The Effects of Acid Rain on Duckweed Growth
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Botany
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
In this experiment, the effect of acid rain on duckweed growth was tested. The purpose of this research project was to find just how harmful acid rain is to aquatic environments as it is starting to become a major issue in today's world. As humans we already know that acid rain can be harmful to our crops, but this experiment clearly showed the damages acid rain does to animals and plants living around us. It was hypothesized that when duckweed was placed in an environment with a lower pH than the duckweed will grow more slowly than if it were placed in a neutral pH of 7. In this experiment there were fifteen petri dishes each containing 50 duckweed pods. The fifteen dishes were split up into three groups of five, each group representing a different pH level. One group was pH 3, one was pH 5, and one was pH 7. The duckweeds growth was observed over a 12 hour period and data was recorded. In this experiment, the hypothesis was supported the fact that the duckweed died faster when placed in an environment with a low pH. The pH 3 group died the fastest then the pH 5 group would've been next, and there wasn't a significant amount of change within the pH 7 group.
Recommended Citation
Morris, William, "The Effects of Acid Rain on Duckweed Growth" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 103.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/103
Location
Furman Hall 106
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:45 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effects of Acid Rain on Duckweed Growth
Furman Hall 106
In this experiment, the effect of acid rain on duckweed growth was tested. The purpose of this research project was to find just how harmful acid rain is to aquatic environments as it is starting to become a major issue in today's world. As humans we already know that acid rain can be harmful to our crops, but this experiment clearly showed the damages acid rain does to animals and plants living around us. It was hypothesized that when duckweed was placed in an environment with a lower pH than the duckweed will grow more slowly than if it were placed in a neutral pH of 7. In this experiment there were fifteen petri dishes each containing 50 duckweed pods. The fifteen dishes were split up into three groups of five, each group representing a different pH level. One group was pH 3, one was pH 5, and one was pH 7. The duckweeds growth was observed over a 12 hour period and data was recorded. In this experiment, the hypothesis was supported the fact that the duckweed died faster when placed in an environment with a low pH. The pH 3 group died the fastest then the pH 5 group would've been next, and there wasn't a significant amount of change within the pH 7 group.
