Growth an Aquatic Plant’s The Effect of Acid on Acid and Aquatic...and nitrogen oxides are...

The Effect of Acid on

an Aquatic Plant’s

Growth

122 3

Effect of Acid Rain on Plant’s Growth Student ID #1223 Page 2

Table of Contents

Project abstract …........................................................................................ Pg. 3

Question/Problem & Hypothesis……………………………………………… Pg. 4

Background Research ………………………………………………………….. Pg. 4-7

Experiment Materials…………………………………………………………….. Pg. 7

Experiment Procedures………………………………………………………….. Pg. 8

Experiment Variables ……………………………………………………………. Pg. 8

Data Table………….. ……………………………………………………………. Pg. 9

Analysis Graphs/Charts………………………………………………………….. Pg. 9-12

Analysis………. …………….…………………………………………………….. Pg. 9-11

Conclusion…………. …………………………………………………………….. Pg. 12-13

Biblical Principle ………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 14

Appendix (photographs etc)………….………………………………………….. Pg. 15

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….. Pg. 16-17


A BSTRACT

The hypothesis is that the growth of aquatic plants will be stunted when they are

exposed to acid rain. The hypothesis was tested by exposing a horsetail plant to one of

three different solutions. The solutions were normal tap water, a slightly acidic tap water,

and a heavy acidic tap water. For this study, the acidic water was made using lemon

juice. Each horsetail plant was given their own solution, and all of them reacted

differently. Growth was measured each week. The data did support the hypothesis,

showing that acidity did stunt the growth of the aquatic plant.


Question and Hypothesis

How does acid rain affect an aquatic plant’s growth? If I water the aquatic plants

with acid rain, then the aquatic plant’s growth will be stunted.

B ACKGROUND R ESEARCH

Acid rain is any precipitation, including rain, fog, snow, and hail that has a pH

below 7. When the rain is this acidic, it damages the leaves of plants and trees. It limits

their growth and can slow the growth of vegetation. The damage to a plant can affect its

ability to manage cold weather and diseases. This, unfortunately, impacts the food web

as well.

“Acid rain is defined as any amount of precipitation that has some level of toxic

metals or chemicals. Even though acid rain can be caused by volcanic gas and debris, it

can also be caused by the release of sulfur and nitrogen dioxide from fossil fuel

production and industrial byproducts. When these particles are released into the air,

they can accumulate in humid areas and be incorporated into the precipitation cycle,

which continues their negative effects.” ( Franco, Atlantica. Acid Rain Effects on Plants

and Animals )

Acid rain was a term that came about in the 1800’s when a chemist who was

working in London, by the name of Robert Angus Smith, discovered that rain seemed to

be more acidic in areas that had increased amounts of air pollution. They thought it was

a local problem, until nearly 100 years later, when scientists realized that acid rain was

a global issue. The damage that acid rain caused to lakes and streams started being

documented in the 1950’s. In 1963, another group of scientists began testing the pH of


rainwater. It was then that they saw how acidic the rainwater was. Without anything to

compare it to, the scientists began collecting and testing rainwater in different regions.

Gene Likens, a scientist at Dartmouth, continued to test rainwater in the

Northeastern United States and soon discovered that Sweden’s rainwater had the same

trends that he was seeing in his own region. Scientists began making great progress on

their study of acid rain, and in 1974, Mr. Likens published his findings in Science. Many

people became very interested in the topic after it was published.

“ He was trying to build a case that acid rain might be due to emissions coming

from the more industrialized areas of Europe,’ Likens recalls.” “Likens and his

colleagues traced the emissions from coal-fired power plants and examined satellite

and aircraft data, and they found a similar long-distance link. ‘Sure enough, the

emissions were coming primarily from Midwestern states like Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and

Kentucky,’ Likens recalls.” ( Willyard, Cassandra. Acid Rain and Our Ecosystem )

“Acid rain is defined as any amount of precipitation that has some level of toxic

metals or chemicals. Even though acid rain can be caused by volcanic gas and debris,

acid rain is also caused by the release of sulfur and nitrogen dioxide from fossil fuel

production and industrial byproducts. When these particles are released into the air,

they can accumulate in humid areas and be incorporated into the precipitation cycle,

which continues their negative effects.” ( Franco, Atlantic. Acid Rain Effects on Plants

and Animals ) Acid rain is any precipitation, including rain, fog, snow, and hail that has

a pH below 7. When the rain is so acidic, it damages the leaves of plants and trees. It

limits their growth and can slow the growth of vegetation. The damage to a plant can

affect its ability to manage cold weather and disease. This, unfortunately, impacts the


food web. What causes acid rain? Man-made pollutants and natural disasters, such as

volcanoes, are factors that affect the acidity of precipitation. Every day, sulfur dioxide

and nitrogen oxides are released into the air by our vehicles, oil refineries and fossil-fuel

power plants, resulting in the biggest cause of acid rain.

