| The Effect of Household Soaps and Detergents on the Growth of Wheat | |
Researched by Kristi T.
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The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of various household cleaners and detergents on the growth of wheat.
I became interested in this idea when I read a book about wheat in the school library. It said that wheat is the world’s most important and widely grown crop. I also decided to use soaps and detergents because I knew that they are widely used yet harmful to most plants.
The information gained from this experiment would help farmers know
whether detergents and soaps actually are harmful to their crops.
My hypothesis was that laundry detergents would slow the growth of wheat more than any other cleaner.
I based my hypothesis on a statement that Karen Logan made. She wrote an article on an Internet site (http://WWW. geocities. com/rosemarygarden/chemfaq.html), called “Clean House Clean Planet”, about soaps and detergents. In the article she said “There are many chemicals in detergents that can harm plants. “This made me think that they would be more harmful to plants than just normal soaps.
The constants in this study were:
- Pot size/shape
- Seed age/ storage
- Soil moisture
- Amount of soil
- Soil brand
- Amount of chemicals
- Amount of time until measured after adding cleaning products
- Amount of time to grow
- Temperature
- Place
- Species of wheat
- Planting depth
- Where water comes from
- Procedure
The responding variable was the height of the wheat.
To measure the responding variable I used a ruler calibrated in millimeters.
| QUANTITY | ITEM DESCRIPTION |
| 4 | Tin pans |
| 34 millimeters | wheat seeds |
| 1 | Meter sticks |
| 100 millileters | water every third day |
| 4200 millileters | potting soil |
| 3 | different cleaning chemicals |
| 3 yards | string |
| 1 | Permanent marker |
1. Planting
A. Put 600 milliliters of soil in the bottom of each pot
B. Sprinkle 17 milliliters wheat
seeds onto soil
C. Add 300 milliliters of soil
in the pot around the plant
D. Add 100milliliters of water every third day during the whole experiment
E. Wait seven days and then start step number two
2. Measuring Chemicals
2. 5-make sure you label the pots (put the name of a different chemical
on each) (label one control)
A. Measure 5milliliters of each of the chemicals
B. Add only 95 milliliters of water to this
C. Pour one solution into each of the three trays except the control
D. Let this sit for 30 days
3. Making a Grid
A. Use the meter stick to measure every 5 centimeters and mark it with
a permanent marker on the side of the tray
B. Tape string on each of the marks so that it stretches across to
the mark across from it
4. Measuring Plants
A. Measure a plant at every intersection in the string
B. You should have 10 measurements for each tray
5. Comparing the Data
A. Compare to see which group of plants was the tallest
B. Compare to see which group of plants was the shortest
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the affect of various household cleaners and detergents on the growth of wheat.
The results of the experiment were that bleach effected wheat plants the most. Its average height was 3. 56. Dishwasher detergent came in second with 3. 9 millimeters in height and laundry detergent came in third with 4. 35 millimeters in height.
My hypothesis was that laundry detergents would slow the growth of wheat more than any other cleaner.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected because bleach slowed the growth the most. In fact, the group of plants that had laundry detergent put on them was the healthiest. Its average growth was 4. 35 millimeters. The average growth for dishwasher detergent was 3. 9 millimeters. The average growth for bleach was3. 56 millimeters.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder what would have happened if I had tested several different brands of bleach instead of using laundry detergent and dishwasher soap.
If I were to conduct this project again I would try to keep track of time better than I did before. I lost track of time and had to redo my entire experiment. I would also conduct the experiment during a warmer time of year. If I had done this then I could have had the wheat grow under true sunlight instead of artificial light from light bulbs. I would have used more plants and pots, too.
| RESEARCH REPORT
Introduction Plants Basically a plant is something that is living but that is not an animal. There are 260,000 different plant species. Various plants can grow almost any where in the world. Photosynthesis “Photosynthesis is the chemical process by which plants that contain chlorophyll, especially green plants, use light to convert carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. ” Basically photosynthesis is when plants use light to chemically change water and carbon dioxide to make their own food. The formula for this is (6 H20 + 6CO2=>C6H2O6 + 6 O2). Botanists Pollution Water pollution comes from garbage dumps. Water pollution also comes from sewer systems, factory waste, and automotive waste. When people make garbage, usually, the garbage ends up, one way or another, in water. When small animals drink the contaminated water they become sick. Then when larger animals eat them they get sick too. Then when we eat the sick animals we get sick and sometimes die. Water pollution often leads to soil pollution. Soil Pollution Wheat Uses An unripe field of wheat is a very, very rich green. A ripe field of wheat is a golden-brown. On the top of a ripe stalk of wheat there are small, packed wheat seeds. Summary |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY
Acker, Duane. “Agriculture” World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 Barss, Karen. Clean Water. Chelsea House Publishers, 1992 Chertow, Marian. “Water Pollution”. World Book Encyclopedia. , 2002
“Soil Pollution” ENCARTA Encyclopedia Deluxe, 2001 Feinstien, Myron E. Detergents and Soaps, 1998 Freeborn, Joel. “The Effect of Propylene Glycol on the Growth of Radishes”
Hershey, David R. Plant Biology selah schools, science project, SIS science, S.I.S.. John Wiley, 1995 Hoff, Mary. “Plant Diseases. ” 10/29/03
Logan, Karen “Clean House Clean Planet”
Mifflin, Houghton. “Photosynthesis” Student Dictionary. Mifflin, Houghton. “Plants” Student Dictionary. Mifflin, Houghton. Student “Wheat” Student Dictionary. Pringle, Laurence. Oil Spills, Marrow Junior Books, 1995 Taylor, Myca “The Effect of Portable vs. Gray Water on Radish
Growth”
Wagner, David. Photosynthesis, 1998 |
I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible:
- My parents for pushing me to do my best
- Mrs. Helms for helping me with my table and report
- Mr. Newkirk for showing me the mistakes I made and helping me with almost everything
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