Initially, Experiment #1 was conducted on Saturday. That is to say, the experiment should have been concluded on Saturday, and I would have spent my time writing about it. However, I just learnt how terribly difficult it is to conduct Experiment #1.
Ok, so for example - the definition of "wet" and the definition of "moist", and how they differ from each other. After all, from my resources I gained that the Chinese cabbage grows best in moist conditions, not wet ones. It would be beneficial, as a result, to have moist sponges and not wet ones.
My definitions of "wet" and "moist" were established prior to the experiment - wet sponges meant sponges which dripped water, moist sponges meant sponges which did not drip water. After all, if it drips water, it meant that there was excess water.
However, during the actual experiment itself - which was done following my experimental procedures - I found out that if I squeezed the sponge, the amount I had was the same as the initial amount. However, if I weighed the sponge, it was significantly heavier than before. It was...extremely alarming...to the point that I decided to stop the experiment and wait.
The next day, which was today, I touched that sponge again and realised it was nearly completely dry. Which sent alarm bells ringing in my head. How would the poor plant fare in such dry conditions? With that in mind, I decided not to squeeze the sponges anymore. Yes, I would wait for the sponges to finish dripping water, but I would not squeeze it. Hopefully, such a change would mean that the sponges would remain relatively moist throughout the week - or at least for a few days so that cabbage plant wouldn't have to suffer with a lack of water.
But the problems didn't end. There were huge variations in the results - the largest was 400ml of water absorbed by the sponge; the smallest was 214.3ml (to 1 d.p.) of water absorbed. Also, although the sponges are the same, their colour was different, and the different-coloured sponges, for some reason, seem to absorb different amounts of water - even though technically they are the same model of sponges.
For reference, here are the results:
Initial amount of water = 2000ml
Yellow sponges
Yellow 1: Used in previous experiment, currently drying
Yellow 2: 400ml
Yellow 3: 353.6ml (to 1 d.p.) - water is observed to ooze out in significant quantities
Yellow 4: 214.3ml (to 1 d.p.)
Average: 322.6ml (including Y4), 361.8ml (excluding Y4)
Pink sponges
Pink 1: Used in previous experiment, currently drying
Pink 2: 364.3ml (to 1 d.p.) - water is observed to ooze out in significant quantities
Pink 3: 321.4ml (to 1 d.p.)
Pink 4: 314.3ml (to 1 d.p.)
Average: 333.3ml
Total average: 327.95ml (including Y4), 347.55ml (excluding Y4)
So...obviously, the results are really, really contradicting. Frankly, I'm thinking of abandoning this experiment - after consultation with my mother revealed her thoughts about my state of mind. My mother firmly believed that watering plants was not limited to the possibly amount of water stored in each sponge, and she told me that, if I had to ensure the plants get the same amount of water, I would be better off holding the measuring cup and just watering the plants with the same amount of water - and that there was no need to go to such extremes.
I couldn't say anything in my defence. Because I really felt tempted to do just that.
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