I need to design an experiment to test the effects of air pollution on plants. And I need to Include a control. Any ideas??
2006-10-01 11:46:44 · 6 answers · asked by Josh 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
i don't agree with i_luv_ba at all. the things we keep the same in each experimental set up (e.g. kind of plant, amount of water, potting mix, grown in pots with a plastic bag over the top, etc) are called "controlled variables", not "a control".
A control is what you're going to compare all of your results to:
e.g. a plant grown in a bell jar / plastic bag with NO AIR POLLUNTANTS! This will enable you to compare it with the others.
Here's how I'd set it up:
3 plants (same size, potting mix, species, pots)
3 clear plastic bags
water
water each plant 250mls a day.
Have each plant pot sealed into a plastic bag.
Fill the bag of one plant with car fumes twice a day
Fill the bag of another with aerosol twice a day
Do not fill the bag of the third plant with anything (except clean air)
Leave for a week or two, filling bags each day.
2006-10-01 16:09:40 · answer #1 · answered by loki 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a control is something that stays the same in all of your experiments.
Some ideas might be the type of soil you use, amount of water added, amount of sunlight. Basically you want to use everything the same so that the only difference in your experiment is the air pollution.
You CAN have more than one control in an experiment. And when you write up your lab you will want to list out what you controlled and most likely during the experiment you will see something you should have controlled. You will list that too in the discussion. Good Luck!
2006-10-01 19:52:36 · answer #2 · answered by i_luv_vball21 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well you could have plant a, b, c. Plant a would have a chemical such as a bathroom spray. Spray about 3 times, B will have the fresh air with no pollution, C will have no air or no pollution
2006-10-01 18:56:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What silverbir said above, but your control has to be in a bell jar too -- for your control, pump in plain old air.
You'll need to keep the same humidity in all the bell jars (including the control). Some pollutants are carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulfuric acid. Good luck.
2006-10-01 19:03:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put the growing plants in a bell jar. then you could add different amounts of gasses to each one, increasing CO2, N2, CO etc etc. Leave one plant open to the air as your control.
2006-10-01 18:51:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you get to the space lab. i'll send you detailed instructions
2006-10-01 18:53:48 · answer #6 · answered by old man 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