Effects of Antifreeze on Plants. Krista Perry. Paulding County High School

Transcription

1 Effects of Antifreeze on Plants Krista Perry Paulding County High School Mr. Pederson 6th and 7th Period Honors Biology

2 Table of Contents Table of Contents. Abstract 2 Introduction Materials & Procedures 6 Results 7- Conclusion/Discussion. 2-3 References..4 Appendix.. 5-7

3 2 Abstract Effects of Antifreeze on Plants Antifreeze is killing the environment and no one is conducting research on it. The objective of this experiment is to discover how hurtful the effects are. The results of this project can help us find a solution to prevent hurting the environment. People can see the truth about their antifreeze. The hypothesis states if one plant is watered with ½ cup of water and water four plants with either ½ teaspoon, teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, or 2 teaspoons of Zerex Original Antifreeze/Coolant in addition to ½ cup of water every other day, then the plant that receives just water and the plant that receives water and a ½ teaspoon of antifreeze will be the only plants that will grow throughout the experiment. To conduct the experiment, five pots, a type of plant, antifreeze, and measuring cups are needed. After planting the seeds, different amounts of antifreeze will need to be poured on each plant. Plant A, B, and C started to grow, but Plant B and C died on 2. Plants D and E never started growing. When B and C started to grow, even though the plants were watered with antifreeze, it made new questions arise. Is a little okay or does it all add up? This experiment could be repeated with different plants to see if the results are the same.

4 3 Introduction Most people cannot imagine a time where motor vehicles did not exist. They are great from getting from one place to another. However, a motor vehicle will need some maintenance now and then and plenty of products have been made to keep your car moving. One of these products is antifreeze. Even though it is helping humans, is it helping the environment? There is a lack of research about antifreeze s affects which is a problem. Every problem needs a solution, so a new experiment was set up. To begin, antifreeze is made from a substance called ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is actually metabolized in plants, but how? Plants have a hormone called ethylene. It is a very important and very strange due to its gaseous state. Inside plant cells, it is turned into ethylene glycol where it is broken down again. People believe it cannot harm a plant because it is already present in its cell, but that is false. Ethylene glycol does not regulate or stimulate growth and is deadly in large doses (How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants?, 202). There are some known effects of antifreeze that affect more than plants. If antifreeze is poured into a stream, it could affect more than a couple of organisms. First off, it lowers oxygen levels in the water. This kills the aquatic life that is present. Animals that live in this area will be drawn to the antifreeze s sweet taste (Antifreeze FAQ s, 202). The antifreeze will go with the water through the water cycle which means it could end up in the groundwater. If it is not treated, anyone may drink it. Also, it starts to affect the plants that take up the water with the antifreeze.

5 4 Though different plants need to absorb different amounts of antifreeze before the plants die, it has been shown that the plants all display similar symptoms. The antifreeze will first stunt the growth of the plants. Then, the antifreeze will slow down or even stop the plant s reproductive cycle. Finally, the plants will die (Does Antifreeze Affect Plant Growth?, 202). Another reason why it is so deadly is because it dissolves into the water. This changes the solute concentration to a much thicker solute. This makes it harder for the plants to get water for transporting nutrients (How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants?, 202). There have been some biologists who have seen the importance of this experiment and taken action. One experiment is testing the effects on poplar trees. The biologist documented that the trees suffered a 28% decrease in growth when the groundwater had 0 grams of antifreeze in each liter of water (Does Antifreeze Affect Plant Growth?, 202). Poplar trees were tested by another biologist and that biologist recorded that the trees exhibited lower levels of stem growth (How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants?, 202). Another experiment was conducted with small potted plant, Arabidopsis Thaliana. These plants suffered a 50% decline when they were watered with 40 grams per liter (Does Antifreeze Affect Plant Growth?, 202). It was also recorded that the plants had a severe reduction in root growth when the antifreeze was as low as 0 grams per liter. Other plants such as radishes, lettuce, ryegrasses, and a few others have been tested. They also display the same symptoms (How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants?, 202). When conducting an experiment, one must know what category of science it is, so they know where to publish the results. This experiment falls under biology. Biology is

6 5 the study of life and this project is all about life, too. It shows osmosis, how plants grow, the water cycle, and many other things that can be related to biology. The purpose of this experiment is to study the effects antifreeze has on plants. It seems to be under researched and under tested, so another experiment was needed. People need to know the facts about what they are doing to the environment. The experiment will include Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant, Shultz Seed Starter Plus, and Gaillardias. The results have already been made about the outcome due to the research. If you water one plant with ½ cup of water and water four plants with either ½ teaspoon, teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, or 2 teaspoons of Zerex Original Antifreeze/Coolant in addition to ½ cup of water every other day, then the plant that receives just water and the plant that receives water and a ½ teaspoon of antifreeze will be the only plants that will grow throughout the experiment.

