Plants and pH

The purpose of this project is to find out what kind of plants grow on our school campus. By testing the pH of the soil around certain plants we can better understand what kinds of plants our campus is suited for. It can also give us more insight on what can cause our campus plants to grow best. Digging around the plant, taking soil samples, and using a pH probe to find the pH of campus plants is can tell us whether or campus is the best environment for the plant to grow.

Procedure: 1. Find a plant around the campus. 2. Scrape the first inch of dirt off and take 3 soil samples from various places around the plant. 3. Once in the lab weigh out 3g of each soil sample. 4. Next using a graduated cylinder measure out 80mL of distilled water, then dump the distilled water into a beaker. 5. Add the 3g of soil to the water and mix completely for 1min using a stirring rod.

6. Spread a filter over the mouth of a funnel. 7. Take out a second beaker and put the funnel in it. 8. After the 1min of stirring, pour the soil water solution into the funnel with the filter. 9. Wait and let the water filter through so the dirt is left behind. 10. Continue until the entire solution is filtered into the second beaker. 11. Take the strained soil water solution and use the pH probe to test the pH. 12. Let the probe close in on the number then continue this process with the other two samples. 13. Record data

Soil Sample pHs:

Soil sample #1- 6.98

Soil sample #2-7.28

Soil sample #3-7.48

We tested the pH levels for the yucca filamentosa, commonly called Adams needle and is part of the Agavaceae family, and is used for medicinal purposes. The preferred pH of the yucca filamentosa is neutral to slightly alkaline which pH ranges from 6.6-7.8. The average pH of the soil samples we tested is 7.24. Some factors that can change the pH of the soil on campus are sunlight, water, fertilization and over population of plants. The over population of plants can cause the area to be sucked dry of nutrients and change the pH of the area. If we were to change pH of the soil of the area we would add more water and use a plant fertilizer to add nutrients to the area around the plant. Problems we encountered during this lab was waiting for the pH probe to zero out and separating the fine soil from the rocks and sand. In order to improve our results we would have dug down deeper into the ground and got less rocks, and we would have got our soil samples farther spaced apart for better results.