How to Prove Acid Rain has Negative Effects on Plants

Method

1. Choose two plants of equal size from the same area or from the same parent plant, each with 10 leaves.

2. Place one plant in a test tube containing 100ml of collected rainwater (all rainwater must have been collected in the same area on the same day) and place the other in a beaker containing 100ml of distilled water.

3. To ensure reliability, make sure the plants are placed in the same place and receive equal amounts of light. Keep the room they are stored in at room temperature (28°C). To ensure that the plants receive the same amount of carbon dioxide, air should be piped through to them through a bung. Leave the plants in the same location for a week.

4. After a week observe the plants to see which one the largest number of missing or damaged leaves.

5. Repeat the experiment three times for accuracy. Record your results in a table and take the average of your results to see which plant had the largest number of dead or damaged leaves overall.


Prediction
The plant which was placed in rainwater should have a larger number of missing or damaged leaves compared to the plant that was placed in distilled water. Thus we should be able to conclude that rainwater can damage plants and reduce their rate of photosynthesis and that it could potentially have a detrimental effect on other organisms.

Equipment
*Measuring cylinders
*Test tubes.
*Rubber bung w/pipe


CORMS

C (Change): We will change whether the water surrounding the plant is acidic rainwater or neutral distilled water.


O(Organism): The organisms, the plants, must be of the same species, preferrably from the same parent plant and must have equal numbers of leaves, as well as roughly equal mass.

R(Repeat): We will repeat the experiment three times for accuracy.

M(Measure): We are measuring the number of leaves on each plant which are damaged/missing. In other words, we are measuring how much mass is damaged or lost.

S(Same): The samples must remain in the same location, and they must both receive the same amount of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and solution. The samples must be kept at room temperature (28°C).




*Rainwater may be substitued with dilute hydrochloric or sulfuric acid if normal rainwater is not acidic enough to produce a significant or measurable result in the timeframe given.