Music and Plant Growth

• If spring is in the air, plants will be growing at rapid rates everywhere you look. Choose your favorite and plant two of the same plant in different planters. Give the same amount of water and food to the plants, and expose them to the same amount of sunlight. Set one plant aside and apply a variable to it that you do not apply to the other plant. Music is usually an interesting subject to most ninth graders. Set a radio next to the selected plant and let it "listen" to music of your choice. Do not expose the other plant to the music. Take daily measurement to check if the music may have influenced the growth of the plant.
  
  

Bird Behavior

• Many animals are becoming active once again in the springtime. Take advantage of this fact by measuring animal behavior in your next science experiment. Form a hypothesis about an animal in that makes its habitat near you. Predict what kind of food draws different species of birds. Then set out different types of bird food and make observations on which birds show up to feed. Vary the seed and take notes on which birds return. Draw conclusions on the diets of wild birds.
  
  

Taste and Smell

• Spring is a time when there are new scents in the air. Focus on how we perceive taste and smell through a science experience. Blindfold volunteers and feed them food items with strong flavors. Such specimens might include meat, cheese, sugar and spicy peppers. Before a volunteer tastes a food item, ask them to plug their nose. The participant should then record what he or she tasted. Repeat the experiment with two or three other volunteers and draw conclusions about how smell influences the accuracy of taste.
  
  

Salinity and Plant Growth

• Experiment with the influence of salinity in water on plant growth. In the spring it will be easy to locate three identical plants for this experiment. The plants should be given the same type of soil and food and should be exposed to the same amount of light. Water all of the plants three times a day. The only factor that should vary between the plants is how much salt is in the water. Give each plant four ounces of water. For the first plant, do not include any salt in the water. Place 1 tbsp. of salt in the water of the second plant, and 2 tbsp. in the water of the third plant. Take measurements daily of the plants' growth and record your observations on how the salt affected the physical properties of the plants.