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Air Pollution Science Fair Project

Acid Rain and Plant Survival

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Acid Rain and Plant Survival | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Can acidic water kill a healthy plant? You grow identical plants in two pots under the same light source. Once the plants sprout leaves, you mist one with plain distilled water. You mist the other with a lemon juice solution at about pH 3. This mimics the acidity of real acid rain. The results are dramatic. The plant misted with acid solution died. The plant misted with plain water survived. Even a mild acid applied regularly to the leaves was enough to destroy the plant over time.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that the plant watered with the acid solution will grow more slowly than the plant watered with regular rainwater.

Method & Materials

You will fill each pot with potting soil, label one pot "acid" and the other "normal", place a seed in each pot, water the seeds and soil, place both pots under a source of light, and mist the leaves of each pot with its matching spray bottle.
You will need 4 plastic pots, 4 spray bottles, 1 pH meter or pH paper, 2 eye droppers, 4 liters of distilled water, 1 marking pen, 8 marking pen, 1 source of light, 1 bag of potting soil, and 1 bottle of lemon juice.

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Results

The results of the experiment showed that the plant tested with an acid solution died, while the plant tested with distilled water lived. This indicates that the hypothesis should be accepted.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how acid rain can have a negative effect on the growth of plants.

Also Consider

Experiment variations to consider include testing different plants and using different types of acid.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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