Sunflowers and Acid Rain Talent 21 Project

By: Jack MarkleyDate: 5/1/12

Period: 7

Introduction

• The purpose of this experiment was to find out how acid rain or regular rain affects plants.

• The control in this experiment was Tap water.• The variable in this experiment was 10%

Vinegar water.

Materials

• Materials• Plastic cup• super growing pellets• Triple beam balance scale• Sunflower seeds• 10% vinegar water• Tap water• Ruler• Data sheet

Methods

1. Add super growing pellets to cup.2. Add 3 tablespoons of tap water or 10% vinegar water to expand.3. Plant 3 seeds per cup.4. Weigh cup on triple beam balance. Record weight.5. Add tap water or vinegar water to cup. Weigh again and record data.6. Cup will be placed under grow light.7. Observe the container daily and note any indications of growth(by

observations and measurement) and compare to other containers in the experiment. While observing indicate any special care given to the plant. (Did you need to add more or less water? Did you need to rotate the plant?)

8. Record observations, measurements, and comments in the plant growth diary. Once the plant begins to grow, you will need to draw a detailed picture of the plant including the appearance of leaves and stems.

9. Each day , repeat steps 3 through 8.

Scientific Method

• Ask a Question• State Your Hypothesis• Identify Control & Variable• Test Your Hypothesis• Collect & Record Your Data• Interpret Your Data• State Your Conclusion

Ask a Question

• The purpose of this experiment was to find out how acid rain or regular rain affects plants.

• My question: How does acid rain or regular rain affect plants?

State Your Hypothesis

• If I plant a sunflower seed with 10% vinegar water it will not grow.

Identify Control & Variable

• Control is tap water.• Variable is 10% vinegar water

Test Your Hypothesis

• If I add 10% vinegar water to my sunflower seed, then it will not grow because vinegar water is different than regular water.

Collect & Record Your Data

Day Dry Wt. Wet Wt. Difference

Day1 11.2g60.7g49.5gDay2 80g 80g 0gDay3 65.6g72.9g7.3gDay4 70g 77.5g.7gDay5 8.5g 8.7g .2gDay6 63.2g65.5g.3gDay7 59.9g77.4g17.5gDay

1Day

2Day

3 Day

4Day

5Day

6Day

7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Dry WeightWet Weight

Results

Interpret Your Data

• The results showed that it did grow.• As part of this experiment there may have

been variables or scientific errors that could have affected the growth of the plants and the outcome of this experiment. The variables affecting the results may have been too much water.

State Your Conclusion

• The results of this lab did not support the initial hypothesis there really isn’t that much of a difference between vinegar or tap water. Some things that were learned from this experiment were that plants only grow a little bit from acid rain. This experiment could be extended in the future by continuing the steps then at the end add regular water if your experimental group. Add 10% vinegar water if you’re the control group.