Effects of Chemicals Extracted from Cigarette Butts
on Mongo(“Vigna Radiata”) Plant
DANIELLE GRACIA Demavivas PANES
MARISTELLE Jimenez REGENCIA
Background of the StudyOur planet Earth is called green planet, mainly because it
contains life. Plants are sources of oxygen. They are also used as
medicine. Many other plant-based products shape our lives like lumber,
fuel, paper, fabrics, beverages, and spices. Nowadays, people mostly
grow plants like vegetables in their garden to reduce the expense they
spend in the market. But, some of these plant owners are cigarette
users. Sometimes, they throw their cigarette butts or their unfinished
lighted cigarette on the soil near the plant. This can cause soil pollution.
Over 4,000 chemicals are present in cigarettes which could have
various toxic and carcinogenic effects. Toxic substances of cigarettes
cause diseases among humans and harm the environment. The
researchers decided to study the effects of cigarette butts on plants by
extracting the chemicals of it in tap water and use it to contaminate the
soil and determine the physical changes of mongo plants.
Statement of the Problem Main Problem:
Can the chemicals present in the cigarette butts cause physical changes to mongo plants?
Sub-problems:
1) What are the physical characteristics of mongo plants exposed to tap water with no chemicals from the cigarette butts in terms of:
a) Leaf Color
b) Number of Leaves
c) Plant Height
d) Plant Weight?
2) What are the physical characteristics of mongo plants exposed to the chemicals from first extraction of cigarette butts in tap water as soil contaminant in terms of:
a) Leaf Color
b) Number of Leaves
c) Plant Height
d) Plant Weight?
3) What are the physical characteristics of mongo plants exposed to the chemicals from second extraction of cigarette butts in tap water as soil contaminant in terms of:
a) Leaf Color
b) Number of Leaves
c) Plant Height
d) Plant Weight?
4) What are the physical characteristics of mongo plants exposed to the chemicals from third extraction of cigarette butts in tap water as soil contaminant in terms of:
a) Leaf Color
b) Number of Leaves
c) Plant Height
d) Plant Weight?
5) What are the physical characteristics of mongo plants exposed to the chemicals from fourth extraction of cigarette butts in tap water as soil contaminant in terms of:
a) Leaf Color
b) Number of Leaves
c) Plant Height
d) Plant Weight?
6) Is there a significant difference in the physical characteristics
of mongo plants exposed to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th extraction of
chemical from cigarette butts in tap water as soil contaminant?
7) Is there a significant difference in the physical characteristics
of mongo plants exposed to tap water and mongo plants exposed
to the chemicals extracted from cigarette butts in tap water as
soil contaminant?
Methodology Research Design
The study will deal with the determination of the effects
of extracted chemicals from cigarette butts in tap water on the
physical characteristics of mongo plants such as the color and
number of leaves, height and weight of the plants. Five groups
will be prepared; one set-up will serve as the control group
and the other four set-ups as the experimental group that is
exposed to the extracted chemicals from cigarette butts in tap
water as soil contaminant.
Fifteen mongo plants will be tested in each set-up on
control and experimental group. Three weeks will be
spent to observe changes in the physical appearance of
the mongo plants. The data on the changes of physical
characteristics of mongo plants will be recorded on a
daily basis. Three repetitions will be conducted in this
experiment.
Flow ChartCOLLECTIO
N OF MATERIALS
3 Packs of Certified Mongo Seeds, 3150 Cigarette
Butts, 2 pairs of Gloves, 20 Racks, 2 sacks of
Gardening Soil, 75 Bamboo Sticks
EXTRACTION OF CHEMICALS
FROM CIGARETTE BUTTS
MONITORING OF PLANT
GROWTH
Four repetitions will be conducted in extracting the
chemicals from cigarette butts. The same cigarette butts from
the first chemical extraction will be used on the future
repetitions.
One liter of tap water will be measured for each set-up. The 1st set-up will only serve as the
control group. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th set-up will serve as the experimental group.
Leaf Color, Number of Leaves,
Plant Height, Plant Weight
Leaf Color Chart, Measuring Fresh
Weight
RECOR D LIST OF MEASUREMENTS
(PHYSICAL CHANGES TO
MONGO PLANTS)
Experimental Set-up
Control Group
Experimental Group
Set-ups
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Amount of Tap Water
(ml)
1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
Number of Mongo Plants
15 15 15 15 15
Number of Cigarette
Butts(pieces)
50 50 50 50 50
Plants will be removed from the soil and any loose soil will be
washed off. It will blot gently with soft paper towel to remove
any free surface moisture then will be weighed immediately
to prevent some drying.
Leaf Color Chart - (LCC) is a plastic, ruler-shaped strip
containing four panels that range in color from yellowish
green to dark green.
Gathering of DataFirst Week
Physical Changes of Mongo Plants
Leaf Color Number of Leaves Plant Height Plant Weight
Control
Group
Experimental Group
Control Group
Experimental Group
Control
Group
Experimental Group
Control Group
Experimental Group
Day 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Statistical Tool
To verify if there is a significant difference
among the effects of chemicals extracted from
cigarette butts on mongo plants, the Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) will be conducted.
Rationale
BibliographyBOOKS Dr. Joel Dunnington,
Tobacco Almanac, Revised, May 1993
ONLINE DATABASE (JOURNALS)
Thomson Gale, 2005, Nicotine Summary www.bookrags.com
Peter de Vries, 2010 Mixture Behaviour of Tars www.soilandsystem.nl
Stuart M Bennett, 2001, DDT www.the-piedpiper.co.uk
WEBSITES Acetone, Water, and
Chromatography, 2006 www.newton.dep.anl.gov
Arsenic and water, 1998 www.lenntech.com
Cyanide Chemistry, 2006 www.cyanide.org
Formaldehyde, 2002 www.environmentwriter.org
Hydrogen Cyanide, 2002 www.chemicalland21.com
Matitolhttp://www.fao.org/docrep/W6355E/w6355e0j.htm
Methoprene http://usgs.wildlifeinformation.org/List_Vols/westnile/Chemicals/metho.
htm Physical properties of
freon, 1999 www.ehow.com/chem
Properties of Carbon Monoxide, (n.d.) in Wikipedia
Solubility of Ammonia, (n.d.) www.wikepedia.org
Solubility, newton.dep.anl.gov, 1995
Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4), 2000 www.chemicalland21.com
yahoo.com http://www.answers.com
/topic/nicotine http://www.longwood.ed
u/cleanva/ciglitterarticle.htm
http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigbuttfilters.htm
http://www.oxygen.org.au/hardfacts/tobacco-and-the-environment
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Cigarettes+Affect+the+Environment-a01074031076
http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/biota/plants/importance_of_plants.htm