STRENGTH OF PLANT FIBRES

FOR QUESTION 1

(Describe) an experiment to investigate the effect of {any

chemical / solution / alcohol / acid / alkali, eg- NaOH / acid, eg-
or HCl} concentration on the tensile strength of {any
named type of fibre/ fibre/ plant fibre} :
Collect stems of {the named plant in Q/ a single plant/ sisal/
celery} and soak them in a bucket of water for about a week.
After the soaking period, extract the fibres from the stems.
Prepare a range (of 6) concentrations of {solution/acid/alkali as in
the question} 0.1%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 8% and 10%, and transfer them
to tubes with their concentrations labelled. Make sure that the
volume of the solution remains same.
Place each of the tubes in thermostatically controlled waterbaths
(to control the temperature) at 50 degree Celsius.
Soak the plant fibres into the {alcohol/alkali/acid/whatever
mentioned in question} solutions (atleast 10 fibres in each tube)
and leave them for an hour.
Then, dry the fibres and connect a fibre (from a
concentration/tube) between 2 clamp stands and gradually add
mass in the middle until the fibre snaps.
Measure the mass each fibre can withstand/hold, before it snaps.
This will give the Tensile Strength of the fibre. The more the
tensile strength, the strong the fibre is. Repeat this step for the
other fibres at other concentrations.
 Repeat the overall procedure for the same concentrations, to
calculate mean results

Independent variable : The mass each fibre can hold/withstand

(the tensile strength)
Dependent Variable: {Alcohol/acid/alkali/any solution used or
given in the question} concentration

Variables that {need to be controlled/could affect this

investigation}, how the variables could be controlled, and if not
controlled then what effect it would have on the result:
1) . Length of fibre
. Use a metre rule to cut the fibres to an equal length
. Longer fibres can withstand more weight compared to shorter
ones. So the result will not be reliable if the fibres are of different
lengths

2) . Cross-sectional area of the fibre.

. Ensure that the fibres have the same cross-sectional area by
using a micrometer.
. Fibres with greater cross-sectional area will have greater
strength (they can hold more weights, and so they have greater
tensile strength). The result will therefore be unreliable.

3) . pH of the solution
. To control the pH, use a buffer solution with the same pH (eg- 7)
in each solution tube.
. Variability in pH (more or less than optimal value) may cause the
fibres to break easily as the pH may disrupt its cellular structures.
4) . Soaking time
. Use a stopwatch to keep trace of the time the fibres are soaked
in the solutions and to set a fixed time for all.
. More or less soaking time may weaken or strengthen the fibres.
The result will therefore not be reliable/valid.
 For Question 3
Effect of Conc. Of (solutions/liqs) on Fibre Strength

Safety and Ethical Issues:

The safety issues that need to be considered are:
The {alkali/acid/solution used as you are asked in question}
may cause irritation/allergic reactions (so use hand gloves
and wear lab coat)
The weights must be handled carefully, as there are chances
of getting hurt if they fall on the feet (so wear safety shoes)
Sharp instruments are used to cut the fibres, so there are
chances of getting cut/injured
There are no significant ethical issues, except that the plant stems
should not be cut excessively (without need)

Suggestions for preliminary work that you might undertake to

ensure your proposed method would provide meaningful data:
To ensure the provision of meaningful data
Conduct a practice of the proposed method and see if it
works.
Carry out experiments to find appropriate concentrations of
{alcohol/acid/alkali whatever u want to use/ as given in
question}
Identify suitable conditions for retting
Identify suitable timescale for soaking of the fibres
Determine the suitable method of extracting fibres
 A detailed method, including an explanation of how important
variables are to be controlled or monitored:

The independent variable in this investigation is the concentration

of the {alkali-NaOH/acid-HCl/solution as in question}, and the
dependent variable is the mass a fibre can hold or withstand.
Collect stems of {the named plant in Q/ a single plant/
sisal/ celery} and soak them in a bucket of water for about a
week.
After the soaking period, extract the fibres from the stems.
Prepare a range (of 6) concentrations of {solution/acid/alkali as in
the question} 0.1%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 8% and 10%, and transfer them
to tubes with their concentrations labelled. Make sure that the
volume of the solution remains same. Place each of the tubes in
thermostatically controlled waterbaths (to control the
temperature) at 50 degree Celsius.
Soak the plant fibres into the {alcohol/alkali/acid/whatever
mentioned in question} solutions (atleast 10 fibres in each tube)
and leave them for an hour.
During the course of the experiment, make sure that the
variables that could affect the tensile strength/ fibre strength are
controlled. Some of these are-
Length of the fibre (Use a metre rule to cut the fibres to an
equal length).
Cross-sectional area of the fibre (Ensure that the fibres have
the same cross-sectional area by using a micrometer).
pH of the solution (To control the pH, use a buffer solution
with the same pH, eg- 7, in each solution tube).
 Time of soaking (Use a stopwatch to keep trace of the time
the fibres are soaked in the solutions and to set a fixed time
for all).
After the soaking period, dry the fibres and connect a fibre (from
a concentration/tube) between 2 clamp stands and gradually add
mass in the middle until the fibre snaps. Measure the mass each
fibre can withstand/hold, before it snaps. This will also give the
Tensile Strength of the fibre. The more the tensile strength, the
strong the fibre is. Do this for all the fibres at different
concentrations.
Repeat the overall procedure atleast 2 more times for the same
concentrations, to calculate mean results.

Clear explanation of how data to be recorded, presented and

analysed in order to draw conclusions from investigation:

Concentration of Maximum mass the fibre can hold (g)

{alcohol/acid/alkali/ 1 2 3 Mean
sol. In Q.} (%)
0.1%
1%
2%
5%
8%
10%
 Maximum mass
fibres can hold (g)

Concentration of
{alcohol/acid/alkali as in Q} (%)

Record the mass the fibres can withstand after treatment with each
{alcohol/acid/alkali/sol as in Q} conc. and then calculate the mean
results from the repeated readings. Put up the data in a table such as
the one above.
To represent the data graphically, plot a graph of max. mass fibres can
hold against the concentrations of {solutions/alkali/alcohol}.
X axis Conc. of {alcohol/acid/alkali as in Q} (%)
Y-axis maximum mass fibres can hold (g)
A suitable statistical test to be used in this investigation to analyze the
data is the Spearmans Rank correlation test.

Limitations of the proposed method:

It is difficult to control all the variables that could affect the
tensile strength of the fibres/DV (such as- humidity, plant
mineral composition)
It is difficult to determine the snapping point of the fibres
Any other factor may be acting as a limiting factor to the
strength of fibres
It is require to conduct the experiment with more types of
fibres/plants.