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Carnivorous Cacti Crew

Project by group dmsstiemspring2022


Explore We know that plants are living things and use photosynthesis to grow and cellular respiration to get energy. Also, we know that plants use more than one cell to do life’s purposes.
Research Question How do different amounts of citric acid in water affect a plant's growth?
Predictions I think the less amount of acidity in the water will cause the plant to grow the most. I think this because water doesn't have any acidity in it and most plants are grown in water.
Experimental Design Procedure: - Step 1: Place a paper towel in a plastic bag. Step 2: Place 5 buckwheat seeds evenly spaced out on the paper towel. Step 3: Add ½ tsp of citric acid to 2oz of water and ½ tbs of citric acid to water. Step 4: Add 1 teaspoon of each liquid with water to a separate plastic bag. Step 5: Put the plastic bag on a rack under a light. Step 6: Repeat once a day 4 different times.
Conclusion Claim: The less acidity in the plants seeds soil will cause the plant to grow the best. Evidence: At the 5 day mark the pure water seeds which had no acidity in it had 5 of the 5 seeds germinated. For the water with ½ tsp of citric acid solution mixed in had 5 of the 5 seeds that germinated. The water with ½ tbs citric acid solution mixed in with water had 4 of the 5 seeds that germinated. The pure citric acid had 0 seeds that germinated on the other hand. Reasoning: The claim is correct because even scientific principles explain that the higher the pH level, the worse the plant grows and the lower the germination rate. This is because a scientific concept says that the enzyme (the protein that acts as a biological catalyst) activity depends on the pH level and most/some plants will die if the pH is too high. In addition to that, when the plant is in the soil, it’s affected by the pH level. Also, another scientific concept, is that adding too much pH/acidity to a plant increases the pH in the soil causing the plant to die. Also, a reason the results we had happened is if we put too much of the acid solutions onto the seeds, then the pH would increase because high pH levels occur in high rain areas. Another reason that pure citric acid made the seeds not grow is that when you put more acidity on plants, they do not grow because a higher pH level decreases a plant's nutrients. Finally, plants can survive in low acidity levels of liquids/solutions, and that is why pure water, ½ tsp of citric acid, and ½ tbs citric acid grew the best. Therefore, this is why plants grow better (thrive) in low acidity level liquids/solutions.
Investigation Theme WOS
Teacher Name Kristen Stiem
School Name DeWitt Middle School
Session Spring 2022
About this Project

Students were very self-motivated throughout the entire project. They also changed their investigation question and original plan based on feedback from their mentor. I believe these students showed adaptability and persistence throughout this investigation, and they communicated well with their mentor.
-- Kristen Stiem, Teacher

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NSF_Logo.jpg This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2010556 and #1502892. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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