The objective of Day 1 of this lab was to create a liquid fertilizer with 10% phosphorous by mass, 80% nitrogen by mass, and 50% potassium by mass using soluble compounds containing those elements. Additionally, a goal of Day 1 was to attempt to keep the pH of the final fertilizer within 6 and 7, although if the pH was outside this range it was not necessary to adjust the pH of the fertilizer to fit within this range.
The objective of Day 2 of this lab was to remake the fertilizer from Day 1 with the given mass percentages of phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium, this time adding 20% sulfur by mass. For this experiment it was necessary to adjust the pH of the final solution so that it was within pH 6 and 7 with sodium hydroxide and/or nitric acid. In the United States, it is generally accepted that there are 12 soil types8: gelisols, histosols, spodosols, andisols, oxisols, vertisols, aridisols, ultisols, mollisols, alfisols, inceptisols, and entisols. Each type has its own average pH, which can range from strongly acidic to strongly basic.9 Most plants, however, do best in soil ranging from pH 6 to pH 7.9 For this reason it is best that the pH of fertilizers lies within this range; if the pH is more acidic or more basic, it risks damaging the plant.
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Most importantly, they require phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium for making phospholipids (which make up the cell membranes), amino acids, and metabolic functions.10 This is why most fertilizers contain some combination of these three elements. Sulfur also plays an important role in plants, as it helps form amino acids, proteins, and chlorophyll11. Because these elements are all important to plant growth and are common ingredients in fertilizers, they were used to create a liquid fertilizer in this lab. (Note that only Day 2 of the lab used
In this experiment we are testing the effect of fertilizer on the speed of plant growth. We prepared a 4 quad cell, 1 control group and 3 experimental groups. So, we had one with no fertilizer, one with three seeds of fertilizer, one with six seeds of fertilizer, and lastly, one with nine seeds of fertilizer. The plants that we grew were called Wisconsin Fast Plants, members of the crucifer family. These plants are small and easy to grow, but for optimal growth they require continuous fertilizer, water, fluorescent light, and temperature between 18 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius 24 hours a day. Fertilizers are substances that are put into soils to increase the growth of the plant. There are two different types of fertilizers, synthetic
The experiment was begun by obtaining four 8 oz. Styrofoam cups and punching a hole through the bottom of them. This hole was for water entry or excess water drainage. Moistened soil was packed to the 1/2 full line in the cup along with 3 fertilizer pellets The cups were labeled the following: Rosette-H20, Rosette-GA, Wild-Type-H2O, and Wild-type- GA.(Handout 1) A small wooden applicator stick was obtained a moistened at the tip with water from the petri dish labeled ‘water.’ This was to be able to attract the seed to the applicator in order to place the seed from its original container into
The results obtained are non-conclusive. More research is necessary in order to fully understand the effects of Nitrogen in the development of Fast Plants seeds and the soil. It is recommended that original is repeated. However, only one fertilizer should be added per quad, rather than mixing the fertilizer used for the control with the fertilizer being studied. For future studies it is also recommended to maintain a record of the pH of the soils before, during, and after the experiment in order to understand the impact of fertilizers on the
This experiment began on the first day of lab by planting 12 total seeds from the F1 generation in six individual cells. Potting soil was added until each cell was a little
Nutrients that are obtained from the soil from plant roots are nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Boron, Manganese, Zinc, Molybdenum, Copper. These twelve elements that are obtained from the soil are called mineral nutrients which are then split into more groups; primary, intermediate and micronutrients (Essential Nutrients, n.d.). Primary nutrients are called by its name because they needed and are found in the most amounts. Primary nutrients include nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. The intermediate nutrients are sulfur, magnesium and calcium which are found less in soil than primary nutrients. Primary and secondary nutrients are called macronutrients. Iron, boron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum and copper are called micronutrients because they are needed in very small amounts. So small in fact that they are needed in parts per million, where 10000 parts per million is 1% of the plants intake (Essential Nutrients, n.d.). This doesn’t mean that the plant won’t grow as well without it though, these nutrients can still be essential to maximum growth spurt (Essential Nutrients,
6) You want to determine what the optimal pH is for E.coli to grow. How would you set up the experiment? Give a detailed
For the change in phosphate, before and after samples were taken. Soil from Berea Kentucky was removed from each cup and dried; this was done before and after the experiment. The ammonium was extracted from the solution and then 1g of soil is added to each before and after tube. 10 mL of KCl was then added and shaken. Phenolphthalein was added as well as 1N H2SO4.