“The rain that fell throughout the Northeast in the latter half of the 20th century

wasn’t as acidic as the liquid in April’s (2010) vial, but the principle is the same. Acid

rain destroyed fish populations in lakes and streams, harmed fragile soils and damaged

millions of acres of forest worldwide.” ( Willyard, Cassandra. Acid Rain and Our

Ecosystem )

Aquatic plants fulfil a wide range of ecological roles, and make a substantial

contribution to the structure, function and service provision of aquatic ecosystems.”

(O’Hare Mathew. Plants In Aquatic Ecosystems : Current Trends and Future Direction)

Since plants are commonly rooted in dirt, one might think that aquatic plants do

the same. Aquatic plants are not always rooted in the mud. Some are free to float over

the surface of the water. Many have roots that trail below and balance the plant while

absorbing minerals. There are some aquatic plants that don’t have roots at all. Aquatic

plants come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with many benefits to the creatures that

live in the water. They are able to give nutrients to underwater life. One of the

disadvantages of the aquatic plants that live in ponds is that they can be damaged by

wind and waves that can drag them, causing them to tear. There are several types of

aquatic plants. They include floating plants, submerged plants, shallow marginal plants

and deep water plants. Floating plants survive from the nutrients in the water. They are

considered natural filters that can remove excess nitrogen. Submerged plants are also


known as oxygenators. They provide food and shelter for fish, along with ridding the

pond of algae. Shallow marginal plants are also known as bog plants. They only require

three inches of water. Deep water plants also survive on very little water. Examples of

this plant are water lilies and lotus. How does acid rain have an effect on aquatic

plants? Acid rain negatively affects plants in different ways. When the rain touches the

leaves, it can eat away the outer layer . This layer is there to protect the plant from

becoming too dry. If a plant becomes too damaged, it becomes stressed. As a result, it

will begin to attract disease and pests.

E XPERIMENT :

Materials List

● Three half gallon milk jugs ( cut in half using the bottom half )

● One ruler

● Lemon juice (eight ounces )

● Tap water ( twenty-four ounces )

● Three horse tail plants

● Two measuring cups ( one full cup and one quarter cup )

● Three spray bottles

● One pen

● One composition book

Procedures

1. Place a Horsetail plant in a plastic container (half gallon milk jug that is cut in

half).


2. Fill the rest of the container with water to help keep the horsetail plants alive.

3. Fill one spray bottle with tap water. Mark it number one.

4. Fill the second spray bottle with one fourth cup of lemon juice and the remainder

of the spray bottle with water. Mark it number two.

5. Fill the third spray bottle with one cup of lemon juice and the remainder of the

spray bottle with water. Mark it number three.

6. Assign a spray bottle to each horsetail plant.

7. Each day, give each horsetail plant fifteen sprays from their marked spray bottle.

8. Record height each week.

Variables

1) DEPENDENT/RESPONDING: Horsetail plant’s height

2) INDEPENDENT/MANIPULATED: pH of solution

3) CONSTANTS: Plastic milk jugs, amount of water/frequency of watering

Data Collection

During this experiment, horsetail plants were exposed to different solutions and

measured for height. Two different homemade solutions of lemon juice and water were

used for those plants (plants numbered two and three) that needed to be exposed to


acid rain, while the third plant (plant numbered one) was only exposed to normal tap

water. After the second week, growth began for plants numbered two and three. All

three plants maintained a green color with lime patches and not as many dead spots as

suspected. Each plant’s height was measured weekly. Data was collected for eight

weeks, and added to the data table.

Aquatic Plant’s Growth (measured in centimeters)

A NALYSIS

When we first got the plants they all looked similar. All of the plants were dark

green. Only on certain parts of the plants was there more of a lime green tint. None of

the plants had any parts that were turning brown or showed signs of death. After the

first few days, they slowly started to show signs of growth, even with the acid rain

solution. Not long after, their growth stopped.

Plant number one, with no acid rain solution given, started turning a little bit

brown after a few days. Even while watering it everyday, it still was dying slowly. One

piece completely turned brown and shriveled up and died, which was later cut off.

Otherwise the plant remained a shade of dark green, with pieces of it being a lime color.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8

Plant 1 25.5 23 20.5 25.5 28 30.5 30.5 35.5

Plant 2 25.5 23 25.5 28 35.5 38 43 48

Plant 3 25.5 23 25.5 28 28 23 25.5 33


Plant number two, with a light acid rain solution, was doing okay. It grew the most

out of the group, which seemed unusual, and only had one piece that died and needed

to be clipped off. A few spots started to brown, but weren’t severe. Otherwise, the plant

was dark green with a few lime colored spots.

Plant number three, with the heavy acid rain solution, was doing great for the

amount of acid rain solution it was given. It maintained a dark green color, but more

spots were lime. Three pieces had turned brown and died. Those were cut off. After a

few days the plant had grown a bit, but not long after it began dying and shrinking, just

like the others.

