Vertical Garden
For this project, we used our knowledge of the chemical properties of water to create a more effective vertical garden. It was a cheap and water efficient vertical garden.
Presentation
Blueprint
Concepts
Polarity- Water molecules have a difference in electronegativity between the oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is very electronegative, so it pulls hydrogen electrons towards it. The polarity of water makes it a good solvent.
Adhesion- Water molecules are attracted to other surfaces. Our design catches water on the roof, because water has this property.
Cohesion- Water molecules are attracted to each other. The oxygen molecule from one water molecule is attracted to the hydrogen of another. Water is pulled up from the roots of a plant to the leaves by evaporating water.
Photosynthesis- Plants need water, sunlight, and Co2 to produce glucose. We designed a vertical garden that gave the plants a supply of all of these. We also kept in mind that oxygen would be produced more than it would be consumed, so there is an opening for the oxygen byproduct. We used the balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O + Light energy = C6H12O6 + O2.
Adhesion- Water molecules are attracted to other surfaces. Our design catches water on the roof, because water has this property.
Cohesion- Water molecules are attracted to each other. The oxygen molecule from one water molecule is attracted to the hydrogen of another. Water is pulled up from the roots of a plant to the leaves by evaporating water.
Photosynthesis- Plants need water, sunlight, and Co2 to produce glucose. We designed a vertical garden that gave the plants a supply of all of these. We also kept in mind that oxygen would be produced more than it would be consumed, so there is an opening for the oxygen byproduct. We used the balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O + Light energy = C6H12O6 + O2.
Reflection
This project was fun and a great learning experience. My team communicated our project well with an organized presentation. We practiced a lot and made sure we all knew how to explain each slide. We also thought of what questions might be asked and added that information to the presentation. The price, for example, was one of these add ons. I'm also proud of our curiosity. We had to do a lot of research on plants, especially how they absorb water through chelation. My team and I were conscientious learners, embracing the challenge. We weren't too overwhelmed and it payed off. We do, however, need to improve our critical thinking. We started to design turbines that could harness wave energy, but switched later to learn more chemistry and biology. We should have thought about what we wanted from the project before committing to an idea. I personally need to improve my character during school projects. I found myself taking shortcuts during the creative process. For example, I didn't do enough early research to get enough feedback from another group during the initial feedback sessions. If we did more early research, we would have probably changed our goal quicker and saved time for our final goal. I learned from this project to be a better student.