Plants grow by using water and the sun to make food. I was trying to find out if different types of detergents will affect the growth of a plant. This experiment, gave me the answer I was looking for. Roots' main job is to absorb water and nutrients. Detergents will get rid of a layer protecting the root hairs, and the root hairs will absorb the detergent instead. Because the plant will no longer have any water or nutrients, it will die. Then the plant will become decomposed because the detergent is a chemical to the plant. Laundry detergent contains powerful surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate. These detergents characteristically aggregate lipids and denature proteins. When a plant absorbs detergents, the detergents can cause cell membranes to collapse and membranes to function improperly. This can cause part or all of a plant to die.
