BY Grant Jongeirus

 The importance of this experiments was to see how the growth of plants are effected by amounts of added acidity.  Hypothesis-If a table spoon of lemon juiced is added to the soil of plant to increase the acidity then this plant will grow the most.

Variables  Dependent –height of plants  Independent – Amount of acidity in plants Data Summary  Out of the three plants the plant that grew the most had one table spoon of lemon juice added to it and grew a total of 5.2 centimeters. While the plant that had two table spoons had grew a total of 3.7 with the control growing 2.9 centimeters

 pH- The symbol for the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration in gram atoms per liter used to express the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a scale of 0 to 14 where less than 7 represents acidity, 7 neutrality, and more than 7 alkalinity.  Acidity- The quality or state of being acidic  Pothos- Any of various tropical climbing vines belonging to the genera Pothos and Epitremnum, o the arum family, widely cultivated for its variegated foliage.

 It is important to understand what these words mean to fully understand the experiment. Also how acidity effects the growth of plants.

Question  How does added acidity in soil affect plant growth? Hypothesis  If a table spoon of lemon juiced is added to the soil of plant to increase the acidity then this plant will grow the most.

Materials  Materials  Three of the same type of pre grown plant  Lemon juice  Ruler or any tool to measure height of plant in centimeters  Measuring cup  Water  Table

 Dependent –height of plants  Independent – Amount of acidity in plants  Constant- Room temperature, amount of sunlight, amount of water, amount of soil, place of growth, and type of plant.  Control- Plant with no added acidity.

 Set up-  Three of the same kind of plants sitting near the window growing then there is a person adding a table spoon of lemon juice to one, leaving the control alone, and adding two table spoons to the last one. The same person then measure’s the height of each plant.

 Gather three of the same type of plant that are already grown  Add tea spoon of lemon juice to first pot, none to control, and two tea spoons to last pot  Have plants grow watering each plant with same amounts of water.  Measure Height of all plants.  Have plants grow for determined amount of time  Record plant growth in table  Observe plants and any patterns.  Draw conclusions

The final outcome of the experiment was that the total growth of plant one (two table spoons of lemon juice) was 3.7 centimeters while the total growth of plant two was 5.2 centimeters and the total growth of the control was 2.9 centimeters. My main problem with this experiment was that the plants did not absorb all the water they were given and began to rot. Also the two plants that were given water at the end of the experiment did not look nearly as healthy as the control.

 Both of the plants with the lemon juice grew more than control which had nothing added to it besides water.  Since the plant with only one table spoon grew the most I support my hypothesis.

 If I were to further study this topic I would use different types of plants and grow them from seeds.  Also I would add more acidity to the plants  I think it would be interesting to see how the plants react to different temperatures.

I would like to thank my parents Bruce Jongerius and my mother Kelly Welch for helping me through out the experiment. Also I would like to thank Mrs.Richards for her advice.

 Bibliography   Lafleur, Benoit, Linda M. Hooper-BA[sup.1]i, E. Paul Mumma, and James P. Geaghan. "Soil fertility and plant growth in soils from pine forests and plantations: Effect of invasive red imported fire ants Solenopsis invicta (Buren).(Report).." Pedobiologia - International Journal of Soil Biology (Oct 3, 2005): 415(9). Academic OneFile. Gale. Shawnee Mission Kansas School District. 27 Oct   Miller, Crow. "Growing potatoes: planning, understanding, timing, and feeding.(The garden).." Countryside & Small Stock Journal (May-June 2007): 69(1). General OneFile. Gale. Shawnee Mission Kansas School District. 27 Oct   Phillips, Leonard. "Understanding soil pH: why it is important, and how to maintain optimum levels. " Arbor Age (June 2006): 12(3). General OneFile. Gale. Shawnee Mission Kansas School District. 27 Oct   Wang, N., J.-Y. Li, and R.-K. Xu. "Use of agricultural by-products to study the pH effects in an acid tea garden soil. " Soil Use and Management (June 2009): 128(5). Academic OneFile. Gale. Shawnee Mission Kansas School District. 27 Oct   Werdin-Pfisterer, Nancy R., Knut Kielland, and Richard D. Boone. "Soil amino acid composition across a boreal forest successional sequence. " Soil Biology and Biochemistry (June 2009): 1210(11). Academic OneFile. Gale. Shawnee Mission Kansas School District. 27 Oct 