Inquiry Project - Acid Deposition

Name: Henry Partner: Mckay, Arnesh, Sabrina

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (IV): The independent variable that I will use will be the changing pH of water per plant. Different plants will have different levels of pH of water so we can see what levels of pH affect the plant a lot. DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV): The dependent variable, the data I collect, will be the change of of growth of plant in centimeters. FIXED VARIABLES: The fixed variables will be the following: Type of Plant Amount of water in mL (10mL) Location of plant (for optimum sunlight) Time of day water is given RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the effect of changing pH of water on the growth of the plant? HYPOTHESIS: We predict that as the water becomes more acidic, the growth of the plant will not grow as much as the plant receiving water with less acidity. MATERIALS: 6 Green beans 6 Plant pots 50 mL beaker Universal Indicators Diluted water source H2CO3 Measuring Tape Lab Goggles Dropper

PROCEDURE: 1. Pair the 6 plants up so you have 3 pairs. And then label each pair. (one pair is ph7-the control, another is ph5 and the last pair is ph3) 2. Place all the plants together in the same place on a window sill. 3. Pick a time of day you will water the plants. Water the plants at exactly this time every other day.

4. Record observations of the plant. (color of leaves, measure the initial height with the measuring tape, etc) do this every Monday Wednesday Friday and sunday. 5. You should give 10ml of the solution per plant each time you water them. Always wear safety equipment when doing step 5. a. Pour in about 10 ml of diluted water into the beaker and water each of the ph7 plants b. Next pour 5 ml of diluted water and add a few drops of the carbonic acid. c. Dip one end of a piece of universal indicator. d. Adjust amount of acid and diluted water to reach ph5 and then ph3 and constantly check with universal indicator while adjusting e. Record the amount of drops you put in the water to get ph3 and 5. Use this data for recreating the solutions in the future. 6. Water the pairs of plants according to the Ph you got. (10ml of ph5 for each ph5 plant and 10 ml of ph3 per plant of ph3 pair.) 7. Repeat the procedure the next day (making the Ph5 and 3 solutions)

DATA TABLE: