Site:
http://collaboratory.nunet.net/timber/scifair/kindto4/18.htm
Grade Category: Elementary
Subject Category: Chemistry
Sub Category: Snow
How Do Chemicals Used to Melt Snow and Ice
on Sidewalks and Roads Affect Plants Like
Grass?
by Amy R. and Micky S.
Hypothesis
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The only one that will live, is the one with plain water. The rest
will die.
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Materials
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- Four plants,
- four pots,
- Evanston road salt,
- table salt,
- store bought salt,
- water,
- four jugs,
- camera,
- grass seed,
- and a measuring cup.
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Procedure
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- First, we planted grass seed in the four pots.
- Then we melted 1 cup of each of the three salts into three jugs,
and put plain water in the remaining jug.
- After that, we watered each plant with regular water.
- Then after the plants started growing (which took about a week)
we started watering them with their special water from the jugs.
- Then we took pictures of the plants.
- Now we will continue to water them and take pictures.
- We water them with half of a cup of special water on Wednesdays
and Sundays and some times every other week if necessary.
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Results
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Pot #1 was watered with plain water. The grass is
green and alive. The pot looks fine.
Pot #2 was watered with Evanston road salt. It is
mostly dead. It is light greenish with some yellowish brown in it. The pot is
a little more than half covered with salt.
Pot #3 was watered with Safe step ice melter(store
bought salt). The grass a little bit of green, but it is almost all light
brown and dead.The whole pot is covered with salt.
Pot #4 was watered with Morton iodized salt (table
salt). looks pretty dead to me.It is light yellow with some brown here and
there. The pot is not quite one fourth covered with salt.
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Conclusion
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They almost all died except the one that was watered with plain water.
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