Environmental Sciences Fair Project
The Effect of Bleach on the Survival Rate of Daphnia


Projects by Grade Level
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
Home Advanced Award Winning Warning!
Project Information
Title: The Effect of Bleach on the Survival Rate of Daphnia
Subject: Environmental Sciences
Grade level: Elementary School - Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Selah Intermediate School
Year: 2005
Description: Daphnia are placed in Petri dishes filled with different concentration of water / bleach solution. Daphnia is checked every ten minutes with a microscope to see how many are still alive (their heart will stop beating if they die).
Link: www.selah.k12.wa.us
Background

Daphnia

Daphnia are small, planktonic crustaceans, between 0.2 and 5 mm in length. Daphnia are members of the order Cladocera, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because of their saltatory swimming style (although fleas are insects and thus only very distantly related). They live in various aquatic environments ranging from acidic swamps to freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and rivers.

The lifespan of a Daphnia does not exceed one year and is largely temperature dependent. For example, individual organisms can live up to 108 days at 3°C while some organisms live for only 29 days at 28°C. A clear exception to this trend is during the winter time in which harsh conditions limit the population in which females have been recorded to live for over six months. These females generally grow at slower rate but in the end are larger than ones under normal conditions.

Sometimes Daphnia may be used in certain environments to test the effects of toxins on an ecosystem. This makes Daphnia an indicator species, particularly useful in that area because of its short lifespan and reproductive capabilities. Because they are nearly transparent, their internal organs are easy to study in live specimens (an example might be to study the effect of temperature on the heart rate of these ectothermic organisms). They are often fed to tadpoles or small species of amphibians such as the African Dwarf Frog, Hymenochirus biettgeri. Daphnia are also a popular live food in tropical and marine fish keeping.

Several water flea species are considered threatened. The following are listed as vulnerable by IUCN: Daphnia nivalis, Daphnia coronata, Daphnia occidentalis, and Daphnia jollyi. Some species are halophiles, and can be found in hypersaline lake environments.

Bleach

Common chemical bleaches include household "chlorine bleach", a solution of approximately 3–6% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), and "oxygen bleach", which contains hydrogen peroxide or a peroxide-releasing compound.

Bleach is a liquid that is used as a cleaner. It also can cause things to turn white or pale. Bleach can harm people's skin if they do not use it carefully.

Mixing bleach with some things commonly found at home, like vinegar or even fruit juice can produce chemicals like Chlorine that are irritating or even dangerous. Bleach should also not be mixed with ammonia, because a dangerous chemical reaction will occur. This reaction can kill people.

Certain types of bleaches produce toxic waste. Some of them produce dioxins.

In the textile dye and finish industry, sodium hydrochlorite is available in powder form. It is usually used to strip color from dyed polyester fabrics in order to re dye the fabric. I also find it useful in a final dye stage to clear any excess dye from the polyester fabric. Use a final scour at 60C or 140 F. Use 5% active bleach on the weight of the goods. Drop the final scour bath after bleaching and rinse with clean water at 60C or 140 F. The polyester fabric will pass the 2A wash fastness test even on deep shades.

Bleach made from hydrogen peroxide is used to make hair lighter in color, orange, blonde, or even white. It is often used by dark-haired people to make highlights, and most light hair dyes contain it.

Source: Wikipedia (All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License)

For more information:
Daphnia - background, pictures, experiments and references
Bleach

Source: Wikipedia (All text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License)

Useful Links
Science Fair Projects Resources
Citation Guides, Style Manuals, Reference
General Safety Resources
Electrical Safety FAQ
Environmental Sciences Fair Projects

Ecology Science Fair Projects

Environmental Sciences Experiments
Books

         



Projects Home
Primary School
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Advanced
Easy Projects
Award Winning
Popular Ideas
Branches of Science
Experiments

Science Fair Project Guide
Home
Science Fair Project Types
The Scientific Method - How to Experiment
The Display Board
Topics, Ideas, Sample Projects

Repeat Famous Experiments and Inventions
Science Jokes Science Trivia
Scientists & Inventors

Read for Free
The Science Fair
A Juvenile Science Adventure Novel
by Julian T. Rubin

Human Abridged Wikipedia Articles



My Dog Kelly

Follow Us On:
     

Privacy Policy - Site Map - About Us - Letters to the Editor

Comments and inquiries:
webmaster@julianTrubin.com


Last updated: January 2018
Copyright © 2003-2018 Julian Rubin