CHEMISTRYACIDITY AND ALKALINITY OF SOILNAMEEJAY KUMAR A/L VEJAYA KUMAR

CLASS6 ATAS SAINS

SCHOOLSMK PADANG SAUJANA

ADVISORCIKGU ROHBIAH

ABSTRACTTo Determine The Best Type Of Soil with The Ideal Acidity Or Alkalinity For Agricultural Purpose In this project,the best type of soil is determine by using the method of soil pH determination.pH is a measure of alkalinity or acidity of a substance.The pH of a soil range from 3.5 to 11.0.Research has found that plants grow best in the pH range of 5.0 to 8.5.In soil with low pH,some nutrients may reach toxic levels and the activity of soil microbes may be drastically reduced.Soil with higher pH generally have lower availibility of micronutrients and some nutrients may not be present at sufficent levels.For the experiment,many tye of soil had been taken.Some of the soil sample are farm soil,riverbank soil,and peat soil.The pH of the soil is determine by using pH meter,pH indicator,litmus paper,and flocculating agent.The experiment were done outdoor and in the laboratory.

INTRODUCTIONSOIL PHThe definition of pH ispH=-log[H+]Since pH is a logaritmic scale,each concentration change of 1 unit means that the hydrogen ion concertration has changed by an order of 10.In reality,there are no free protons swimming around ,but rather the hydrogen loosely associates with a water molecules,forming an hydroxonium ion H3O+.Soil acidity and alkalinity are measured using the pH scale,which translates into the presence of hydrogen.A reading of 4.5 or less indicates extremely acdic or sour,soil while a rating 9.1 or higer is very alkaline,or sweet.Most nutrients must be dissolved before plants can use them,and acidic soil processes them more efficentlly.The pH of most soil range from 3.5 to 11.0.The pH of best plant grows are about the range 5.0 to 8.5.The soil pH is a measure of the active acidity of a soil that is H+ concertration in the soil solution.As a dignostic tool,the measurment of soil pH is a very simple and inexpensive test.H+ indicates whether the soil pH is in the optimum range for plants or likely to be detrimental to plant growth,and therefore whether liming material or acidifying agent are needed.Most plant will grow over the range of pH of 1.2 units.However,all plants have an optimal pH range.Management of soil pH is important,not because of the direct effect of hydrogen ions,but to reduce the toxicity of other ions and increase the availibility of plant nutrients.Soil pH is usually measured in a moist soil or soil/water suspension of a specific ratio.Commonly,ratio of 1volume soil:1 volume water are used.A pH meter with electrod are used to measure the pH of soil/water suspension.

PH METERThe pH of a soil solution is determined by the solution coming in contact with the electrode of a pH meter.The electrode is contructed of a special brass,which is responsive to the change in the hydrogen ion potential.The special brass is actually hydrated by the solution,and becomes a type of brass gel.The difference in electric potential between the outside solution and the inside solution generates the electrical signal which is read out in analog form.For an accurate pH measurement to be obtained,several criteria must be satisfie.The criterias are:

1:The electrode must be solvated.This mean that it has to be soaking in an aqueous solution for any measurement being made.2:The system of the electrode must be at equilibbrium.This takes into account temperature and pressure.Obviously,all the solutions should be at room temperature.3:Carefully examine the electrode to use.The outer surface should be clean use a damp towel with distilled water to clean it.

SUGARCANE PLANTS Sugarcane is one of the several species of tall perennial true grasses of the genus saccharum,tribe Andropogoneae,native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of south asia,and used for sugar production.They have stout jointed fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar,and measure two to six meter tall.All sugarcane species interbreed and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybridsSugarcane belongs to the grass family,an economically important seed plant family that includes maize,wheat,rice,and sorrghum and many forage crops.the main product of sugarcane is sucrose,which accumulates in the stalk internodes.Sucrose extracted and purified in specialized mill factories is used as raw material in human food industriesor is fermented to produce ethanol.Ethanol is produced on a large scale by the Brazillian sugarcane industrySugarcane have an ideal temperature to grow.Optimum temperature for sprouting of stem cuttings is 32-38 C.Optimum growth is archived with mean daily temperature between 22-30C.In soil,sugarcane requires a well drained, aerated soil.Compacted soils affect root penetration,water and nutrient upttake.Suitable soil pH range between 5.0-8.5with optimal of 6.5.sugarcane is moderatly sensitive to salinity.

BACKGROUNDObjective of this experiment is to determine the perfect type of soil with ideal acidity and alkalinity for plantation of sugarcane plants.Acidity and alklinity is choose because ph of the soil is important things in the well grows of sugarcane plants.This experiment is carried out by using pH meter.Different type of soil will have a different type of pH value.pH of soil is also influented by human activities,nature effect and presence oof foriegn substance.For example,volcanic soil is infected by acid rain around the volcanic area,while farm soil is infected by the use of fertelizer,and some riverbank soil are influented by some polluted river water.This research will study the perfect soil for the plantation of sugarcane plants.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

As we know,different type of plant need different value of pH grow.Without ideal pH,the plants cant grow on a good status and some of the plants nutrients will loss.In this experiment,corn plants need the pH value of to for a perfect grows.Various type of soil have different value of pH.Which type of soil is perfect to develope corn plantation?AIMto determine the perfect type of soil with ideal pH for the plantation of corn plantsHYPOTESISDifferent type of soil have different value of pHVARIABLESManipulated variables:type of soilResponding variables:pH of soilConstant variables:Amount of soil and waterSAMPLEThree sample of soil from different places are taken for this experiment and labelled as riverbank soil, farm soil, and peat soil.The value of pH is taken using a pH meters.

METHODOLOGY

5.Procedures :A.SAMPLING*Sample bags are prepared using soil sample container or plastic bag.*The plastic bags are labelled. *The sample areas are identified based on soil colour,slote,texture,and drainage.*There are sveral ways of taking soil sample.Network of taking soil sample is choosen.This are some of the network.

*The maps of the areas being tested is drawn.Each point is minimum 5m from each other.*A scope is used to dig a hole about 13cm depth.500cm3 of distilled water is poured into the hole.The pH of the soil is measured after a minutes using a soil pH meter.*The soil had to be collected for other test.Before taking,first seive the soil to remove the rocks and roots.Then a cupful of soil into the labelled plastic bags.

D.SOIL ANALYSIS OBSERVING THE SOIL*The soil sample is observed of its chareteristic.*Using a spatula,the soil was taken and put in the petri dish for observation.About 7 scoop had been taken.*Using a megnifine glass,the soil was observe.The colour and struture was identified and record. TESTING WITH PH INDICATOR*Take a spatula of soil sample and put into a test tube*Add a bit of distilled water to make a soil solution.*Shake the solution for 30s to make sure the soil pH of soil disolve into the water*Wait for a minutes and took a strip of pH indicator and dip into the solution.*Take it of and observe the colour change of the pH indicator using the scale provided*Record the change of colours

TABULATION OF DATA

TABLE 1:FARM SOILPOINTCOLOURTEXTUREDRAINAGEPH

1Yellowish blackHardMedium 6.6

2GreySoftMedium 6.7

3GreySoftMedium 6.7

4Dark brownClayHigh 6.5

Distance within each point:7m Temperature of surrounding: 310CLocation:Ulu ChekaTABLE 2:RIVERBANK SOILPOINTCOLOURTEXTUREDRAINAGEPH

1Light brownSandyHigh7.0

2OrangeClayVery high6.4

3Light brownSandyMedium 6.9

4Light brownSandyMedium7.0

Distance within each point: 10m Temperature of surrounding: 300CLocation:Sungai RengatTABLE 3 : PEAT SOILPOINTCOLOURTEXTUREDRAINAGEPH

1BlackSoftMedium6.5

2BlackSoftMedium6.5

3Dark brownHardLow7.0

4BlackSoftMedium6.5

Distance within each checkpoint:8m Temperature of surrounding:290CLocation:

SAMPLE OF PH FROM SUGARCANE FARM POINTCOLOURTEXTUREDRAINAGEPH

1Dark brownSoftMedium7.0

2BlackRockyMedium6.5

3BrownSoftLow6.5

4BlackSoftMedium6.5

Distance within the checkpoint:5mTemperature of surrounding:300CLocation:Temin

ANALYSISFrom the data of the soil test,it can be identified which of the soil is suitable for sugarcane plantations.According to the theory,sugarcane need some conditions for a healthy grows.The conditions for a healthy sugarcane grows are: Ph value between 5.0 to 8.5(6.5 is optimal) Temperature of 22 to 300C Drainage of medium

Using this theory,a test had been done in a sugarcane farm.The test shows a positive result that the sugarcane planted in the farms is 80% follows the conditions of the healthy sugarcane grows.In the farm,some of the area is not match with the condition because different point have different soil chareteristic.With the data from the farm,it was compared with the soil from three different soil with various locations.In the comparations,it shows that a peat soil from is suitable to plant sugarcane.It indicates that the abandoned land at with the soil type of peat soil is suitable for sugarcane plantations.The peat soil from the area have almost the same chareteristic with the soil from the sugarcane farm.The pH,drainage,and the surrounding temperature is almost the same.The riverbank soil and the farm soil from Sungai Rengat and Ulu cheka,is not suitable because some of the soil conditions are not suitable for the sugarcane growsFinally,from the test it can be conclude that the peat soil is the perfect soil to develop the sugarcane plantations,because it almost have all the conditions for healthy sgarcane grows either theoricaly and by comparing to the other sugarcane plant.

CONCLUSIONIn this project,the best type of soil is determine by using the method of soil pH determination.pH is a measure of alkalinity or acidity of a substance.The pH of a soil range from 3.5 to 11.0.Research has found that plants grow best in the pH range of 5.0 to 8.5.In soil with low pH,some nutrients may reach toxic levels and the activity of soil microbes may be drastically reduced.Soil with higher pH generally have lower availibility of micronutrients and some nutrients may not be present at sufficent levels.For the experiment,many tye of soil had been taken.Some of the soil sample are farm soil,riverbank soil,and peat soil.The ph of soil is taken by using the pH meter.In this test, other than pH the drainage,colour and the texture of the soil and the surrounding temperature is obtained.Data from the 3 different type of soil is compared to the theory of perfect condition of sugarcane grow and example of data from a sugarcane farm.The pH reading is raken in different point in a area to get the accurate pH reading of the soil.From the comparations,it can be conclude that the suitable soil for the plantations of sugarcane is peat soil.Peat soil is suitable because it have almost all the conditions for a healthy sugarcane grow either theorically and with the example data from the sugarcane farms.Riverbank and farm soil is not suitable because the conditions of soil is not aaccurate with the conditions for sugarcane plants.Finally from this project,the perfect soil for sugarcane plantations is area with high amount of peat soil.

PREFERENCES http//www.SERAS.com//standard operating procedures//soil pH determinations. Penerbitan pelangi Snd.Bhd.//Pre u /Chemistry/stpm text/Term 1/Term 3 http//www.chemwikipedia.com/soil pH/43200 http//www.agrotech.com//soil pH/soil sampling/ways

PHOTOS