Sunflowers and Acid Rain

Talent 21 Project

By: Shane Vespertino

Date:5-7-12

Period:4

Introduction

The purpose of this experiment was to find out if acid 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

Water

Ruler

Data sheet

Methods1. Add super growing pellets to cup.

2. Add 3 tablespoons of 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 if acid rain affects a plant

My question: does acid rain affect sunflowers

State Your Hypothesis

If I plant a sunflower seed and give it water it will grow into a sun flower like regular but if you give it vinegar water you will kill your plant.

Identify Control & Variable

The control was tap water the variable was vinegar water

Test Your Hypothesis

I added tap water to my sunflower seed, then it grew regularly because the seeds had regular water. But the vinegar water killed almost all the plants

Collect & Record Your Data

1 2 3 4 5 60

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

dayDry Wt.Wet Wt.Dif-fer-ence

day Dry Wt. Wet Wt.Differenc

e Height

1 80.6 90.9 10.3 0

2 31 34 0.9 03 58.5 63 13.54 54 56 25 51 60 9

6 36 64.5 28.5 4.7

Interpret Your Data

This is where you put your analysis. The results showed that the trend was a pattern it went up and then down

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 the vinegar Scientific errors that could have occurred and affected the results include pouring regular water on the experimental plants

State Your Conclusion

The results of this lab did support the initial hypothesis because it grew into a sun flower. Some things that were learned from this experiment were that no matter what kind of water you use you will always have a sunflower. This experiment could be extended in the future by actually putting acid rain in a room with a plant.