Sang+Soo

How will some of the nutrients hlep or slow the growth of the algae?

Introduction

Relevance: The relevance to the world is if the nutrients really help the growth of the plant. If it does, will the river having more of the nutrient grow more algae? Which are nutrient? If the experiment succeedes, we will be able to find out about that.

Goal: To see if fertilizer pellets, nutrient agar, sodium phosphate and chicken manure will help or slow down the growth of the algae culture.

Expectations: · What do you think might happen and why?

I think that fertilizer pellets, nutrient agar, and chicken manure will help the growth of algae, but sodium phosphate will not help but decrease the speed of growth. I think fertilizer pellets, nutrient agar, and chicken manure will help the growth of algae because they are nutrient. Nutrient is one factor that helps the growth of the plant. Also manure is something that ancient people used to fertilize their crops. However, sodium phosphate is · What other results do you imagine might happen and what would they mean?

The nutrient did not affect the plant, or the amount is not related to the growth. For example, 2 ml nutrient made plant grow faster than constant but was also faster in growing than 3ml of nutrient. This will be other result that we can have. It must be because that we did not keep the constants correct, or we did not to it accurately.

Independent variable and how it will be measured:

The amount of nutrients that we will put into the tube where algae will be growing. The amount of it will affect the growth of algae hopefully. We will put 1ml, 2ml and 3ml of nutrients so it will be easy to measure. The amount will be how it is measured.

Dependent variable(s) and how it (they) will be measured:

The growth of the algae will be the dependent variable, if the nutrients affects the growth of algae. It will be kind of hard to measure the growth of the algae but we will just measure the length that it had grown. If after looking at the growth, we think that measuring by length is too not accurate, we will think of another way of measuring.

Variables held constant:

Same type and amount of algae Same type of phosphate Same type of fertilizer pellets Same type of nutrient agar Same type of chicken manure Same type of tubes In same environment (temperature, same amount of sunlight) Same amount of time Same type and amount of pond water

Materials:

List of Materials and Sketch of the Setup: A dropper pipette Algae culture 13 test tubes with stoppers Test-tube rack 50-ml graduated cylinder Pond water Glass-marking pencil Fertilizer Pellets Nurient Agar Sodium Phosphate Chicken Manure

Who else will work on this investigation? Who will be responsible for collecting materials to get started and when will all materials be ready to begin? David and I are working on this experiment together. We both will be responsible for collection materials, and I guess the materials can be ready soon.

Method/procedure

Procedure: 1. Drop 100ml of algae culture into each of the test tubes using a dropper pipette. 2. Keep the first one constant, so do not add the anything. 3. For next three, we are going to add fertilizer pellets. First one, 1ml of it, second one, 2ml and third one 3ml. 4. For next three, we are going to add nutrient agar. First one, 1ml of it, second one, 2ml and third one 3ml. 5. For next three, we are going to add sodium phosphate. First one, 1ml of it, second one, 2ml and third one 3ml. 6. For next three, we are going to add chicken manure. First one, 1ml of it, second one, 2ml and third one 3ml. 7. Stopper the test tubes and put them in the shelves. 8. After 7 days, observe the test tubes, and see if those things has affected the growth of algae.

Safety Precautions:

FERTILIZER-- CONTACT MAY CAUSE EYE OR SKIN IRRITION SODIUM PHOSPHATE-- MAY CAUSE IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES, AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. MAY BE HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED.

· What other data do you expect to include in a report of your results? The too much amount of nutrient might be over limit of the growth of the plant, or too much or limiting nutrient can actually stop the growth, not just slowing down.

Result

Growth in 1ml but no growth in 2ml and 3ml.

Fertilizer Pellet

Fertilizer Pellets:


 * This picture shows the differences between 1ml, 2ml and 3ml of the fertilizer pellets. (From left to right). We can see that 1ml had a lot of algae grew in the pond water, but 2ml and 3ml had less algae grew. At first I thought that as the amount increased, the growth decreased, however, when we compared the growth of control and 1ml, 1ml had more growth than control. This means that the fertilizer pellet helped the growth. There might be many guesses about the 2ml and 3ml, such as that there was too much fertilizer pellet that it actually stopped the growth of algae.**

Sodium phosphate dissolved

Sodium Phosphate:

Leaf turned white

No algae growth


 * This is a picture of pond water which got sodium phosphate in it. As you can see, there was no growth of the algae at all. Actually, the leaf even got bleached. This tells us that sodium phosphate did not help the growth of the algae.**

Growth of the algae (color and the tread-like thins)

Chicken Manure

Chicken manure


 * (1ml, 2ml, and 3ml)**

Nurient Agar


 * This is a picture of chicken manure’s effect on algae growth. We can clearly see that as the amount of chicken manure got more, the growth got more too. Also, the growth was much more than the one in fertilizer pellet. This explains that chicken manure helped the growth of the algae, and it was the best nutrient out of four things.**

Leaf turned black

Nutrient Agar


 * This is a picture of nutrient agar in pond water. This surprised us because of this color change. There was no algae growth, and the leaf got blacked. However, there was change in pond water color. We had no idea what happened to it. The only thing that we knew is that it did not help the growth of the algae.**




