Treating Pea Plants with different concentrations of Potassium Acetate

Potassium acetate can be prepared by treating a potassium-containing base such as potassium hydroxide or potassium carbonate with acetic acid through the following reaction: CH3COOH + KOH → CH3CO2K + H2O. We choose potassium acetate to treat our plants with, for several reasons. First of all, this salt is totally soluble in water through following reaction: KCH3COO (s) → K+ (aq) + CH3COO- (aq). Also, potassium acetate is used as a catalyst in the production of polyurethanes. Potassium acetate can be used as a deicer instead of chloride salts such as calcium chloride or magnesium chloride. It offers the advantage of being less aggressive on soils and much less corrosive, and for this reason is preferred for airport runways. It is, however, more expensive. Potassium acetate is also the extinguishing agent used in class K fire extinguishers because of its ability to cool and form a crust over burning oils. Moreover, Potassium is found in low concentration in plasma and extracellular fluids. It is the chief cation of body cells, and is concerned with the maintenance of the body fluid composition and electrolyte balance. The major amount of potassium is excreted in the urine. Therefore, the kidney normally determines potassium balance. The acetate ion is completely metabolized in the body, providing a source of hydrogen ion acceptors. Therefore, according to all of the reasons above and so much more, we choose KCH3COO to see its effects on our pea plants. Besides, we have to discover the effects of Potassium acetate on our ecosystem since we are producing it in many ways. Our hypothesis is, as we increase the concentration of potassium acetate, pea plants will grow faster.
• Method: Materials we used: 6 small flower pots, Water, Potting soil, Sharpie, Hand shovel, 6 pea seeds that have been sprouted, Measuring cup, Tablespoon, Ruler, Strainer.
We tested our hypothesis by, treating the pea plants with potassium acetate (KCH3COO), potassium salt of acetic acid, for 5 times during 2 weeks. We divided our 20 pea plants into 4 groups, which contain 5 pea plants each. One group was our control, which treated 5 times during our experiment with 5ml of DIH2O. Our three other groups were treated with different concentrations of KCH3COO, 0.4g/ml, 0.2g/ml and 0.1g/ml also for 5 times during our experiment. Besides, the heights of our pea plants were recorded for 5 times during our experiment.
Our control variables are, type of plant, amount of water or Potassium Acetate given to the plants, amount of time that each plant has to grow, the size of the flower pot, the amount of soil putted into each flower pot. Our independent variable is, what the plants are being treated with (Potassium Acetate). Or dependent variable is, how tall the pea plants grow. Our experimental control is, the four water-grown pea plants.
• Result:
Pea plants that we treated with higher concentration of potassium acetate grew faster. For instance, the pea plant’s height, were treated with .1g/ml of potassium acetate, measured as 4.2cm in the first day, and 4.9cm at the end of our experiment. Also, the pea plant’s height, were treated with .2g/ml of potassium acetate, measured as 4.4cm in the first day, and 5.5cm at the end of our experiment. However, the pea plant’s height, were treated with .4g/ml of potassium acetate, measured as 4.3cm in the first day, and 5.9cm at the end of our experiment. Moreover, the length of our control pea plant measured as 4.3cm in the first day and 4.8cm at the end of our experiment.