7 6 Materials & Procedures If a scientist would want to test the effects of antifreeze on plants, then there is a simple, yet helpful experiment. First, the scientist would need to gather all the equipment need (See A). This would be five pots or any container that can hold plants, three packs of Gaillardia seeds, measuring cup with cups and teaspoons, Shultz Seed Starter Plus potting soil, Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant, and a notebook to record data. It is important to remember that antifreeze is very deadly and should be used with caution. After gathering the materials, label one pot as Plant A, one pot as Plant B, one pot as Plant C, one pot at Plant D, and one pot as Plant E. Next, fill each pot with ten to twelve seeds and Shultz Seed Starter Plus. Approximately, the same amount of potting soil should be used for every pot. The fourth step is to water each plant with ½ cup of water. This will be repeated every other day. The second to last step is the dangerous one. Each plant will now be watered with its necessary amount of antifreeze every other day. Plant A is watered with no antifreeze. Plant B is watered with a ½ teaspoon of antifreeze. Plant C is watered with teaspoon of antifreeze. Plant D is watered with ½ teaspoon of antifreeze. Plant E is watered with 2 teaspoon. When pouring the antifreeze in the pots, make sure you pour it everywhere, not just in one spot. Also, any additional antifreeze should be put back into the bottle or disposed of properly. Data should be taken and recorded every single day (See A2).

8 7 Results At the end of the experiment, the final results were recorded. Plant A, the control, grew throughout the entire experiment. It never slowed or stoppped. Plant B started growing at the same time as Plant A and it grow two sprouts. On 2, it was discovered that Plant B had died. Plant C started growing with the other two plants too, but it died on 2 with Plant B. It seemed to take seven days for the antifreeze to affect the Gaillardia at that amount of antifreeze. Plant D and Plant E never started growing. John McDoland, a biologist at Georgia Tech, helped this experimenter understand some of the results that could happen (See A3). One of his predications came true, but the hypothesis was proven false. However, the experiment proves that antifreeze has a negative affect on plants. The affects start to take place later than this experimenter hypothesized.

9 8 s (Plant A) 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 2 Sprouts 7 2 Sprouts 8 3 Sprouts 9 3 Sprouts 0 3 Sprouts 4 Sprouts 2 4 Sprouts 3 4 Sprouts 4 5 Sprouts 5 5 Sprouts 6 6 Sprouts 7 6 Sprouts 8 6 Sprouts 9 7 Sprouts 20 8 Sprouts 2 8 Sprouts 22 9 Sprouts 23 0 Sprouts s (Plant C) 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 Sprout 7 Sprout 8 Sprout 9 Sprout 0 Sprout Sprout 2 Sprout 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 0 Sprouts 7 0 Sprouts 8 0 Sprouts 9 0 Sprouts 20 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 22 0 Sprouts 23 0 Sprouts s (Plant B) 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 Sprout 7 Sprout 8 2 Sprouts 9 2 Sprouts 0 2 Sprouts 2 Sprouts 2 2 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 0 Sprouts 7 0 Sprouts 8 0 Sprouts 9 0 Sprouts 20 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 22 0 Sprouts 23 0 Sprouts s (Plant D) 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 0 Sprouts 7 0 Sprouts 8 0 Sprouts 9 0 Sprouts 0 0 Sprouts 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 0 Sprouts 7 0 Sprouts 8 0 Sprouts 9 0 Sprouts 20 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 22 0 Sprouts 23 0 Sprouts

10 9 s (Plant E) 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 0 Sprouts 7 0 Sprouts 8 0 Sprouts 9 0 Sprouts 0 0 Sprouts 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 3 0 Sprouts 4 0 Sprouts 5 0 Sprouts 6 0 Sprouts 7 0 Sprouts 8 0 Sprouts 9 0 Sprouts 20 0 Sprouts 2 0 Sprouts 22 0 Sprouts 23 0 Sprouts These are all my charts from throughout the experiment. As you can see, Plant D and E showed no sign of growth. My control continued to grow throught the entire experiment. Plant B and C were both starting to grow, but at day 2, they both died (Plant A) 4 2 (Plant A)

11 Effects of Antifreeze on Plants (Plant B) (Plant B).2 (Plant C) (Plant C) (Plant D) (Plant D)

12 (Plant E) (Plant E) These are all the line graphs for every individual plant. Plant A continues increasing throughout the experiment. It stays constant for a little bit. Plant B starts with an increase, but shows how it quickly declined. The same thing happened with Plant C. It did not have as big of an increase, but after staying the same for six days, it went back to 0 again. Plant D and E had no growth at all, so they remained on 0 the entire time (Plant A) (Plant B) (Plant C) (Plant D) (Plant E) This graph shows how all the plants compare to one another.

