Measuring tape
- Cling wrap
Data Analysis
We wanted to test our hypothesis about which kind of greenhouse would trap more heat.With the drastic climate changes and global warming, the weather has become unpredictable all around the world. Understanding more about the materials will give us an opportunity to share our results with people around us and will help us decide what kind of greenhouse would work the best. In fact, we might even try to make our own greenhouse in our backyard and contribute to making the earth a better place to live in.
We set the boxes (mini greenhouse) we made from wood, cardboard and styrofoam out in the sun for 10 days.We used a digital thermometer to check the temperature of each box everyday at 8:30 pm. The lowest temperature recorded on wood was 52 degree Fahrenheit and highest temperature was 64 degree Fahrenheit. The styrofoam box recorded the lowest temperature at 51 degrees Fahrenheit and highest temperature at 63 degrees. In the cardboard box, the lowest temperature was 52 degrees Fahrenheit and highest was 61 degree Fahrenheit. Wood had the highest average temperature at 59 degrees Fahrenheit and styrofoam was the lowest average temperature at 57.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to our data, wood traps most heat and styrofoam traps the least heat. This is because wood is a better insulator compared to styrofoam and cardboard. Hence, it is able to hold more heat making it more favorable for growing vegetables in places with extreme temperatures.
Our hypothesis that wood will be a better material to make a greenhouse as compared to styrofoam and cardboard holds true.
Table :
| Type of Material | Wood | Styrofoam | Cardboard |
| Day 1 | 53 | 52 | 52 |
| Day 2 | 52 | 51 | 52 |
| Day 3 | 54 | 54 | 55 |
| Day 4 | 59 | 58 | 58 |
| Day 5 | 61 | 59 | 59 |
| Day 6 | 64 | 63 | 61 |
| Day 7 | 63 | 62 | 61 |
| Day 8 | 63 | 60 | 61 |
| Day 9 | 60 | 59 | 60 |
| Day 10 | 61 | 59 | 61 |
| Average | 59 | 57.7 | 58 |
*Temperature in Fahrenheit
Graph:
