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PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of salt and
sugar, and non-purified tap water on the growth of radishes.
I became interested in this idea when looking at similar science projects
at our school display.
The information gained from this experiment will benefit farmers and
the general public by educating them about harmful material to plants.
HYPOTHESIS
My hypothesis is that the salt and sugar waters will cause those groups
of radishes to not produce as well as the non-purified tap water test group.
I base my hypothesis on research and on data that others have collected
while doing similar experiments.
EXPERIMENT DESIGN
* The constants in this study were:
* The type of radish seed (Champion)
* The amount of seeds per test group (40)
* The amount of seeds per container (20)
* Number of containers (6)
* Amount of containers per test group (2)
* Size of container (20cm x 20cm)
* The amount of water given every 5 days (125mL)
* The amount of salt added to its test group daily (4g)
* The amount of sugar added to its test group daily (2.2g)
* The amount of dirt per container (518g)
* The temperature at which they were grown (20°C)
* The amount of artificial light (12 hrs.)
The manipulated variable was the different solutions given to the plants.
These solutions were non-purified tap water, sugar water, and salt water.
The responding variable was the growth of the radishes.
To measure the responding variable centimeters was used to determine
their growth.
MATERIALS
| QUANTITY |
ITEM DESCRIPTION |
| 6 |
plastic containers (2 per test group) |
| 120 |
Champion radish seeds |
| 20 |
Radish seeds per container |
| 2.2 g. |
Sugar added to sugar group’s 125mL |
| 4 g. |
Salt added to salt group’s 125mL |
| 125 mL. |
Water per container |
| 518 g. |
Potting soil (per container) |
| 1 |
Metric ruler |
| 1 |
Glass measuring Pyrex |
| 1 |
Measuring cup |
| 1 |
Triple-Beam-Balance |
PROCEDURES
1. Label the containers with masking tape and a marker. 1 and 1A is
the tap group (use a black marker to label). 2 and 2A is the salt group
(use a red marker to label). 3 and 3A is the sugar group (use a purple
marker to label).
2. Add 518g of potting soil to each container for all groups.
3. Place twenty seeds in four rows of five into every container (below
seed planting chart). For each test group there are 40 seeds.
4. Water the seeds with 125mL of non-purified tap water until they begin
to sprout. Make sure they receive twelve hours of artificial light every
day.
NOTE: The 125mL of water is per container.
5. Water them every five days
6. When the seeds have sprouted place 4.4g of salt into each of the
containers 125mL of water for the salt group. In the sugar group, for the
two group’s container 125mL of water, place 2g of sugar into it. Do this
for these two groups every time they are watered. For containers 1 and
1A add nothing to their 125mL and water them every five days.
7. When you start to apply the sugar and salt, begin to Measure the
growth of all radish plants every three days.
8. End the experiment in nine days.
RESULTS
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the growth
affect of sugar and salt water on radishes compared to regular water.
The results of the experiment were that the controlled group produced
the healthiest amount of radishes. Sugar group (container 3 and 3A) did
well until the end of the experiment. Salt group (container 2 and 2A) had
seed sprouting difficulties, so there was less information to be obtained.
See the tables and graph below.
View My Data and Graphs
CONCLUSION
My hypothesis was that the water containing sugar and water with salt
in it would cause the sugar and salt groups not to produce as well as the
controlled group.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted. The results
prove that the controlled group produced the best and healthiest plants;
while the salt and sugar groups had sickly seedlings.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if other minerals
would cause similar affects to the radish’s growth.
My findings should be useful to farmers and the public, because my results
prove that sugar and salt are harmful to a plant’s health.
If I were to conduct this project again I would use larger containers
and a lot more seeds to increase the accuracy of my results.
RESEARCH REPORT
Introduction
Plants come in many varieties, sizes, shapes, and colors. They are unique
structures of living matter. Humans use a large amount of plants for food
and other resources. Without plants the environment would suffer because
plants take in the carbon dioxide we breath out and in return give us oxygen.
Plants
A plant is an important structure. They consist of multi cellular
eukary- their cells contain membrane- bound structures called organells.
The cells of a plant are enclosed by rigid cell walls, primarily consisting
of cellulose.
Plant Phyla
The many species of the plant kingdom are separated in divisions,
or phyla. Bryophytes are an assemblage of three phyla with circa 16,000
species, mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Bryophytes lack a well developed
vascular system for the internal conduction of water and nutrients and
are often referred to as nonvascular plants. They smaller bryophytes are
usually adapted to dessert life. Another phyla is tracheophytes, vascular
plants. Vascular tissue is internal conducting tissue for the moment of
water and minerals by drawing them from the ground, into the steam and
leaves and steams, roots, and storage and reproductive organs.
Radishes
Radishes are strong and hardy plants. They can withstand a mild frost and
adapt to the environment they are planted in. These plants are grown for
their sharp tasting roots. Unlike most vegetables they prefer sandy soil.
The radish’s color can vary from pink, red, white, yellow, and a mixture
of red and white. A few common radish breeds are French Breakfast, Cherry
Bell, Scarlet Globe, White Icicle, and Champion.
