The Presence of Sulfates in Shampoos on the Frond Growth of Lemna minor
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Sulfates are added to many shampoos to create a false sense of extra cleaning when washing hair. However, the sulfates can have adverse effects on aquatic biota. This research was intended to determine a shampoo that would not cause harm out of 4 popular consumer brands. It was hypothesized that the Head & Shoulders shampoo will cause the least amount of growth in the frond number, or leaf number, in Lemna minor. This is because of the abrasive substances in the product that would not stimulate plant growth. Shampoos are considered as surfactants, which are known to have toxic effects on environments (Fatima et al., 2014). Ten mL of each shampoo was mixed with 9 mL of water to create 10% solutions. The Lemna minor plants were placed in each group, which was each shampoo brand, in a way that there were 15 fronds in each Petri dish. The hypothesis was supported due to the fronds in the Head & Shoulders solutions having the least amount of growth. A one-way ANOVA test showed that there was a significant difference between the means, due to the p-value of <0.001 being less than the alpha value of 0.05. Overall, the research demonstrates how common consumer products, such as shampoos, can impact aquatic environments.
Recommended Citation
Sunilkumar, Gowri, "The Presence of Sulfates in Shampoos on the Frond Growth of Lemna minor" (2022). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 81.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2022/all/81
Location
HSS 215
Start Date
4-2-2022 12:00 PM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Presence of Sulfates in Shampoos on the Frond Growth of Lemna minor
HSS 215
Sulfates are added to many shampoos to create a false sense of extra cleaning when washing hair. However, the sulfates can have adverse effects on aquatic biota. This research was intended to determine a shampoo that would not cause harm out of 4 popular consumer brands. It was hypothesized that the Head & Shoulders shampoo will cause the least amount of growth in the frond number, or leaf number, in Lemna minor. This is because of the abrasive substances in the product that would not stimulate plant growth. Shampoos are considered as surfactants, which are known to have toxic effects on environments (Fatima et al., 2014). Ten mL of each shampoo was mixed with 9 mL of water to create 10% solutions. The Lemna minor plants were placed in each group, which was each shampoo brand, in a way that there were 15 fronds in each Petri dish. The hypothesis was supported due to the fronds in the Head & Shoulders solutions having the least amount of growth. A one-way ANOVA test showed that there was a significant difference between the means, due to the p-value of <0.001 being less than the alpha value of 0.05. Overall, the research demonstrates how common consumer products, such as shampoos, can impact aquatic environments.
