EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE – JOHN WOODNORTH (Due 25/5/12) Hypothesis: Background: When we were at Taupo in the Christmas holidays some friends were cleaning their tent with Sunlight washing detergent, then shortly afterwards the grass around the tent was dead. This made me ask questions: Was it the sunlight soap that killed the grass and if it did was it because the mixture was too strong? Would an ‘eco-friendly’ brand of dishwashing liquid cause the same results? The results of answering these questions will be useful because we can then tell people: Whether cleaning their tent with detergent will damage their grass; If they camping whether one of the two detergents I have tested is better for using for their dishes when they through the used dishwater away; and If people clean their car on the grass with dishwashing liquid then it might damage their grass. Hypothesis question: If I apply dishwashing liquid to healthy grass it will it damage or kill the grass? Planning a Fair Test:

Experimental Procedure – plan I will be testing does Sunlight dishwashing liquid affect the grass? The thing that I will change is the dishwashing liquid. I will change the strength of the dishwashing/water liquid and also the type of dishwashing liquid. The things that will stay the same will be: the same temperature of water mixed with the dishwashing liquid; the same patch of grass; time of applying the different dishwashing liquid mixtures; the amount of mixture applied; and the time of observations. Step by Step Guide to Performing the Experiment First I will by the two types of dishwashing liquid, one will be Sunlight dishwashing liquid, and other will be a ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ brand; I will then select the patch of green healthy grass on which to do the experiment; I will build a wooden grid of 9 equal boxes to divide up the spaces for applying 3 different strengths of 2 types of liquid, and 3 control samples of grass to compare the effects of applying the variable liquids. Each box in the grid will measure 25cm x 25cm; I will label each grid with the type and strength; I will check the weather forecast to make sure it is not going to rain on my experiment; I will go to the test site with a bucket of water and measuring cups; I am going to apply 3 strengths of each liquid in the same amount of 200mls each to each 25x25 square of grass. The 3 strengths will be: undiluted; then a medium mixture of dishwashing liquid to water (10 mls dishwash liquid to 200mls water) we will mix this up in a measuring jug from the kitchen the pour on each grid. I will then apply a weak mixture of 5 mls dishwash liquid to 200 mls water. I will clean out the measuring cup between each application; Then I will observe any changes and photograph the grids at the following time intervals: straight after; 1 hour after application; 2 hours after; 4 hours after and then the next day at 9:00 (or earlier if that day is a school day) I will measure the results by making visual observations and carefully time photographs. I am planning to undertake the experiment once.

Research Report:

Research Report:

I looked up an interesting article called ‘Quantifying the Impact of Car Washing on Water Quality and Assessing Simple Treatment Strategies’. It focused on reducing the amount damage to the waterways from the toxins in waste water from car washing water. In their experiments the used Sunlight soap to wash cars. After their experiments they recommended washing cars on grass so the grass will work very well as a filter and stop the bad toxins getting into the waterway. BUT they do not say anything about the effect of the Sunlight soap or other car washing liquid on your lawn. 

I looked at the Material Safety Data Sheet for Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid issued by Diversey Ltd (USA) in the [dated 2 August 2011] to see what environmental impacts to see what might be relevant to my experiment. Interestingly it states “No data available”  which is not very useful for people wanting to know if it affects their grass.

I also looked at the Material Safety Data Sheet for Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid issued by  Pental Products PTY Ltd (Australia, but also supplies NZ). There is no heading ‘Environmental Information but there is a heading ‘Ecological Information’ it says: “Contains component which is toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long term adverse affects in the aquatic environment.” That sounds bad, but it does not say anything about Sunlight soap affecting grass.