Austin Pestonji

Mrs. Hagan
H Biology
3/9/2014

Rain Upon the Radishes

Introduction: Sulfur and Nitrogen are released into the air when fossil fuels are burned in order
to obtain energy to be used in things such as lights, cars, and air conditioning.
Once Sulfur and Nitrogen are in the air, the sunlight causes the elements to
combine with water in the atmosphere. Eventually, the combination creates Nitric
acid and Sulfuric acid. Together with the water in the atmosphere, this creates
acid rain. Acidity is measured using the pH scale, an acid has a low pH, which
means anywhere from 1-6. Acids can change soils and waters and so acid rain
does the same. Everything from Enzyme activity to Cellular Transport which are
biological functions, depend heavily on the proper pH level, which makes them
very sensitive to any changes in the pH. In the case that the pH level does change,
it can result in fish eggs not hatching, leaching of toxic metals from soil and
rocks, and affect the germination of seeds.
In the process of seed germination, the stored food in the embrio is used to grow
into a mature plant. For most plants the seeds food is stored in the seed leaves,
also known as the cotyledons, as a starch. Starch is just storage form glucose but
the starch cant pass through the living membranes because of its large molecular
structure. Starch can be used for energy but before it can, it must be broken down
into simpler sugars just like glucose that has the ability to pass through the cell
membrane through the channels. The process of breaking down starch into
glucose uses enzymes which is a catalyst just like alpha-amylase. When the
acidity is too high in the soil or the water surrounding the seed, it messes up the
enzymes and the seed wont germinate.
Methods:

1) Get six bags with a 3 layer paper towel and 5 radish seeds in each bag
2) Get 3 liquids: Lemon juice, Coffee, and Water to fill each substance in 2 bags
Each

3) Leave seeds in bag for days with a daily observation

Results:

In the end, the substance that the radishes grew best in was water. The coffee was
the second best and lemon juice didnt germinate at all. That proved the
hypothesis that the more neutral the pH, the better the radishes will grow.

Analyze:

The results show how the more neutral the pH level, the faster a seed will
germinate and grow. The Lemon juice had the lowest pH and the seeds didnt
germinate at all in the 6 day experiment this is most likely due to the low pH level
affecting the enzymes the most out of the 3 substances. The coffee was acidic but
not as much as the lemon juice and the seeds did germinate and grow because
there was less effect of the pH on the enzymes so the the seeds still germinated.
The ones in the water grew the most and that is due to the neutral pH level of 7.
The water most likely let the enzymes work to their full extent.

Conclusion: So in conclusion, the lower the pH, the more effect it has on the germination and
growth of the radishes. The experiment also proved that water had the best affect
on the radishes due to the neutral pH. The conclusion that was proven is that since
the acidity of the substances tested proved that a high acidity (low pH) level
affects the germination and growth of the seeds, the affects of acid rain are the
same way. So the farmers have the answer that yes, acid rain does affect the
growth of their plants.