Inquiry Project - Acid Deposition

Name: Pari Partner: Hugo

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (IV): The type of precipitation (of varying acidities) DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV): Height of plant (in cm) as it responds to the precipitation. FIXED VARIABLES: - Amount of water (This is important because if more water is given to one plant, then the data collected from the experiment would not be accurate.) - Sunlight (This is important because if one plant was placed near a sunny window while another was kept in a dark closet, the experiment would have more than one independent variable and the data would be skewed.) - Type of plant (Keeping the type of plant constant is important because this experiment aims to observe various effects on a singular type of plant.) - What the seed grows in (Keeping this variable constant is important because one plant may grow faster than the other if the plants are kept in different mediums. Ex. Cotton, soil, etc.) RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the effect of precipitation of varying acidities on the height and growth of a plant over time? HYPOTHESIS: When the water on the plant is acidic, the height of the plant will be less than when the water is not acidic. The greater the acidity of the water, the more negative the effect will be on the plant in question. This is because, as illustrated on our concept map, acid deposition has an adverse effect on plant, animal, and even human life. MATERIALS: - 8 plastic cups (2 per pH) - 40 bean sprout seeds (5 per container) - Distilled water (pH 7) - HNO3 Acid 'rain' (pH of 6, 5, 4) - 24 cotton balls (3 per cup) - Safety goggles - Graduated cylinder (25 mL) PROCEDURE: 1. Wear safety goggles. 2. Place three cotton balls in each plastic cup. 3. Place 5 bean sprout seeds in each plastic cup with the cotton balls. 4. Mark two cups with pH 7, two cups with pH 6, two cups with pH 5, etc. 5. Measure out 15 mL of distilled water in the 25 mL graduated cylinder and pour it into the two cups that are marked pH 7. 6. Observe and record qualitative observations and quantitative observations (height in cm).

7. Dilute the nitric acid (HNO3) so that there are varying pH's of 6, 5, and 4. 8. Repeat steps 5-6 with the various diluted nitric acid solutions and their corresponding plastic cups. 9. Place all 8 cups in the same location (ex. Near a window)

BONUS: Will your experiment have a control? This is something you do to show that the effect you are seeing is indeed caused by your IV and NOT some other factor. The control in this experiment will be the two plastic cups that will have distilled water (pH 7) poured into it, rather than any dilution of nitric acid (HNO3).
DATA TABLE (s):

Plant A with pH 7 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant B with pH 7 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant A with pH 6 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant B with pH 6 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant A with pH 5 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant B with pH 5 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant A with pH 4 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10

Plant B with pH 4 'rain': # of days 2 4

after Height of plant (cm) Qualitative observations

10