In this project, we will select chemicals that are acidic in nature and determine their effect on germination green gram seedlings. The effect of acidic solutions at different dilutions should be tried as well. Devise parameters to measure the effect of the chemicals, such as the number of days to germinate. Extrapolate your findings to the effect of acid rain on vegetation.

We did some research on the pH level ideal for growing vegetations and the pH level of normal kind of fertilizers. The pH level ideal for growing vegetations is pH 6-7, while the pH level of normal kind of fertilizers is 5-6. At pH level 6-7, most minerals and nutrients are present in the soil; thus this is the ideal pH level for growing vegetations. But the normal pH of soil is often a bit alkaline, so we have to add acid to make the soil become acidic. Thus, the pH level of normal fertilizers is 5-6.

Introduction

This should contain your background research on the project. For your poster, keep this to three or four paragraphs (maximum) so it should summarise the important points from your report.

PROJECT TITLE

Name of team members & Mentor Group

Name of your teacher-in-charge

How does pH affect seed germination?

HypothesisAs the acidic level of the base increases, the germination rate of seeds will As the acidic level of the base increases, the germination rate of seeds will decrease.decrease.

Method & Materials

Materials• Red beans (1 pack)• Cotton wool (half a pack)• Dropper (x2)• pH Indicators (x20) • Petri Dishes (x5)• 500ml beakers (x2) • 100ml Measuring Cylinder• Hydrochloric Acid (1M HCl) (500ml)• Acetic Acid (1M CH3 COOH) (300ml)• Citric Acid (20%) (300ml)

MethodTrial 1

We did some research on red beans(Azuki bean) and acids. Next we spread cotton wool in the Petri dish and used them as the base for growing the seeds. We had to use red beans

instead of green ones because green beans germinate too quickly for us to observe the differences in the time of germination. We then diluted hydrochloric acid with water and

watered the seeds in each Petri dish with the same amount of acids of different dilutions. We then checked for the number of days the seeds took to germinate.

Trial 2

We researched on the pH level of normal fertilizers, and tested the pH level of the tap water we used to water the plant. This time we used two different acids to see whether the types of

acid will affect germination. Then we did the same thing to each Petri dish just like in Trial 1.

Conclusion

The lower the pH level, the faster the beans take to germinate. However, sometimes a bit of pH is also useful.

Results and DiscussionThis table shows the time of germination of the beans.

From the table above, the control grew the fastest. pH4 grew the fastest while pH2 and pH3 grew the slowest.

The table below shows what happened to the cotton wool after the all the beans germinated.

Some trends we spotted•As the amount of pH decreases, the browner the cotton wool.•As the amount of pH increases, the number of green spots on the cotton wool increases. (Applies to hydrochloric acid only)

DiscussionThe beans grown in the pH4 solution seem to be growing the best and even healthier (judging from the thickness of the stem and the height of the plant) than the beans grown using tap water. According to the research we had done, fertilizers have a pH5 to pH6, indicating that some pH is also helpful in the germination and growth of plants.

SolutionSolution Time of germinationTime of germination

pH2 hydrochloric acidpH2 hydrochloric acid 7p.m. on 30/37p.m. on 30/3

solutionpH3 hydrochloric acidsolutionpH3 hydrochloric acid 6.30p.m. on 30/36.30p.m. on 30/3

solutionpH4 hydrochloric acidsolutionpH4 hydrochloric acid 6.30a.m. on 30/36.30a.m. on 30/3

solutionpH6 or 7 (tap water)solutionpH6 or 7 (tap water) 6.30p.m. on 29/36.30p.m. on 29/3

Cotton wool of…Cotton wool of… What happened to it? What happened to it?

pH2 hydrochloric acid pH2 hydrochloric acid solutionsolution

White, quite a number of White, quite a number of minute green spots minute green spots

clustering together, a few clustering together, a few bigger green spots bigger green spots shattered about. shattered about.

pH3 hydrochloric acid pH3 hydrochloric acid solutionsolution

White, quite a number of White, quite a number of minute green spots minute green spots clustering together. clustering together.

pH4 hydrochloric acid pH4 hydrochloric acid solutionsolution

Slightly brown, some Slightly brown, some green-black spots. green-black spots.

pH6 or 7 (tap water)pH6 or 7 (tap water) Brown, no traces of brown Brown, no traces of brown spotsspots