Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

Technical Report / 389

Welte, page 4

by Frequency and Volume.) The plants were misted with water with a relative pH value to simu-

late light rain or dew.

After 30, 42, and 55 days from January 7, the bulb’s leaf growth was measured. A meter

stick was used to measure the leaf length from the bulb to the top of the longest stem. These

measurements were recorded.

The simulated acid precipitation was produced by using distilled water in three separate

containers in which concentrated sulfuric acid (HSO) was added to produce the desired pH

value. No sulfuric acid was added to the pH 7 water. The solutions were mixed; then the pH

reading was taken using a calibrated pH meter.

If the pH reading was too high or too low, the solution was either diluted or subjected to

more acid to obtain the desired pH 4 or pH 5 value.

DATA ANALYSIS

The following graphs illustrate the growth patterns and comparisons of each type of bulb

as measured after 30, 42, and 55 days of growth. All growth was measured and averages were

calculated to arrive at a mean height of the growth in the three different pH-value sets. (The

data supporting these graphs appear in Appendix B.)

Taking all bulbs into consideration, those watered with the pH 5 solution produced the

greatest height and appeared most hearty on the dates measured. However, the daffodils

showed a deviation from the norm and produced the greatest height and appeared most

hearty when watered with a pH 7 solution.