13 2 Conclusion/Discussion At the end of my experiment, my hypothesis was proven false. I hypothesized that Plant A and Plant B would grow throughout the entire the experiment. This was not the case. Plant A did grow the entire experiment, but not Plant B. It started to grow, but died. My prediction is that too much ethylene glycol reached the plant s seeds and it died. My research said that too much ethylene glycol is deadly (How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants, 202), but I thought that the little amount would not affect it. Obviously, those little amounts of antifreeze add up. I did not expect that Plant C would grow at all, but it proved otherwise. The other two plants did not grow at all, but that was not surprising because a lot of antifreeze was going into that small area and few seeds. The results could have been swayed by a few events that happened throughout the experiment. During the time I conducted the experiment, fall had just started. It was a little colder than the needed temperature to grow plants. Also, it rained a couple days of my experiment. I m afraid the plants might have gotten too much water on some days when they should not have. To fix these problems, the experiment could be conducted inside where it is a controlled environment. Also, more plants should be used. Therefore, more results and data would be collected. Other plants could also be tested, so there would be more research for the public to see the effects of antifreeze. Another way to get more data is to use different types of antifreeze. In this experiment, Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant was used. Would the results change if we used Prestone? What is we used sunflowers or another plant? Are there areas that may be affected by antifreeze that can be studied? These unanswered questions need to be tested in future experiments.

14 3 Overall, I reached the same conclusion as with the experiments with the poplar trees and Arabidopsis Thaliana (Does Antifreeze Affect Plant Growth?, 202). Antifreeze does not have good affects. It is killing many plants daily; with the environment already being affected by fossil fuels and global warming increasing daily, antifreeze is not helping. All antifreeze companies have to meet certain qualifications. The company that sells Zerex says it is, patented low silicate formula that uses the highest quality virgin ethylene glycol, but it does not mention anything about whether or not it is good for the environment (Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant, 200). Zerex also meets the ASTM specifications (Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant, 20). If it meets all of these qualifications, then I believe the qualifications should be changed. I have learned that antifreeze has negative effects, so perhaps our standards should be raised. Also, people should be notified about how damaging some misplaced antifreeze may be. That little bit of antifreeze that is poured outside may affect tons of autotrophs or the nearby animals.

15 4 References Antifreeze FAQ's. (202). Retrieved from: Does Antifreeze Affect Plant Growth? (202). Retrieved from: How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants? (202). Retrieved from: Paiz, J. M., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Keck, R. (202). Reference List: Author/Authors. Retrieved from: Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant. (20). Retrieved from: Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant. (200). Retrieved from:

16 5 Appendix Materials (A) Five pots or any container that a plant could grow in Three packs of Gaillardia seeds A measuring cup (Needs measurements in cups and teaspoons) Shultz Seed Starter potting soil Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant (Antifreeze is a deadly chemical. It should be disposed of properly and not poured out onto the ground.) A notebook to record data The independent variable is the amount of antifreeze put on each plant. The dependent variable is the amount the plant grows. Procedures (A2) ) Gather the materials and label the containers to prevent confusion. The plant that receives that receives ½ cup of water and no antifreeze is labeled Plant A (the control), the plant that receives ½ cup of water and ½ teaspoon of antifreeze is labeled Plant B, the plant that receives ½ cup of water and one teaspoon of antifreeze is labeled Plant C, the plant that receives ½ cup of water and ½ teaspoon of antifreeze is labeled Plant D, and the plant that receives ½ cup of water and two teaspoons of antifreeze is labeled Plant E.

17 6 2) Put ten to twelve seeds with the Shultz Seed Starter potting soil in each container. The same amount of dirt should be used for each container. 3) Water every plant with ½ cup of water. This will be repeated every other day. 4) Water Plant B with ½ teaspoon of antifreeze. 5) Water Plant C with one teaspoon of antifreeze. 6) Water Plant D with ½ of antifreeze. 7) Water Plant E with two teaspoons of antifreeze. 8) Repeat step three through seven every two days. 9) Record and take pictures when change occurs. s (A3) From: "Becky Perry" <wadeandbecky@att.net> To: "john mcdonald" <john.mcdonald@biology.gatech.edu>, "jeffrey skolnick" <jeffrey.skolnick@biology.gatech.edu> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 202 7:9:59 PM Subject: I need help on a project. Please Help!!! Hi, I'm a 9th grader from THE Paulding County High School. I have to do an experiment for my honors biology class. One of the requirements was to a professional to get there opinion. My project is the effect of different amounts of antifreeze on plant growth. I have my controll plant that i water with /2 cup of water every two days. I also have four other plants that are watered with either /2 tsp, tsp, /2 tsp, or 2 tsp and /2 cup of water every two days. My hypothesis is that the plant that receives water and the plant that receives /2 tsp of antifreeze and /2 cup of water will grow in my two month experiment. I figured that the /2 tsp of antifreeze would be diluted with water, so the plant would still be able to grow. I would greatly appreciate your opinion on what you think will happen and what you think of my experiment. Also, if you could think of any other experiments similar to mine, it would be very helpful :) Thank you and have a great day! :)

18 7 This is John s response. Becky, You should not confuse your hypothesis with your guess as to what will happen in the experiment(s). From what you have described, you hypotheses might be. Plant growth is negatively affected by antifreeze in the environment. 2. That there is a threshold concentration of antifreeze that must be passed before negative effects on plant growth will occur. 3. Antifreeze has no effect on plant growth. Next ask yourself what would be your predictions of your experiments based on each of these hypotheses. If your experiments are inconsistent with one or more of your predictions, you have falsified your hypothesis-i.e., proven it is false. Sounds like a good experiment. Good luck. JM