The effect of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate on the production of the ethylene hormone on Cucurbita pepo
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Biochemistry
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Oral Presentation Award
3rd Place
Written Paper Award
1st Place
Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate can positively or negatively affect the amount of ethylene, represented by parts per million (ppm), produced by Cucurbita pepo plants. If the copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate were to positively affect the amount of ethylene, the plants would have adequate color and texture. It was hypothesized that the copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate would cause the zucchini plant to produce less ethylene, thus causing poor physical characteristics of the plants, such as poor color. There were 2 groups in this experiment consisting of 30 zucchini plants, a control group and an experimental group. The control group was given only water and sunlight everyday until the plants matured. The experimental group was given the same amount of sunlight but 26% concentrated copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate everyday. Both groups had the same amount and type of soil. After the control group plants matured, the ethylene was measured using an electrochemical ethylene sensor, also referred as an ethylene meter, obtained from Amazon.com. This measures the amount of ethylene produced by each plant. Each plant was separated from the rest. Graph 1, a bar graph, shows how much higher the amount of ethylene ppm was for the control group rather than the experimental group. Graph 2, a box plot, also shows the difference between the control group and experimental group mean value and the maximum and minimum value. The unpooled independent t-test, represented by graph 4, shows the statistical significance of this experiment, having an low p-value. The control group (M=0.75, SD=0.12) reported significantly higher levels of ethylene ppm than the experimental group (M=0.12, SD=0.06), t(29) = 23.90, p < 0.0001.
Recommended Citation
O'Grady, Kayla, "The effect of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate on the production of the ethylene hormone on Cucurbita pepo" (2017). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 13.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2017/all/13
Location
Wall 118
Start Date
3-25-2017 11:45 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The effect of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate on the production of the ethylene hormone on Cucurbita pepo
Wall 118
The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate can positively or negatively affect the amount of ethylene, represented by parts per million (ppm), produced by Cucurbita pepo plants. If the copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate were to positively affect the amount of ethylene, the plants would have adequate color and texture. It was hypothesized that the copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate would cause the zucchini plant to produce less ethylene, thus causing poor physical characteristics of the plants, such as poor color. There were 2 groups in this experiment consisting of 30 zucchini plants, a control group and an experimental group. The control group was given only water and sunlight everyday until the plants matured. The experimental group was given the same amount of sunlight but 26% concentrated copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate everyday. Both groups had the same amount and type of soil. After the control group plants matured, the ethylene was measured using an electrochemical ethylene sensor, also referred as an ethylene meter, obtained from Amazon.com. This measures the amount of ethylene produced by each plant. Each plant was separated from the rest. Graph 1, a bar graph, shows how much higher the amount of ethylene ppm was for the control group rather than the experimental group. Graph 2, a box plot, also shows the difference between the control group and experimental group mean value and the maximum and minimum value. The unpooled independent t-test, represented by graph 4, shows the statistical significance of this experiment, having an low p-value. The control group (M=0.75, SD=0.12) reported significantly higher levels of ethylene ppm than the experimental group (M=0.12, SD=0.06), t(29) = 23.90, p < 0.0001.
