EFFECTS OF ACIDITY ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS

BY Grant Jongeirus

ABSTRACT

The importance of this experiments was to see how the growth of plants are effected by amounts of added acidity.

Hypothesis-If a table spoon of lemon juiced is added to the soil of plant to increase the acidity then this plant will grow the most.

Variables

ABSTRACT

Variables Dependent –height of plants Independent – Amount of acidity in plantsData Summary Out of the three plants the plant that grew the

most had one table spoon of lemon juice added to it and grew a total of 5.2 centimeters. While the plant that had two table spoons had grew a total of 3.7 with the control growing 2.9 centimeters

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

pH- The symbol for the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration in gram atoms per liter used to express the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a scale of 0 to 14 where less than 7 represents acidity, 7 neutrality, and more than 7 alkalinity.

Acidity- The quality or state of being acidic Pothos- Any of various tropical climbing vines

belonging to the genera Pothos and Epitremnum, o the arum family, widely cultivated for its variegated foliage.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

It is important to understand what these words mean to fully understand the experiment. Also how acidity effects the growth of plants.

QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Question How does added acidity in soil affect

plant growth?Hypothesis If a table spoon of lemon juiced is

added to the soil of plant to increase the acidity then this plant will grow the most.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Materials Materials Three of the same type of pre grown plant Lemon juice Ruler or any tool to measure height of plant

in centimeters Measuring cup Water Table

VARIABLES

Dependent –height of plants Independent – Amount of acidity in

plants Constant- Room temperature, amount

of sunlight, amount of water, amount of soil, place of growth, and type of plant.

Control- Plant with no added acidity.

SET UP

Set up- Three of the same kind of plants sitting

near the window growing then there is a person adding a table spoon of lemon juice to one, leaving the control alone, and adding two table spoons to the last one. The same person then measure’s the height of each plant.

PROCEDURE

Gather three of the same type of plant that are already grown

Add tea spoon of lemon juice to first pot, none to control, and two tea spoons to last pot

Have plants grow watering each plant with same amounts of water.

Measure Height of all plants. Have plants grow for determined amount of time Record plant growth in table Observe plants and any patterns. Draw conclusions

GRAPH

Plant 1 Plant 2 Control0

5

10

15

20

25

Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Total Growth

DISCUSSION

The final outcome of the experiment was that the total growth of plant one (two table spoons of lemon juice) was 3.7 centimeters while the total growth of plant two was 5.2 centimeters and the total growth of the control was 2.9 centimeters. My main problem with this experiment was that the plants did not absorb all the water they were given and began to rot. Also the two plants that were given water at the end of the experiment did not look nearly as healthy as the contol.

CONCLUSION

Both of the plants with the lemon juice grew more the control which had nothing added to it besides water.

Since the plant with only one table spoon grew the most I support my hypothesis.

FUTURE STUDIES

If I were to further study this topic I would use different types of plants and grew them from seeds.

Also I would use a different way to add acidity to them.

I think it would be interesting to see how they react to different temperatures.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my parents Bruce Jongerius and my mother Kelly Welch for helping me through out the experiment. Also I would like to thank Mrs.Richards for her advice.

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