Wicking Material
One of the easiest hydroponic systems to make and maintain is a Wick system. As described in the PowerPoint presentation a wick system relies on a material to bring the nutrient solution up from a reservoir to the plant. This is done through capillary action. Certain materials perform better then others. This activity is designed to help you see what common material will make the most efficient wick.
You will need the following:
Materials:
5 strips of cloth fabric, this should be as wide of an assortment as possible (i.e. cotton, polyester, hemp cloth)
5 graduated beakers
water
food coloring
Directions:
2. Add food coloring to water.
3. Pour equal amounts of water into each beaker. This will be important as we will be observing the difference in water absorbed by the materials.
4. Suspend wicking material in beakers so that only ½” – ¾” is in the colored water.
/ Picture of “U” shaped frame with wicking material suspended.
5. Record initial conditions, and how the cloth reacted to being inserted into the water, what are the physical characteristics of the materials.
6. Allow material to soak in water solution for 5 minutes, record conditions and check water levels, how much has been absorbed by the materials.
7. Clean up experiment.
8. Answer the question below.
9. Share your results with other schools by posting a summary of your findings in the project Discussion Area. Examine the results from other schools.
Questions:
Based on your observation which cloth fabric began to absorb material the quickest?
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What was the physical structure (weave) of this fabric? Do you think this had any effect on its absorption?
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Was the water evenly distributed throughout the fabric strip?
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Based on your observation which material absorbed the most amount of liquid within the 5 minute period?
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Based on you observation which material do you think would be the most effective in providing capillary action for a hydroponic wick system? Why?
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How did your data compare to that of other schools?
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