Student Research Reports

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In this project, we hoped to discover how certain household items change soil pH. In doing this experiment, we aimed to give a better understanding of pH to people like groundskeepers and gardeners, to whom it would benefit to be able to understand how to change soil pH without needing to purchase additional equipment or materials. We hypothesized that the addition of eggshells and baking soda would increase soil pH, while Epsom salts and pine needles would decrease it. In our experiment, we put five cups filled with the same amount of soil but different additives onto a windowsill. We watered each cup until the end of the week, when we measured the final soil pH and compared it to the constant pH to see how each additive affected the soil pH. We found that while the pine needles and eggshells did not affect the pH, Epsom salts decreased the pH, and the baking soda increased the pH, which is what we hypothesized. Through our data, our hypothesis was supported, and our research backed what our experiment found.