Ecosystems: To Study the Interactions Between Living and Nonliving Things Within the Ecosystem
Feb/21/13 Ecosystems – Lab #4
Purpose: To study the interactions between living and non-living things within the ecosystem.
Hypothesis: Changing the elements of the environment within the bottle ecosystem will affect how the plants grow. If worms/bugs are added to the bottle they will live there.
Materials:
* 2 Liter pop bottle * Scissors * Soil * Seeds (grass and bean) * Boiled still water * Rocks * Pencil * Fork * Tape & Marker
Additional Materials: * UV lamp * Lemon Juice * Worms or Snails * Dirt from outside * Miracle Grow * Tap water
Procedure:
1. Carefully cut horizontally around the top part of the bottle. Keep the top portion for later use. 2. Place a layer of rocks in the bottom of the bottle for drainage. 3. Loosely add 3inches of potting soil. 4. Use pencil to poke 4-5 holes, about 1inch deep, in the soil. 5. Place a bean sees in each hole. 6. Lightly recover the beans. 7. Sprinkle grass seeds over the top of the soil. 8. Scratch the surface lightly with a fork to place the grass seeds just lightly under the soil. 9. Sprinkle water into bottle until soil is very damp, but not soaked. 10. Screw the cap on tight and place top back on bottle (upside down) 11. Tape the top back on the bottle, making sure it is well sealed. 12. Identify bottle with label
*Repeat steps 1-12 with other bottles, changing certain elements as desired
Observations:
Control Sunlight
Control
Purpose: To study the interactions between living and non-living things within the ecosystem.
Hypothesis: Changing the elements of the environment within the bottle ecosystem will affect how the plants grow. If worms/bugs are added to the bottle they will live there.
Materials:
* 2 Liter pop bottle * Scissors * Soil * Seeds (grass and bean) * Boiled still water * Rocks * Pencil * Fork * Tape & Marker
Additional Materials: * UV lamp * Lemon Juice * Worms or Snails * Dirt from outside * Miracle Grow * