Humans can do many things to help nature, but there are also many harmful things that humans do. Remember, harmful things hurt the Earth. Click the pictures to find out more.
Let’s explore how pollution can harm plants. You will need 2 glass jars, celery stalks with the leaves still on, red food coloring, and water. Follow these steps to see what happens.
Pollution and Plants
Follow these steps to learn how pollution can harm plants.
- Fill two jars halfway with water.
- Add 3-4 drops of red food coloring to one of the jars of water.
- Place the celery into the jar of water with the food coloring.
- Leave it alone for 3-6 hours.
- Come back and observe what happened.
Question
What happens to the celery in the red-colored water?
The celery in the colored water turns red. This shows how pollution in the water can harm plants.
Try this.
- Put the red celery in the jar with the clean water.
- Leave it alone for another 3-6 hours.
- Come back and observe what happened.
Question
Did the celery lose its red color?
Yes! If we clean up the pollution, we can help plants and animals.
Question:
Your celery experiment showed how pollution travels through a plant. How could pollution in one small place affect a whole forest or the animals that live there?
If pollution gets into one plant, it can spread to other plants and the animals that eat them. Soon, more plants and animals could get sick. A little pollution in one spot can hurt the whole forest.