PURPOSE
The purpose of this
experiment was to determine the effect of water acid levels (pH) on the growth
of radishes.
I became interested in this idea when I found an article in the newspaper on how acid rain affected a country and ruined their crops.
The information gained from this experiment could help society to understand ways that acid rain affects plants. This could act as a warning to people and prevent future problems.
My first hypothesis was
that the radishes watered with a pH level of 3.0 would be most negatively
affected.
My second hypothesis was that the radishes watered with a pH level of 6.0 would be least negatively affected.
I based my hypothesis on the fact that the lower the pH level, the higher the acid level. Acid rain is most severe when the acid level is highest and the pH is lowest.
EXPERIMENT DESIGN
The constants in this study were:
• The amount of soil in each container
• The type of soil used in each container
• The amount of water received
• The amount of light received
• The date planted
• The
type of radish, cherry belle
• Growing temperature
• The date on the seed packet
The manipulated variable was the pH level of the water.
The responding variable was the radish growth.
To measure the responding variable at the end of my experiment, I pulled all of the radishes out of the soil, took off the excess soil, and weighed all of the radishes in the same pH group at the same time, and then I divided the weight by the number of radishes to find the average weight of a radish.
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QUANTITY
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ITEM
DESCRIPTION
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2
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60-watt light bulbs
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1
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package potting soil
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2
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light
fixtures
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2
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Planting trays containing
72 cubicles
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1
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syringe
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1
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Package of radish seeds
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1
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roll of masking tape
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5
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milliliters of water
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1. Gather all materials
2. Make sure that the room temperature is at least 23.9 degrees Celsius
3. Place potting soil in each of the 72 individual containers until full
4. Place one radish seed in each container
5. Pour enough soil to cover each radish seed
6. Place lights 30 cm above the radish seed containers so that each radish seed gets the same amount of light.
7. Water soil until fully soaked, then allow to drain
8. Repeat step 7 on day 3
9. Measure the sprouting radishes
10. When the radishes reach a height of one centimeter use the masking tape to mark which containers get which PH level of water
11. Water each container with 5 milliliters of water with their marked acid level, do this every three days
12. Let the radish seeds grow for four weeks
13. Pull all of the radishes out of the soil, take off the excess soil, and weigh all of the radishes in the same pH group at the same time
14. Find the average for each radish by dividing the total weight of the radishes by the number of radishes in that category.
15. Record and compare the averages to find which plants were affected most by the water
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of water acid levels on the growth of radishes.
The results of the experiment were, pH 3 had an average of .044 grams, pH 4 had an average of .047 grams, pH 5 had an average of .052grams, and pH had an average of .068 grams. Therefore the lower the pH level the more the radishes were affected.
CONCLUSION
My first hypothesis was
that the radishes watered with a ph level of 3 would be most negatively affected.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted because the average weight for the pH 3 group was .044 grams which was less than that of the other pH levels averages.
My second hypothesis was that the radishes watered with a PH level of 6.0 would be least negatively affected.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted because the average for this group was .068 grams which was higher than the other pH averages.
After thinking about the results of this experiment, I wonder if there could be a way to prevent the effects of acid rain on plants, or to prevent acid rain altogether.
If I were to conduct this project again I would have paid more attention to the amount of water being given, I would have done this project outside in the summer, and I would have had more radishes per group.
Researched
by ------ Erika B
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