Can Rubbing Sunscreen on a Plant's Leaves Kill the Plant?

Overview

Objectives/Goals To determine whether sunscreen actually blocks out all the photons from entering the leaves. Methods/Materials Used 16 arugula plants in total with 4 in each group. For 3 out of the four groups, the brand of organic chemical sunscreen was changed and the last group is the control group. Grew the plants, outside, from seed for 2 weeks and then for the next 3 weeks sunscreened the plants every other day. Weighed the mass of the leaves to compare the growth of each plant and group. Results All 12 plants with the organic sunscreen applied to them died slowly over the three weeks. Conclusions/Discussion Due to the organic sunscreened plants gradually turning yellow and weak, a chlorophyll deficiency was indicated and a photon blockage that prevented photosynthesis can be concluded. Since the only factor of the plants' death was a nutrient deficiency from the sun, organic chemical sunscreen with zinc oxide should not be harmful to a human's skin and therefore should be used rather than artificial chemical sunscreens.

Competition history

• CSEF 2017 Toxicology · Entry S2206

Resources

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