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.

Location

Wall 118

Start Date

3-25-2017 11:45 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 25th, 11:45 AM

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.