Algae Growth v.s. Time
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Research
Algae grow in water when they have the right conditions such as enough nutrients (mostly phosphorus, but nitrogen is important as well ), light levels, temperature, etc.The amount of phosphorus in the water controls the amount of algae found in freshwater lakes and other bodies of water. The more nutrient a lake has, the more algae in the lake.
For a bottle of water, the main setting would be conducted outside because of the heat and sunlight being primary factors. We will have many different types of water bottle(filled), and they will all be placed in the same environment. Over the course of 10 days, our group will see which bottle has most algae.
What are algae?
Algae is primarily a water creature, one-celled or multicellular plant-like organisms that lack true stems, roots, and leaves, but usually contain chlorophyll. There are both marine and freshwater algae, and algae are found almost everywhere on earth. The Washington Department of Ecology's algae program focuses on algae problems in freshwater. Pond scum is algae (mostly), the green slime on rocks in a stream is also algae, as is the pea soup green seen in some nutrient-enriched lakes.
Algae may grow for a variety of reasons, but nutrients limit algae growth. Any long-term solution to algae management involves nutrient reduction. Taking steps to manage nutrient inputs to a water body is crucial, although many times nutrient management involves managing the entire watershed and not just the area immediately around the lake. Nutrients throughout the watershed may be contributing to the algae problem. Local jurisdictions must become involved with stormwater or agricultural issues or other external nutrient sources. In these cases, lake restoration techniques may be needed. Lake residents can employ the best management practices to help reduce nutrients. In the short-term, there are control options that may lead to a temporary reduction in the growth of algae.
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Extra
Algae is primarily a water creature, one-celled or multicellular plant-like organisms that lack true stems, roots, and leaves, but usually contain chlorophyll. There are both marine and freshwater algae, and algae are found almost everywhere on earth. The Washington Department of Ecology's algae program focuses on algae problems in freshwater. Pond scum is algae (mostly), the green slime on rocks in a stream is also algae, as is the pea soup green seen in some nutrient-enriched lakes.
Photo by Travis S.
Purpose
To see how fast and big algae can grow in a bottle in a limited amount of time
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Hypothesis
If you look for the amount of algae growth in water bottles then, the amount of algae will vary because of different environment of where the algae is contempt.
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Variables
DV: Time
IV: growth of algae
control: The bottle with plain bottled water.
Constants: 7.5 oz of in the bottle and .5 teaspoon algae
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Materials
1. A bottle
2. Wooden Sticks or pebbles
3. Water
4. Soil
5. A bottle's lid
6.Algae
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Procedures
1)Collect Materials.
2)Set up bottle.
2a) Add half teaspoon of algae in the bottle.
2b) put wooden stick in a bottle
2c) pour out 1/3 of water out of the water bottle.
2d) Poke hole 1 inch above water level.
2e) put on the bottle cap.
2f) put it in sunlight.
3)Wait for algae to grow
4) For the bottle measure growth then record data.
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Pictures and Observations
The main difference in the before and after pictures was how much and how fast the greener the water spread. When we first started off the water was light green but towards the end not so much. The more invisible change/observation was that the greener the water the more algae. When we started measuring the amounts of algae we noticed that each time the increase was at a constant rate.
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Untitled Slide
EWWWWW
Analysis
Some of the major trends that we observed were that the algae grew at a constant rate. The plant food made the algae grow faster
The plant food significantly helped increase the growing speed. The reasoning behind it is simply that algae are plants too. When the algae was combined in the water with the plant food it started growing really fast. The plant food was the nutrition the algae needed.
Based upon our research algae is a plant. The water solution with the plant food in it gave the algae an extra boost of nutrition. When the element, Carbon Dioxide, H20 and sunlight are combined photosynthesis takes place. But the other minerals the plant needs usually comes from soil. We used plant food as a substitution for it and the plant grew much faster because it had the correct element to grow.
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Conclusion
Our hypothesis was correct because; we stated that the algae would vary with a given amount of time. The amount of algae gradually increases over time, meaning in about one hour it would have increased by .001 grams to .2 grams. It started at 16 grams (algae and water) and ended up to fill the whole water bottle meaning 18 grams(total). The time took to fill the bottle was from o'clock and started at one o’ clock. It took 4 hours for 2 grams of algae to fill the bottle. As it have come to our knowledge after reading some articles about algae, we learned that algae are most affected by nutrition, meaning algae would grow better with plant food mixed in. We tested to see if that was true, most likely it was, but we wanted to see it with our own eyes and witness the growth of algae through a period of time.The results turned out to be a positive correlation.
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Sources of Error
We thought that our outcomes would result in the algae not growing at all but, that was not the case, it was growing at a constant positive correlation. The part of the experiment that could have errors is the raw data. Each test trial was different. We could not have measured a exact amount every time.o
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Application
This experiment applies to real life because it shows how algae grows throughout a period of time in one water bottle. It can be used to find a better way for algae to grow faster and in a better condition than it was in our experiment. In the real world this would help us with research on the lent it takes to grow a plant
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Improvement
We could have done better by, instead of using water, we could have used different types of liquid and find out the outcomes. This would help us get a better understanding of what caused algae to grow. We could also have found a better way to measure our numbers. This would have made sure we put in the same amount of algae in the water each time.
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Bibliography
http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/growing-algae/
Frost, Randall. "Growing Algae." Education.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. .
http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/pubdoc/C/ISWSC-121.pdf
"Intro." Effect of turgidity on algal growth. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. .
Science Textbook
http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/pubdoc/C/ISWSC-121.pdf
"Intro." Effect of turgidity on algal growth. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
Science Textbook
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