Flowers and Food Coloring
By: Danielle deLisi
The Question…..
Does food coloring have an effect on the life span of a flower?
Background and Preparation
• Elementary school project• Prom• Quantifying death?– Linda’s By Design
Dyes and Lakes
• Dyes dissolve easily in water. – Beverages, baked goods, pet foods and a variety of
products. • Lakes are excellent for coloring products that
contain fat and oils. – Tablets, cakes, doughnuts, hard candy and chewing
gum.
(http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8134foodcoloring.html)
The Project
• 15 White Roses• 15 ShopRite clear plastic cups• Badia Food Coloring- red, yellow, green, blue• 4 colors and 1 control group• Test time- 1 week
Procedure
• Label cups• Add water- bottom-most line• Add food coloring- 3 drops• Cut roses• Put roses in cups• Take picture• observe
Hypothesis
• Roses that have added food coloring in their water will lose their petals faster than roses without anything added to the water.
Day 1
• 12 hour difference
• Already showing color
• Flowers open up
Day 2
• Green/Blue speckled top– Blue #1,
Green #1, Yellow #3
Day 3
• Curling Petals– Blue #1&3,
Green #1-3, Yellow #3, Red #2-3
Day 4
• Greater tint shows more speckle– All show
speckle• Flowers
opening• Yellow #3
browning
Day 5
• Blue #2 not coloring as fast
• Yellow #3 has yellow/brown tips
• Red #2 petals curling
Day 6
• Control petals begin to curl
• Green & Blue petals still curling
Day 7
• Red/Yellow vs. Green/Blue– Smooth vs.
speckled• Fraying• Browning– Blue #2
Red Flowers
Yellow Flowers
Control Flowers
Green Flowers
Blue Flowers
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144 1560
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Color Progression of Flowers Based on Observation
Time in Hours
Estim
ated
Col
or C
hang
e
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144 1560
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Average Progression of Flowers Based on Observation
Avg RedAvg YellowAvg GreenAvg BlueAvg Control
Time in Hours
Estim
ated
Col
or C
hang
e
Unaccounted Variables
• Roses not in same stages of bloom• Water level, refill or not?• Time Restraint• Amount of light• Mold
Cut Flowers and the Mold
• Cut flowers create air bubbles– Block xylem
• Flower preservatives– Biocides- kill bacteria• Stops blockage of xylem
(http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/latest-questions/question/2963/)
Conclusion
• Colored flowers appear to brown faster, but due to unsure development of original flowers it is not definite.
• Flowers that were more open at the beginning of the experiment absorbed color faster and had more speckling towards the top of the petals.
Does Food Coloring Effect Plant Mood?
• Artificial food colors can cause depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder (ADD) persist.
• Certain European countries have made the use of FD & C colors illegal.
(http://topics.wisegeek.org/topics.htm?artificial-food-coloring#)
More Questions….?
• Does stem height effect absorption of water/color?
• Does the amount of petals affect the rate of coloring? (Daisies)
• Does concentration, amount of dye vs. water, effect longevity of flower or rate of absorption?
More Questions…?
• Why were red and yellow more evenly colored then green and blue which were speckled?
• Do flowers in different stages absorb at different rates?
• Would mixing dyes effect on the coloring of the flower?– Red+Blue vs. Purple dye
Bibliography• Castor-Perry, Sarah. "Science Questions." What Biological Process Causes
Flowers to Wilt? The Naked Scientists, Mar. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/latest-
questions/question/2963/>.• Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. "Artificial Food Coloring." WiseGEEK. Ed. O.
Wallace. Conjecture Corporation, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://topics.wisegeek.org/topics.htm?artificial-food- coloring>.
• Gilman, Victoria. "C&EN: WHAT'S THAT STUFF? - FOOD COLORING." Chemical & Engineering News: Science & Technology 81.34 (2003): 34. C&EN: WHAT'S THAT STUFF? - FOOD COLORING. Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society, 25 Aug. 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8134foodcoloring.ht ml>.