 * 1ml**
 * 2ml**
 * 3ml**
 * Control**
 * 0.5cm**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Fertilizer Pellets**
 * 1.0cm**
 * 0.5cm**
 * 0.2cm**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Bleached**
 * Bleached**
 * Nutrient Agar**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * color of leaf**
 * Bleached**
 * Bleached**
 * Bleached**
 * Sodium Phosphate**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * color of leaf**
 * Black**
 * Black**
 * Black**
 * Chicken Manure**
 * 4cm**
 * 2cm**
 * 6cm**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * color of leaf**
 * Bleached**
 * Bleached**
 * Bleached**
 * Sodium Phosphate**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * N/G**
 * color of leaf**
 * Black**
 * Black**
 * Black**
 * Chicken Manure**
 * 4cm**
 * 2cm**
 * 6cm**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * color of leaf**
 * Black**
 * Black**
 * Black**
 * Chicken Manure**
 * 4cm**
 * 2cm**
 * 6cm**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * 4cm**
 * 2cm**
 * 6cm**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * color of leaf**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**
 * Green**


 * Graph not available for this data.**


 * Discussion:**
 * In what ways are your observations similar to your expectations?**


 * Some of the observations were similar to my expectation. Only thing that I guessed wrong was the nutrient agar. Other things, I guessed right, which were fertilizer pellet and chicken manure will help the growth and sodium phosphate will decrease the speed of the growth.**


 * What observations were different from your expectations?**


 * The difference was that nutrient agar did not help the growth. I just thought that as it is nutrient, it must help the growth of the agar, but it did not help the growth at all. There was no algae grew in the pond water with nutrient agar. Also, the change of pond water color for sodium phosphate also surprised me. I never expected it, and I still do not know what had happened to it.**

What new understanding do you have that you did not have before your investigation?

There were many things that I have learned as at first, the experiment did not go like what I wanted to be. There were no growth of algae, and we did not know what to do. Then, Mr.Happer suggested us to put the leaves. Also we found out that algae needed sunlight to grow. By applying the changes, finally there was algae’s growth. I think we learned a lot by not succeeding in first time.

What new questions arise from the results of your investigation?

What made the pond water with sodium phosphate change its color? Why did 1ml of fertilizer pellet grow but 2ml and 3ml did not? Why was the growth of the algae with chicken manure like this? 3ml>1ml>2ml


 * What new experiment (or modification to your experiment) do you think would be an important follow up to your investigation?**

Communication: How will you plan to communicate your work clearly to others?

We will clearly write the data, and hopefully, it will distinctively tell us the relation between the amount of nutrient and the growth. Then, we can explain that nutrients have affected the growth of the algae. · What do you expect to accomplish in EACH of the next three class periods in which you can work on this investigation?

We will first get the materials, and try to do the procedures if possible. However, it will not be done in three class period because the experiments needs more time than three class period time. We will first plant the plants, and will try to keep other constants as same as possible.

Appendix 1: Scientific Terminology:

Fertilizer: Any of a large number of natural and synthetic materials, including manure and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compounds, spread on or worked into soil to increase its capacity to support plant growth. I guess in our experiment, it will help the growth of the algae.

Nutrient Agar: Gelatinlike substance, or a solution of it, prepared from certain seaweeds containing gelose and used for solidifying growth media in the artificial cultivation of bacteria, or as a gelling agent in foods. This is one of four that we will give to the algae. I guess it is another one which will help the growth for algae.

Algae: Members of a group of mostly aquatic, photosynthetic organisms that defy precise definition. We will be growing this algae, giving them differnt nutrients to see how it will affect the growth.

Water: A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid, H2O, essential for most plant and animal life and the most widely used of all solvents

Sunlight: The light of the sun, used in photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis: The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source

Nutrient: Nutrients are those organic and inorganic compounds that a living organism must acquire from the environment to support essential life processes, including basal metabolism, growth and maintenance of body tissues, activity, reproduction, and maintenance of general health.

Air: A colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous mixture, mainly nitrogen (approximately 78 percent) and oxygen (approximately 21 percent) with lesser amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, neon, helium, and other gases.

Sodium Phoasphate: Any of various sodium salts of phosphoric acid, especially NaH2PO4, Na2HPO4, and Na3PO4, widely used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, medicine, and chemistry. It is used as an acidity regulator, emulsifier, thickening agent, nutrition enlargement agent and sequestrant.

Appendix 2:

Terms: Growth Nurtrient Limiting Nutrient

http://www.infovisual.info/01/022_en.html

Our experiment is all about the nutrients or limiting nutrients that will hlep or slow the growth of the algae. As we are putting the four things, fertilizer pellets, nutrient agar, sodium phosphate and chicken manure, they will either help or slow the growth of the algae, and we are trying to find out which one helps and which one will not help. That means we are going to find out if giving nutrients really helps the plant or not. So algae is very important to our experiment.

https://www.uwsp.edu/natres/nres743/images/T1/nutrient_web.jpg

This picture shows the cycle of the nutrient. Our experiment is totally depends on nutrient, and we are testing the effects of nutrient. To what we guess, nutrients are a factor that helps the growth of the plants, and plants need those to grow.