By the second week the plants all changed. They all had brown pieces and at

least one piece had died and trimmed off. For plant number one, it went from ten inches

to eight inches. Plant number two stayed the same at ten inches, with plant number

three going from eleven inches to nine inches. They all maintained a dark green color

with their lime spots.

For the weeks that followed, plant number one’s growth steadily increased. Plant

number two steadily increased as well, at a more rapid rate than that of plant number

one. Even with low acidity, plant number two grew at the fastest rate. Plant number

three grew steadily until the sixth week, when it had dead parts that needed to be

clipped. By the eighth week, however, plant number three began to skyrocket.

The plants grew despite the acid rain. They all maintained a healthy green color

and only had a few lime spots. There were hardly any dead spots. Plant one grew

consistently to become the second tallest with close to no dead spots. Acid rain showed


little negative effect on plant number two, and the plant skyrocketed up with it’s growth.

Plant three was affected by the acid rain the most. There were several dead spots.


Conclusion

In the end, the results did support the hypothesis. The hypothesis was If aquatic

plants were exposed to acid rain, their growth would be stunted. Background research

showed that the leaves of plants and trees would be damaged with acid that had a ph

below seven. This did go into play, but not exactly as planned. There were three spray

bottles that were filled with their own solutions. The first bottle labeled contained only

normal tap water, and was sprayed on plant number one. The second bottle contained a

fourth of a cup of lemon juice, with the rest being filled with normal tap water. This was

sprayed on plant number two. The final spray bottle, which contained the highest acidity,

contained one cup of lemon juice and the rest being normal tap water. This was sprayed


on plant number three. Every day, each horse tail plant was sprayed once a day with

fifteen sprays of their own solution.

After spraying these horsetail plants for eight weeks the data showed that the

hypothesis was supported. Plant number one, which was only given sprays of tap water,

ended up being the second tallest plant. Plant number two, which was sprayed each

day with a little acid, ended up growing the tallest out of all three. Plant number three,

which slowed down it’s growth around week number six. Even though it had a surge in

growth during the last week, it was the shortest plant in the testing. This result

supported the background research that a plant is affected when it comes in contact

with a solution that has a ph lower than seven. Although plant number two was being

sprayed with lemon juice also, the ph was not low enough to damage the leaves as

much as the solution that was used for plant number three.

Possible sources of error include the weather not staying consistent during the

testing process. Some days the weather would be up in the nineties while other days

had much cooler temperatures. Another potential source of error could be that the

plants were not sprayed at the same time each day. Lastly, for future testing, ph levels

should be tested regularly to make sure that the levels are consistent.

There are two questions that come to mind for future study. “Will the results be

different if I add more lemon juice? Will the results be different if testing is done during

consistent weather?”


Bible Verse

A bible verse for this assignment is Genesis 1:29-30.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of

all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to

every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps

on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for

food. And it was so.” I chose this Bible verse because it has to do with plants and

growing. This relates to my science fair project because I had to measure the heights of

my own plants to get the results that I needed. As God told us that He has given us

every green plant for food, the results of my experiment reminded me of how important

it is to make sure our plants have the right nutrients.

Student Learning Expectation

An SLE for this assignment is C.1. Clearly and intellectually express themselves

in written and oral communication. I chose this SLE because I needed to be able to

express myself by communicating well during this project. I needed to write thoughts,

data and research in a way that others would understand. I did this by writing out my

thoughts of this project in my composition book and putting them all into the proper

format needed for this year’s science fair project. I also needed to give an oral

presentation to explain my experiment.


Appendix

Pictures taken during the second week of testing


Works Cited

Beginner Tip: Presenting Your Page with Style." Webmaster Tips Newsletter. July 2000.

NetMechanic. 13 Oct. 2002. WEB.

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Bradford, Alina ACID RAIN : CAUSES, EFFECTS AND SOLUTIONS Live

Science.com,2018

https://www.livescience.com/63065-acid-rain.html

Franco, Atlantica ACID RAIN EFFECTS ON PLANTS AND ANIMALS May 24, 2019

https://sciencing.com/acid-rain-effects-plants-animals-6326371.html

Haynes, Cidney WATER GARDENS : AQUATIC PLANTS SMALL FARM

SUSTAINABILITY, 2018

https://www.extention.iastate.edu/smallfarms/water-gardens-aquatic-plants

O’Hare, Mathew PLANTS IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS : CURRENT TRENDS AND

FUTURE DIRECTIONS. PLANTS IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS, 2017

https://www.reaserchgate.net/publication/316276965_Plants_in_aquatic_ecosyst

ems_currect_trends_and_future_direction s

Parker, Steve POND AND RIVER. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, inc 2000

THE HOLY BIBLE Zondervan House, 1984

Rasico, Nicoletta THE UNDERWATER LIFE OF SECONDARILY AQUATIC PLANTS:

SOME PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 2010

https://www.tandofonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0735-260291044296

Willyard, Cassandra ACID RAIN AND OUR ECOSYSTEM. Smithsoniamag.com, 2010


https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/acid-rain-and-our-ecosystem-2082412

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