Lab Write Up--Radish Seeds

986 Words4 Pages
Introduction Hair spray is used every day by people all around the world. It is widely known that it is a common cosmetic product that people use to keep hair stiff or in a certain style. Most hair sprays are in an aerosol can, and contain many harmful chemicals. Today, hairspray is made up of polyvinylpyrrolidine, polydimethylsiloxane, and copolymers with vinyl acetate and maleic anhydride (Cheesman, 1975). The question asked for this experiment was at what concentration these harmful chemicals in hairspray would have an effect on plant growth, specifically Wisconsin fast plant radish seeds. It was previously found that concentration of a contaminant in a plant is determined by its equilibrium with its concentration in the soil interstitial water (Chiou, 2001). So, for this experiment, hairspray was mixed with water at a 5%, 10% and 15% concentration before the solutions were added to the plant containers. The growth of each seed was compared to the growth of the control plant that was indulged in only water. The hypothesis for this experiment was that the higher the concentration of hairspray added to the plant, the bigger the effect, and therefore the least amount of growth. It was figured that if the seeds that were contaminated with 15% concentration of hairspray grew the least and the 5% concentration grew the most (besides the control group), then the hypothesis would be accepted and the contaminant would have a trusted effect on the radish seeds. Methods To start the experiment students gathered four plastic plant pots that were 3.5 inches in diameter, filled each with provided soil up to about one inch from the top. 20 seeds of Wisconsin fast plant (radish seeds) were added to each pot of soil. The pots were labeled: control, 5%, 10%, and 15%. The students then measured out 5%, 10%, and 15% of contaminant (aquanet hairspray). To make the 5%

More about Lab Write Up--Radish Seeds

Open Document