Journey North International Plant Study

Discussing CQ#6
Puzzler: How fast did the tallest bulbs grow?

"If Public School #1’s tulips grew from 1” to 2 5/8"(6.67 cm.) from March 11 – 13, how fast did these tulips grow?"

You can learn a lot about plants when you watch ane measure their growth!

From Public School #1 we heard directly from the 5th graders!
Using the tallest tulips for their calculations here’s what they calculated:

The tulip grew 1.31" in one day.
The tulip grew 0.05" in one hour.

Exactly!!

Third graders Erik, Joshua, Jacob and Evan from Ferrisburgh Central School in VT calculated the problem in both inches and centimeters. Here is their answer:

They grew 3.335 cm per day.
They grew 0.138 cm an hour.
In inches, that would be 1.3 inches a day or 0.1 inch an hour.

We Add:
There were a lot of ways you could calculate this question. We had you assume 2 things: 1) the bulbs had a steady rate of growth, and 2) they began growing above ground on March 11.
For the most accuracy it would be important to note exactly when the first shoot appeared. Keep your eyes open this spring!

Try these more challenging questions:

If the tulip grew at this rate (1.3” per day) how tall would it be in 2 weeks? In 3 weeks?
Under what conditions do you think the tulip plant would grow faster, slower?
How would you set up an experiment to test your theories?
Will these plants keep up growing 3.335 cm each day? Your prediction? Why not test this on your own tulip garden?