The Effect of Wood Type on Xylem Pore Size Degeneration
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Written Paper Award
1st Place
Abstract
The demand for clean water in third world countries and after natural disasters is a pressing societal issue. While systems for water purification exist, they are often too expensive or inaccessible to benefit the areas that require them the most. Xylem filtration aims to solve this problem by using a ubiquitous resource to create an accessible low cost filter. Xylem cross sections have been found to be effective in filtering out most contaminants, including viruses and bacteria. Studies have found that they stop allowing water to pass through after moderate use, rendering that cross section useless. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether oak (Quercus) or maple (Acer) wood has a lower rate of xylem pore size degeneration and whether wood type affects the durability of a xylem filter. It was hypothesized that oak would perform better than maple because oak’s xylem pores are dispersed throughout the cross section while maple’s xylem pores are clustered in the center. In this experiment, cross sections were gathered and the rate of pore size degradation was calculated over 10 trials using a light microscope. A linear regression showed that maple’s rate of degradation was significant(ɑ=0.05>p=0.004), while oak’s was not. This supported the initial hypothesis. It can be concluded that oak is more practical for xylem filtration than maple.
Recommended Citation
Trifonova, Paulina, "The Effect of Wood Type on Xylem Pore Size Degeneration" (2019). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 255.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2019/all/255
Location
Founders Hall 213 A
Start Date
3-30-2019 11:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of Wood Type on Xylem Pore Size Degeneration
Founders Hall 213 A
The demand for clean water in third world countries and after natural disasters is a pressing societal issue. While systems for water purification exist, they are often too expensive or inaccessible to benefit the areas that require them the most. Xylem filtration aims to solve this problem by using a ubiquitous resource to create an accessible low cost filter. Xylem cross sections have been found to be effective in filtering out most contaminants, including viruses and bacteria. Studies have found that they stop allowing water to pass through after moderate use, rendering that cross section useless. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether oak (Quercus) or maple (Acer) wood has a lower rate of xylem pore size degeneration and whether wood type affects the durability of a xylem filter. It was hypothesized that oak would perform better than maple because oak’s xylem pores are dispersed throughout the cross section while maple’s xylem pores are clustered in the center. In this experiment, cross sections were gathered and the rate of pore size degradation was calculated over 10 trials using a light microscope. A linear regression showed that maple’s rate of degradation was significant(ɑ=0.05>p=0.004), while oak’s was not. This supported the initial hypothesis. It can be concluded that oak is more practical for xylem filtration than maple.