Photosynthesis
The most important and complex characteristic of a plant is having the
ability of photosynthesis. Leaves covered in a green pigment absorb the
rays of the sun to begin photosynthesis. This energy is transformed into
chemical energy. This whole process is done to enable plants to make a
food source, a kind of unrefined sugar. It is stored in a plant’s roots,
leaves, and steam until it is needed. This sugar is also used for human’s
purposes when it has gone through the refining process.
Sugar
There are two types of sugar, monosaccharides and disacchrides. Both are
white crystals in true form. Monosaccharides are the simplest in carbohydrates.
Common monosaccharides include glucose and fructose. In the blood, glucose
is the most important carbohydrate. Fructose, also known as levulose, is
found in almost all vegetables and fruits. Disacchrides are made of two
monosaccharides. Enzymes can break down Disacchrides sucrose into fructose
and glucose.
Two other common disacchrides are lactose and maltose. Lactose can be
found in milk and is used in a few medicines. Maltose, which is formed
by starch, is used for the production of items like baby food and bread.
People use sugar mainly as an artificial sweetener in almost every food.
In other foods with natural ingredients it means that the sugar has not
been through the refining process. Refinement is a process where all vitamins
and other nutrients are taken out of the sugar. That is why sugar can cause
tooth decay.
All green plants produce sugar but sugar beets and sugar cane produce
the largest amount of sugar. The sugar that you find on a shelf comes from
these two plants. This type of sugar is called sucrose. Other sources of
sugar are cornstarch, milk, maple syrup, and honey.
Sugar belongs to a group called carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide
energy for all plants and animals. When large amounts of sugar (carbohydrates)
are consumed a person can become over weight. If overly large amounts are
taken in the results can dangerous to the person’s health.
Sugar is sold in several forms. It is commonly found in the form of
small grains (granules). It is also ground into a powder (powdered sugar)
for cake frosting. Brown sugar consists of molasses-flavored syrup and
sugar. This type of sugar is used in baking. Sugar is used in the making
of several products. Some are mixing cement, tanning leather, and in certain
plastics. Cornstarch and also other starches are made up of various sugars.
Any starch can be broken down to form individual sugars by mixing them
with acid or protein molecules (enzymes). When starch is completely broken
down, it produces corn syrup (used for artificial flavoring).
Salt
Salt is a clear, brittle mineral. Mainly used to flavor and preserve food.
This mineral has a wide range of uses. Most is consumed by the chemical
industry. They use the salt to make several chemicals and chemical products.
Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Its chemical name is sodium
chloride. The formula of salt is NaCI . The formula represents sodium (Na)
and chlorine (CI). Salt is also called by its mineral name halite. I t
normally forms clear crystals that are close in shape to perfect cubes.
In some cases impurities in the salt can make its color appear to be white,
gray, or yellow. Table salt (common salt) can often appear white, but is
actually clear.
The source of all salt is salty water (brine). Salt is necessary to
maintain a healthy life style. In the blood salt is present. Cells within
the blood need salt to live and function.
All salt comes from the ocean. The ocean is so salty because as rainwater
hits the ground it dissolves minerals containing sodium and chlorine the
soil on riverbanks erode away and the river carries the minerals out to
the sea.
Salt that occurs in huge, massive, hard layers beneath the Earth’s surface
is classified as rock salt. Rock salt was formed by the evaporation of
large parts of oceans millions of years ago. In every continent these deposits
are found. The United States has such deposits in 32 states. The largest
are the Salina Basin salts, in Michigan, Ohio, New York, West Virginia,
and Pennsylvania.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Challoner, Jack. The Visual Dictionary of Chemistry. New York: DK Publishing,
Inc., 1996. Pg. 24 ?25
Crosby, Marshall R. and Raven, Peter H. "Plant Phyla." 2001 Encarta
Deluxe.
Crosby, Marshall R. and Raven, Peter H. "Plant." 2001 Encarta Deluxe.
Dean, Walter E., Jr. "Salt." World Book Encyclopedia 1999 Pg. 72-75
Dr. Wales, Bills. "Sodium Chloride". November 19,2001 <http://www.students.stir.ac.uk/biology/ionpot/nacl.htm>
Hugnes, George R. "Radishes." World Book Encyclopedia 1999 Pg. 99-100
Lucas, Angela and Lucas, Derek. A Spoon Full of Sugar. England: Wayland
Publishers Limited, 1982. Pg. 8, 11 -13.
Moore, Paul R. "Sugar." World Book Encyclopedia 1999 Pg. 959
Salt Institute. "Salt". November 21, 2001 <http://www.saltinstitute.org/15.html>
Schoneweis, Susan D. "Growing Radishes and Table Beets, G90-1004-A".
November 10,2001 <http://janr.unl.edu/pubs/hortiwlter/g10004.htm>
The Ohio State University. "Radishes, Turnips, and Rutabagas (Swede
Turnips)". November 10, 2001 <http://ohioline.osu.edu/b672/b672_29.html>
The Sugar Association. "What is Sugar?". November 13,2001 <http://www.sugar.org/> |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following people for assisting me with my
science project.
* My mom took me to Norman’s Nursery to obtain my seeds and pots. She
also picked me up from several after school science project sessions.
* My dad did pictorial documentation for my project.
* My eldest sister, Amy, helped me with research on my topic.
* Mr. Newkirk helped me revise my project journal and research report.
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