Collaborators: Cooper Green, Riordan Siefring, Megan Redfern, Amanda Goodale

Introduction: In this lab we were experimenting to see how drastically acid rain can effect plant
growth. Acid rain is rainfall made sufficiently acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes
environmental harm. This is important because by testing the effects of acid rain, we can test how
pollution in our environment effects everyone. Acid rain can destroy plant life which in turn can
destroy an entire ecosystem. This is a huge problem because of pollutants which we put into the air.
Hypothesis: If there is less acid, then the plant will have a better growth result.
Parts:
Controlled variables- total amount of liquid poured in, how often its watered, type of grass seeds used,
starting height
Independent variable- Amount of acid and water poured in
Dependent variable- Grass height
Control group- groups A and B
Experimental group- groups C,E,F, and G
Materials:
12 bottles planted with fescue
Water
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
Sunlight
Procedure:
1.

Pour 1 teaspoon of vinegar into 2 cups of distilled water, stir well, and check the pH with either

pH paper or a garden soil pH testing kit. the pH of the vinegar/water mixture should be about 4.
2. If it is below pH of 4, add a sprinkle of baking soda, or a drop of ammonia, stir well, and recheck
the pH.
3. If it is above pH 4, add a drop or 2 of vinegar and recheck the pH.
4. Measure the pH of the distilled water using either pH paper.
5. Create a second pH of your choice. Record the pH of this solution.
6. If the pH is below 7, add about 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, or a drop of ammonia, stir well, and check

the pH of the water with the pH indicator.

7. If the water is still acidic, repeat the process until pH 7 is reached. Should you add to much baking
soda or ammonia, either start over again or add a drop or 2 of vinegar, stir and recheck the pH.
8. Each group will be responsible for watering two plants one day a week according to their color:
Blue plants: 50 mL of water only
Yellow plants: 50 mL of solution 1
Pink plants: 50 mL of solution 2
Data:

Data Analysis: The vinegar was by far the worst on the grass. The grass which we added vinegar to
is dead, dry, and there are only a few strands of grass still alive. The mixture of vinegar and baking
soda had the second worse effect. This mixture was interesting because within a week it killed a lot
of the grass. The variable that had the least effect was the distilled water. This was the most healthy
for the grass and if we actually kept up with it, I believe that the grass could have survived.
Conclusion: My hypothesis was proven right because the grass that used the least amount of acid did
the best in this experiment. From this experiment we observed that acid rain does have a negative
affect on plant growth. I learned how negative the pollutants are which we produce in this
experiment. If we produced less pollutants than our environment would be much healthier and so
would we. I enjoyed this experiment because I really understood the aplication it has to the real
world. If we worked with other countries to stop our high levels of pollution, we could in turn
decrease the effects of acid rain.

Citation: None