Amber Gerber, Julius Hands, Richard Tucker, Marcus Sheppard

Going GreenWhat would happen if an acid or base fell into

the soil of a plant? Common household products such as vinegar, which is an acid, or toothpaste, which is a base, could potentially damage or strengthen the plant! Keeping plants healthy could be a hard thing to do, but using the right tools, and knowing what could happen if an unwanted substance slips in, could provide household plants with a longer life.

Research Question If plants are exposed to acids or bases, how

would the plants react to the solutions (i.e. color change, growth, strength, or production of new leaves, death, etc.)?

Hypothesis If 5 mL of pH solutions consisting of 3, 5, and

10, with a control of water, are tested on marigolds, then the health of the plants would be affected, because the soil of the plants can only handle so much of a certain solution.

Defining Health: a Qualitative Approach

One could think of health being measuring growth, and the overall physical appearance. In this experiment, there will be two criteria the plants will be tested on.

The three criteria is:Brighter color production or reduction in color

productionDeath

Literature ReviewMarigold’s

Have a great health and a long life expectancy. Marigold’s can be used to keep pests away. Insects can

damage the plant, but its strong smell helps fight them off so that the plants can stay healthy.

They do not have to be watered everyday, because the soil is organic and is able to take care of the plant.

When marigold’s are watered, do not water the leaves, because they will become brown and mushy-like.

They also do not require to be fertilized a lot… if they are fertilized too much, then there will be more rotten flowers, and they won’t blossom like they should.

Literature Review: Soil To rely on micro-organisms is to help transport nutrients

into the plant, fresh nutrients are continuously brought into contact with the plant roots by the hydroponic system. The maximum nutrient absorption rates under these circumstances tends to occur around 5.5.

When gardening in soil nutrients are not constantly brought into contact with the roots by a hydro system. Instead, micro-organisms living in the soil produce complex carbohydrates that the plant uses for energy, living enzymes facilitate a number of biological activities in the plant, and fulvic/humic acids which some large nutrient molecules into smaller molecules that the plant can absorb.

Literature Review : ph Levels Numbers 1 to 6 is acidic ,7.0 is neutral and

numbers 8 to 14 are basic.pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of a

solution on a scale of 0 to 14.pH is used to measure how acidic or basic

water is.

Acids and BasesAcids

Turn litmus paper redTend to be bitter0 to 6 on the pH scale

BasesTurn litmus paper blueAre slippery8 to 14 on pH scale

When acids and bases are mixed together, they are neutralized, which combines to put them at a 7 on the pH scale

Our solutions don’t have any specific name. They are called lab buffers, and they are used to satisfy a certain need.

MaterialsMarigoldsFlasks (2)Ph paperBeakersGrow LightDistilled water

Acids- pH 3 and 5Bases- pH 10PipettesGlovesGraduated Cylinder

Procedure1. Gather the materials, and put on the gloves2. Take a sample of soil from one of the plants, and put

it in one of the flasks with water. Shake and let it settle. When it has sat for about 5 minutes, take a strip of pH paper and measure the level it is at.

3. Record the health of the plants before experimentation

4. Water 4 of the plants with 5 mL of water, 4 plants with the acid (pH 3) and another 4 with the other acid (pH 5), and water 4 plants with the base (pH 10)

5. Clean up the work area, and be careful with the solutions

ResultsThe first time we watered the plants, the plants were

in good condition, and were sort of a bright orange-red color. They were all healthy, and the soil was a little dampened before we watered them.

The second time we watered the plants, the 5 and 10 solutions began to look sickly, and appeared to be dying. The soil was hard and extremely dry, so it was hard to work with them in this trial.

The next time we checked, all of the solutions killed their respective plants, and the water controlled plants looked sickly. The color was reduced in all of the plants, and the soil was dry in this trial as well.

Strengths of the Experiment

Strong research has helped note that acids and bases can kill plants. The research helped learn that the researcher has to have a general idea about the type of plant they are working with, and what the best conditions are for the plants environment. If these criteria are met, then the researcher can work with more knowledge and a better understanding of the experiment.

This information could be useful to any gardeners or people that may own plants. Not only would they be aware of the possible consequences if an acid or a base slips in, but also what and how marigolds function, and how they can treat them if any signs of drought seem to appear.

Weaknesses of the Experiment

Marigolds soil can dry up pretty quickly! During the course of the research, the plants could have been watered everyday, to eliminate the dry spells they go through. If the soil dries out during the dry spell, then the plant dies instantly. This could be one of the causes that killed the plants. Our original intent was to use 10 mL of each solution, but this was too costly. We think that if we would have gone with the 10 mL instead of the 5 mL, then the plants would have died quicker.

Conclusion In conclusion, the hypothesis was supported. It passed the

two criteria of a plants health, which was the death of the plant and reduction of color in the process of death. For future research, we could test a different plant and use a weaker acid and base; as well as bathe the plants in their respective solutions daily. We originally used 5 mL of water and the respective solutions, so next time, we could use 10 mL of water and maybe 3 mL of each solution. As stated earlier, we could water the plants everyday to prevent the plants from reaching a dry spell. The most important step we learned out of this process is to know the research, like one may know how to tie his/her shoe. If the researcher knows more about their topic, then it eliminates any second opinions or thoughts about how to conduct a better experiment.

Works CitedEagleson, Mary. "Bronsted acids and bases."

Concise Encyclopedia Chemistry. New York: Walter de Gruyter Berlin 1994. 9.

"Acids and Bases." Acids and Bases. 24 Jun. 2009. http://library.thinkquest.org/3659/acidbase/ph.html 

"Caring for Marigolds." 24 Jun. 2008. http://gardening.yardener.com/caringformarigolds.html

ThanksWe would like to thank Mr. Dain for being

patient, and being a good listener, as well as a good instructor. Most importantly for spending his own time to help us, and get us the materials that we may need

Thanks to Mrs. Scott for approving the project and giving our group a challenge, and the motivation to matriculate through it!

And a special thanks to Mrs. Morgan for letting us be able to conduct our projects, and getting us the materials we need as well!