Researched by Molly C.
2002-03

• PURPOSE 
• HYPOTHESIS 
• EXPERIMENT DESIGN 
• MATERIALS 
• PROCEDURES 
• RESULTS 
• CONCLUSION 

• RESEARCH REPORT 
• BIBLIOGRAPHY 
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

• ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Water is the most common substance on Earth.  Water is used for many things, such as cleaning, bathing, cooking and drinking. Without water, there would be no life (no people, no animals, no plants, and no food).  It is good to know that we will never have to worry about it though because the sun evaporates ocean, lake, and river water into the clouds, and when the clouds condense the water returns as rain or snow. Plants are very important too, because they are the key to life, and without them other living things would soon become extinct. A lot of animals eat plants.  That is why water and plants are so important.

        Pollution

Seventy percent, of the Earths surface is covered by water, but only about 3% of that is okay to drink.  This creates a problem.  People in certain areas often have to drink water from lakes and rivers, which are often contaminated.  This is spreading diseases in Africa, Asia, and South America.  US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator says, " I believe water is the biggest environmental issue of the 21st century, in terms of both quantity and quality", many people agree.
 

    Hard Water

Hard water is a problem that many people face in their home. It holds a large amount of calcium and magnesium which can cause dry skin after taking a shower, clothes may be wrinkled and scratchy after washing, dishes (or other glass) may be spotted after going through the dish washer, hair can feel greasy and somewhat like hay after washing, and really hard water can cause yellow curd in water pipes known as limescale.  Limescale causes low water pressure, and costs a large amount of money to be removed.
 

Water Softeners

Purchasing a water softener is probably the easiest way to soften your water.  Most water softeners use the ion-exchange process.  The ion-exchange process uses resin beads to carefully attach to the calcium and magnesium while the water is passing through the softener.  With the minerals tightly surrounded, the resin beads are released back into the water. After that the water is fairly soft, and over days the water starts to increase in its mineral supply, then you just simply regenerate the water softener and the process will repeat.
 

Marigolds/Compositae

Marigolds are flowers that are easy to take care of and bloom in about a week.  They are in the composite family.  There are about 50 species of marigolds.  They can come in orange, yellow, mixed red, maroon, cream and biocolored.    They usually live for about one year.  They can live through dry and humid weather much better than most other flowers.  A lot of gardeners buy marigolds not only for their blossoms, but because some of them produce an oil that keeps away nematodes (a small worm that lives as parasites in the roots of a plant).  There are six common kinds of marigolds.  African- Comes in yellow or orange, can grow to be 12 to 14 inches tall, and blooms two to three weeks earlier than most other marigolds.  French- Comes in yellow, gold or orange, and can grow to be 12 to 16 inches tall.  Signet- Blossom comes in same colors as French, and leaves are much finer than other marigolds.  Irish Lace- is known for their miniature pedals, and their dark green lacy leaves.  Tangerine- Tangerine Marigolds are very special because their leaves smell like lemon and mint.  Triploids- Flowers come in biocolored, and do very well during dry weather.

History

Marigolds are native to Mexico and South America.  They originally came to America from Argentina.  The earliest use of Marigolds was by the Aztecs, who named their native flower cempoalxochitl.  In the 1500’s, it is suspected that marigold (cempoalxochit) seeds were taken from the Aztecs and brought to Spain by Spanish explorers.  The cempoalxochitl flowers were then cultivated and grown in monastery gardens in Spain.  They were then taken to France and Northern Africa.  Taller Marigolds, now called African-American, were naturalized in North Africa.  Later in 1535, on an expedition to Tunis, the tall, naturalized marigolds (cempoalxochitl) were observed and mistaken for native wild flowers. The seed was collected, and again taken to Spain, and found out that indeed they were marigolds. They were later called Flos Africanus due to its origin.  These flowers were well known by this name well into the 1700’s.

Caring

Seeding should be in late March or April.  Keep the soil moist and warm.  Give the plants full sun.  Remember not to use too much fertilizer.  Sprinkle about 2/3 of an inch of organic material over soil as soon as the marigold is tall enough.  It helps keep away weeds.  Marigolds seldom need water, but they grow well!
 

Plants

Plants are the key to life, and without them there would be no animal life.  The things we eat either come from plants, or animals that eat plants.  Also the oxygen we breathe in the air comes from plants.  Plants grow in almost every part of the world.  They can also grow on mountain, in the ocean, and in polar regions.  We also build houses from lumber and make many of our clothes from cotton.  Plants are among the oldest  living things on earth.  A tree in California, called the Bristle tone Pine started growing four to five thousand years ago!  The largest living organism on Earth is a tree also in California called the Sequoia; it stands over 290 ft high and 30 ft wide! All plants fall into two basic categories, flowering, and nonflowering.  Flowering plants are true flowers, and nonflowering plants are primitive.  There are about a quarter of a million species of flowering plants.
 Plants create food which is different from other living things on Earth.  They make their own food from sunlight, air and water, which is a process called photosynthesis.

    Conclusion
 Without plants, there would be no life possible for animals including humans. 

"Clean Water.Schlessinger Products. 1993."
 "Hardness and Water Quality"November 6, 2002 http://water.nr.state.ky.us/ww/ramp/rmhard/.htm

Keinath, Thomas M. "Water"The World Book Encyclopedia 1998

Knapp, Brian Calcium and Magnesium  Danbury: Atlantic Europe Publishing Co., 1996. pp. 38-40

Oram, Brian. Hard Water Hardness Calcium, Magnesium, Water Corrosion Mineral Scale. October 30, 2002 http://www.wilkes. htm

Powel, Evan. "Water Softening"World Book Encyclopedia 1999
 

Russ, Karen."Marigolds"Clemson Extension. Jan. 10, 2003<http://hgic.clemson.edu/> 

Water Quality Association. October 23, 2002 http://www.wqa.org/
 

 Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center. Magnesium: What is it?. August 7, 2002 http://yahoo.com