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Green Detergent? |
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Green Detergent? |
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The experiment that we chose to do was called “Green Detergents?” The purpose of the experiment was to determine which type of brand name dish washing detergent or homemade solution had the least effect upon our environment, namely the plants.
We predicted that the homemade solution that consisted of hand soap and water would have the least effect on our planet because the soap that we used in the solution contained less chemicals and enzymes than the brand name detergents contained such as sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, which can cause water pollution and is toxic to humans, and sodium lauryl sulphate, which may irritate human skin and potentially harm the environment. Out of the brand name detergents, we predicted that the Dawn detergent would have the worst effect on the plants because it contained extra chemicals so that the detergent can fight grease and bacteria more easily. It contained cyclohexanediamine, and fragrance, which we learned from Doctors, refers to sodium and carbon.
The materials that we used were 15 grass samples, Dawn Detergent, Ivory Detergent, Palmolive Detergent, soap, water, a stirring stick for stirring the solutions, small medicine cups for pouring the detergent, and egg cartons for holding the grass.
The Experiment had 13 steps. First, take the 15 plants and put them in the egg cartons. Then, split and label the 15 plants into 5 groups with 3 in each group: Set Dawn, Set Palmolive, Set Ivory, Set Soap, and the Control Set. Then, put them in a well lit area. Give the plants at least 3 days to adjust to the new environment before you start the experiments. Then, measure out 3 mL of the Dawn detergent and mix it with 2 mL of cold water. Then pour the mixture into plant A of the Dawn Set. Then repeat steps 5 and 6 for plants B and C. Then, repeat steps 5, 6, and 7 for the other 2 detergents. Then, take 2 mL of water and mix it with 3 mL of soap. Next, mix the soap and water using the stirring stick, and pour it into plant A of the Soap Set. Then, repeat step 9 and 10 for the other plants of the Soap Set. For the Control set, just water all 3 plants with 5 mL of water each. Finally, repeat steps 5 to 12 everyday for 4 weeks or until all the plants die.
After our experimentation, we concluded that the homemade soap solution actually did the most harm to the plants. The detergents slowed the growth of the plants and caused them to become dry, twisted, and gnarled. However, the soap caused some of the plants to absorb so many chemicals that they died. We also concluded that the Dawn detergent did the least damage because the plants, out of the detergent plants, were in the best condition. In comparison to the control set, the grass was actually thicker and looked stronger, but was short and had some brown colour to it.