Part 1: Encounters with Poison Ivy
1. If you have encountered poison ivy, where did you find it?
a. In wooded areas that have access to sunlight.
2. What symptoms are caused by poison ivy?
a. The symptoms of poison ivy are a red itchy rash that will produce blisters and may be very painful and sore for days.
3. Explain why poison ivy is able to live in very different habitats—the cold mountains of New York, the coastal forests of Virginia, and alongside streambeds in Florida.
a. Poison Ivy has grown to adapt in many different climates.
4. Propose a reason why poison ivy produces this reaction in humans since it was in North America even before the Indians came.
a. One reason poison ivy may produce this reaction is as a defense mechanism.
Part 2: The Mystery of the Blisters Unfold
1. The leaves of poison ivy burn the skin on contact.
a. False
b. When you brush against the plant it bruises and releases urushiol that clings to the skin quickly.
2. You can catch poison ivy from someone else.
a. False.
b. The poison ivy rash itself is not contagious, but if the person still has urushiol on them, that can cause a rash.
3. Merely petting a dog that recently walked through a patch of poison ivy can cause a reaction.
a. True
b. Dogs don’t normally get a rash because of their long protective coats covering their skin, but humans can contract it from petting their exposed fur.
4. Because Joe didn’t react to poison ivy, he is immune to the plant’s oil.
a. False
b. Joe may have never come in contact with the plant so his body has not built up a defense for it already.
5. After scratching the blisters, the rash can spread elsewhere on the body.
a. False
b. The rash will only occur where the plant came in contact with the skin and cannot be spread from scratching.
6. Washing the exposed skin with water just after contact will prevent the reaction.
a. False
b. The urushiol from the plant binds to the skin almost immediately.
7. There is a way to prevent the symptoms.
a. True
b. Learn to identify and avoid the plant, and where long pants and sleeves when hiking through forest or foliage and when working in a garden.
Part 3: Finding a Treatment:
Hypothesis:
a. How will the poison ivy be applied?
a. Concentrating the reactive ingredient and spraying it on a small portion...