Four 1 gallon containers were filled with 20 oz of the sifted and dried soil previously gathered. Each of the containers was then filled with four different amounts of leaf nutrients that included 5 oz, 15 oz, 20 oz, and 25 oz. Five worms were placed into each of the containers and left in there for a period of one week. Daily updates were made to see if any of the worms died. The death date would be recorded for any who have died. The container with the highest amount of surviving worms will have the ideal nutrient amount.
The entire process was repeated once more with 1.00-mL of 6.00-M phosphoric acid and 2.00mL of
Or, you can use their reading in order to balance the pH yourself. If your soil is too acidic, you'll need to apply lime to reduce the acidity. If your soil has too much alkalinity, you'll need to apply sulfur to your lawn.
The controversy in using synthetic fertilizers is argued between large production farmers attending to the global demand of food and environmentalists concerned with the alternative effects on the environment. Although there are more in depth issues depending on the type of fertilizer being applied. The environmental issues at hand has many questioning if we should even allow the usage of synthetic fertilizers. Though the original form of soil enrichments were primarily made of animal excrement and decomposed food matter, differing greatly to what has predominantly been used today in agricultural production. Today we use synthetic fertilizers which contain compounds that are more “man made.” These compounds are things such as Ammonium Nitrate, Ammonium Phosphate, Superphosphate, and Potassium Sulfate, which derive from the by-products of the
In order for plants to grow they require many things. They need water, nutrients, soil, air, light, temperature, space and time. Since water is vital to a plants growth, most plants use water to transport moisture and nutrients back and forth between the roots and leaves. The water contains nutrients and is taken through the roots up to the plant. Along with carbon and oxygen, that are absorbed from the air, and water which is found in soil, plants must obtain other essential elements to grow, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, magnesium, boron, chlorine, manganese, iron, zinc, copper molybdenum, nickel and hydrogen. The three primary nutrients plants need to grow are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen
There is a drought in California which is in turn affecting the number of crops that can be grown in a given amount of time. Farmers now must find a way to grow crops in an economical fashion while also maximizing each yield as much as possible. However, plant growth can be influenced by seed variety, the amount of water, the soil type, amount of light, etc., and many other variables. For this experiment, we are testing the growth of the Brassica rapa, a mustard plant under the same conditions of water, sunlight, and oxygen, with two different treatment solutions. There will be two pots, one has a treatment of just deionized water and the other a treatment of fertilizer as well as deionized water. Because the fertilizer has the added benefit of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium along with the same quantity of deionized water as the first pot, it is hypothesized that both sets of plants will grow, however the pot with fertilizer will grow more than the pot with just water treatment.
(Pauly, 2009) Phosphorous is also a significant element of fertilizer that improves the other nutrients’ effectiveness. Wheat needs phosphorous for healthy roots and early plant growth. (Roberts 1998) “Wheat growth and development may be retarded if any one of these elements is lacking in the soil or if a nutrient is not adequately balanced with other nutrients.” (Pauly 2009) In order to receive nutrients, the roots of a plant absorb water from a concentration gradient underground and transport it the the stem of the plant. (Barber, Walker, Vasey, 1963)
The purpose of this lab was to formulate an aqueous liquid fertilizer that followed the mass percent guidelines of the fertilizer my group was assigned and that had a neutral pH. The fertilizer my group was assigned included the following elements and their mass percent values: 0.8 N, 0.2 P, 0.2 K, 0.1 Fe. We scientifically chose which compounds to include in the fertilizer and performed calculations to determine how much of each compound needed to be added to the fertilizer solution. Once the compounds were put in solution, we then tested the pH of the fertilizer. After adding 0.0954 g KCl, 0.614 g Na3PO4 ⦁ 12 H2O, 0.181 g Fe(NO3)3, and 1.44 g KNO3 and 1 mL of HCl to the distilled water fertilizer solution, the pH was in the target range required for this lab, which was 6.0-7.0.