The Effect of Acid Rain on Wheat Grass
Researched by Katelyn Monson
2003-04

PURPOSE
 

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of acid rain on wheat grass.

I became interested in this idea because acid rain has become such a big problem in the US, Canada, Scandinavia, and many other countries.

The information gained from this experiment would help to inform factory owners and operators that acid rain is harmful to forests, crops, and wildlife. They should provide a scrubber to help keep the air cleaner. Also car manufactures should make cars that run on something other than gasoline, which would also keep our air cleaner and would help reduce acid rain.

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HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis was that if vegetation were exposed to acid rain, then it would grow more slowly.

I based my hypothesis on the hypothesis Martin G. Gutnik wrote in his book called “Experiments that Explore Acid Rain. ” 

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EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were:
 

  • 4 wheat seeds in each pot
  • General testing procedure
  • Type of acid (diluted sulfuric)
  • Size of pot
  • Temperature
  • Amount and type of soil
  • Depth seeds are planted
  • Amount of plants are watered
  • Amount of acid applied to plants in each group 
The manipulated variable was the pH level of diluted sulfuric acid.

The responding variable was growth of the wheat grass.

To measure the responding variable I used a ruler to determine heights.

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MATERIALS

QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION
4 Aluminum foil pans
2 Fluorescent Lights
1 Measuring Cup
4 Cups of Soil
240ml Sulfuric Acid
120ml  Water
NOTE: Use 4. 5 and 5. 5 Sulfuric acid.

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PROCEDURES
1. Cut 5 holes in the foil tray.
2. Place another foil tray underneath the first tray.
3. Fill the foil tray with 1000 ml of soil.
4. Spread the soil out evenly.
5. Poke 1 cm holes in the soil with fingertip and make about 20 holes the same size.
6. Place about 5-6 seeds in each hole.
7. Cover up the seeds with soil so surface is even.
8. Water the soil with 250 ml so that the water is spread out evenly.
9. Place both trays underneath a fluorescent light.
10. Water the plants with 250 ml of water once a day for about 4 weeks or when plants start growing.
11. After about 4-6 days pour 125 ml of 5. 5 sulfuric acid in one of the pans that you planted the wheat seeds in.
12. Next pour 125 ml of 4. 5 sulfuric acid in the other pan.
13. Wait for 4 days and then measure the height.  

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RESULTS

The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of acid rain on wheat grass.  

The results of the experiment were that diffidently any plant that has been in an acid rain shower/acid snow/acid fog/ect. would die or be severely damaged. I have found out that the lower the pH the more acidic it is. I used only two pH levels of acid (4. 5 and 5. 5) for my experiment and the wheat grass that had the pH level of 4. 5 died faster than the one with the 5. 5 pH, which died, but at a slower pace.  

See my data table and graph.

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CONCLUSION

My hypothesis was that if vegetation were exposed to acid rain, then it would grow more slowly.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be correct because acid rain does damage wheat grass.  

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if a different plant would die either quicker or slower depending on the plant? What would happen if you put more of the lower pH level of acid and less of the higher pH acid? What would cause more damage? 

If I were to conduct this project again I would probably make the first experiment more controlled so that I would not have to start back over on it. The first time, I took the wheat grass out of the fluorescent light because it was growing too much and I didn’t have the 4. 5 pH and the 5. 5 pH acid on time so that messed up the experiment. Another thing that was wrong with the first experiment is that I did not plant the seeds the right way by planting 5-6 seeds in each hole that I made with my finger. The final thing that I messed up on the first experiment that I did not water the plants with the same amount of water each time I watered them.  

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RESEARCH REPORT

Introduction: 

When two pollutants called Sulfur dioxide and Nitrogen oxide form together they create acid rain. Each year the global atmosphere is receiving 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide, 130 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 97 million tons of hydrocarbs, 53 million tons of Nitrogen Oxides, more than 3 million tons of mercury, lead, zinc, nickel, arsenic, and other toxic metals.

Lakes

 Some of the places that acid rain damages the most are Central Europe, Canada, Scandinavia, parts of Asia, and the Eastern areas of North America.
 If acid rain has fallen on a lake it will usually appear crystal clear because the acid has killed everything in the lake. When a lake has reached a pH level of 5. 5 most clams, snails, and crayfish disappear then the empty shells soon dissolve. At a pH of 4. 5 the lake would be considered dead, no living thing can live in the water.
 Some people have tried liming a lake. When you lime a lake it helps reduce the pH level of acid, but it does not restore the lake to its full potential. You can lime a lake by plane or boat. It is very expensive to do this though, sometimes ranges $250-$300 per acre of water. If it has killed bacteria, minnows, or trout it will not bring those species back and the aluminum that has come unglued can still kill the fish.  
 Acid rain can also be dangerous to humans. If acid rain falls on soil it releases metals such as aluminum, copper, mercury, lead, and many other metals. These metals are only harmful if they are separated from other elements in the soil. In 1952 over four thousand people died in London because of a dense blanket of acidic fog. Mast that died were children or adults with breathing problems, because of the polluted air. If these poisons enter the body, they could burn the lung tissue, making breathing more difficult and may lead to suffocation.

Monuments

Not until the late 1980’s did experts discover that the outer layer of the Statue of Liberty was being destroyed by the effects of acid rain leaving the outer layer extremely thin, weakened, and more vulnerable. Now the Statue of Liberty is scarred due to acid rain and the city’s pollution.

Acid rain is even more complex, because a lot of pollution from US factories and other power plants do not stay in the US. The Clean Air Act of 1970 have helped reduce acid rain by burning more cleaner fuels and requiring power plants to cut their sulfur dioxide admissions. Very soon other parts of countries will soon experience the acid rain damage if we don’t put a stop to it now.
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Acid Rain," World Book Encyclopedia, 2002.

Allaby, Michael. “Fog, Smog, and Poisoned Rain” New York, New York. 2003.

Booth, William. “The Washington Post,” Sept. 17, 1990. <http://www. lehigh. edu

Edelson, Edward. Clean Air San Diego: Lucent Brooks INC. 1992.

Faginn, Dan. “The Los Angeles Times,” October  24, 1999. <http://gateway. Proquest. com

Gutnik, J. Martin. Experiments That Explore Acid Rain, Brookfield: Millbrook Press. 1992.

The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia, New York. 2000.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible:
 

  • My parents for helping me with my experiment by buying the materials
  • Mr. Newkirk for helping me with my report and graph
  • Mrs. Helms for teaching me how to cut the border


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