Purpose :- :-
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of deicer salt on the growth of barley.
I became interested in this idea when I saw people putting deicer on the roads and sidewalks in the winter. I wondered if the salt dissolved and got into the soil, would it affect how much plants grew. My family and I grew a garden, so salt in the soil could cause problems.
The information gained from this experiment could be of interest to gardeners, farmers, the Department of Transportation employees who salt the roads and homeowners who use deicer on their sidewalks and driveways. If salt damages plant growth, then this study could act as a warning.
My
first hypothesis was that the barley plants with more deicer salt would grow
more slowly than the plants without it.
My
second hypothesis was that as the amount of deicer increased, the percent of
surviving plants would decrease.
My third hypothesis was that as the
amount of deicer salt increased, the weight of the plants would decrease.
I based my hypothesis on an Internet article called “Sources of Soil Salinity”. The article said that salt doesn't affect how plants grow much, unless a high amount of salt is present.
The constants in this study were:
• The amount of water given to the plants (5cc)
•
The amount of soil in each cell
•
The type of soil
•
The amount of light given (14 hours a day)
•
The temperature the plants were grown at (20°C)
•
The type of plant seed (barley)
•
The depth of the plant seed (1 cm)
The manipulated variable was the amount of deicer salt used.
The responding variables were the growth of the barley and the survival rate.
To measure the responding variables, I measured the weight of the barley using a triple beam balance and counted the number that survived.
Materials
Quantity
|
Item Description
|
2
|
Planting
trays with 72 cells
|
1
|
Triple
Beam Balance
|
432
|
Barley
Seeds
|
1
|
Bag
of potting soil
|
1
|
Bag
of deicer rock salt
|
Tap
Water
|
|
1
|
Growing
Light
|
1
|
Syringe
|
2
|
Plastic
Clear Domes
|
1
|
Timer
|
5
|
Plastic
Jugs
|
1. Planting seeds
A. Fill all of the cells in both planting trays 1/2 full with potting soil.
B. Add 15cc of water to each cell using the syringe.
C. Place 3 barley seeds evenly spaced into each cell.
D. Cover the barley seeds with a layer of potting soil.
E. Add another 15cc of water.
F. Place a plastic, clear dome over each of the planting trays.
G. Set the timer for the fluorescent light to turn on for 14 hours every day and make sure the light is placed 30 centimeters above the soil.
2. Label Groups
A. Divide up the cells so you have 3 groups of 24 cells in each tray (a total of 6 groups).
B. Label the first group “no salt”.
C. Label the second group “2.25 grams of salt”.
D. Label the third group “4.5 grams of salt”.
E. Label the fourth group “9 grams of salt”.
F. Label the fifth group “18 grams of salt”.
G. Label the sixth group “36 grams of salt”.
3. Creating Saltwater Solutions
A. Put 2.25 grams salt into a plastic jug, add 1 liter water, label it “2.25 grams”.
B. Put 4.5 grams salt into a plastic
jug, add 1 liter water, label it “4.5 grams”.
C. Put 9 grams salt into a plastic jug, add 1 liter water, label it “9 grams”.
D. Put 18 grams salt into a plastic jug, add 1 liter water, label it “18 grams”.
E. Put 36 grams salt into a plastic jug, add 1 liter water, label it “36 grams”.
4. Experimental Treatments
A. Every other day add 5cc of salt solution to each cell using the syringe. Use the correct jug of water for each group.
B. At the end of the experiment, uproot and weigh all of the plants in each group using a triple beam balance.
C. Find the total mass for each group, then find the average mass for each group by taking the total mass for each group and dividing it by the number of plants in that group.
The original purpose
of this experiment was to determine the effect of deicer salt on the growth of
barley.
The results of the experiment were that the groups with more deicer salt weighed less than the groups with less deicer salt.
The group with no
salt had an average mass of .25 grams.
The
group with 2.25 grams of salt had an average mass of .23 grams.
The group with 4.5
grams of salt had an average mass of .20 grams. The group with 9 grams of salt
had an average mass of .17 grams.
The group with 18 grams of salt had an
average mass of .12 grams. The group with 36 grams of salt had an average mass
of .09 grams.
The group with no salt had 100% surviving and the group with 36
grams of salt had 22% surviving.
My first hypothesis was that the barley plants with more deicer salt would grow more slowly than the plants without it.
The results indicate that my first hypothesis should be accepted, because once the salt concentrations were applied, the groups with the higher amounts of salt grew the least.
My second hypothesis was that as the amount of deicer increased, the percent of surviving plants would decrease.
The results indicate that my second hypothesis should be accepted, because once the salt concentrations were applied, the groups with more salt had fewer surviving plants.
My third hypothesis was that as the amount of deicer salt increased, the weight of the plants would decrease.
The results indicate that my third hypothesis should be accepted, because the groups with the more deicer salt have a lower average mass.
After thinking about the results of
this experiment, I wonder if a different type of deicer would affect how much
barley grows. For example, the Department of Transportation sprays a special
type of deicer on the roads. I wonder if that deicer would affect barley. Also,
there are a lot of different types of plants that could be tested. I wonder if
what the effect of deicer would be on wheat, soybeans, apple trees, or any
other type of plant.
If I were to conduct this project again I would have used six different syringes so I would have had one for each group, because the next time I watered the plants, some of the salt could still have been in the syringe from last time. I also would have grown the plants in natural sunlight outside in the summer instead of using an artificial light inside in the winter because that would be more natural. I also would have used more plants in each group and more variations of salt concentrations to discover the smallest amount of salt having a negative effect.
Researched by ----- Ashley B
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