This is our project on why the Tar River is important to us and how hydro gels effect plant growth.

1. The Tar River and the Hydro Gels Project By: EECHS Representatives

2. How does our community use our River; The Tar River The people of our community use the Tar River for many things. Entertainment, recreation, irrigation, and drinking water are just some of the uses of this river.

3. The Tar River affected North Carolina 10 years ago by flooding eastern North Carolina and specifically Tarboro causing a lot of damage How has the Tar River affected and will affect our community

4. How do we, as a community, use this water? For recreation, the Tar River is used for fishing and kayaking while also being used as a water source for farmers and for Tarboro’s drinking water.

5. Since the community uses the Tar River as a water source, we need plenty of rain and need to conserve this water so it can be used where necessary. The Tar River is a water source for our community.

6. Tarboro was built around this river. It makes our town. The Tar River shapes the landscape of our area. This river has a multiple bridges over it, allowing us to get from Tarboro to surrounding areas.

7. The Tar River

8. Our Project: Do Hydrogels help out plant and water sources?

9. Hydrogels are a solid, jelly-like material that have swelling properties influenced by changes in the environment. What are Hydrogels?

10. They are commonly found in diapers, shoeboxes, and compounds in diesel fuel. Hydrogels Continued

11. We focused on using hydro gels to conserve water usage in plants growth and farming. Our project

12. We conducted an experiment using Hydrogels in plants in contrast to plants without Hydrogels Experiment

13. 2 Flower pots 2 Wisconsin Fast Plants Garden soil 1 Fluorescent heat lamp Water 1 tbls. Hydrogels 1Plastic Container 12 inch ruler Materials

14. We planted the Wisconsin Fast Plants separately into the two flower pots and placed the hydro gels into one pot (Experimental Pot). Procedure

15. We placed the two pots into the plastic tub and filled it ½ an inch from the bottom with water. We placed the fluorescent light above both flower pots to distribute the light evenly. Procedure Continued

16. We then watched the plants for 30 days, measuring the height of each plant, as well as replacing the water when the water level was low. Procedure Continued

17. After the 30 days of observation, we found that the control group (pot without hydro gels) was healthier and had grown a substantial amount more than the experimental group (pot with hydro gels). Results

18. We concluded that hydro gels absorb and retain more water than it distributes. Therefore killing the plant. Conclusion

19. Questions? Thank You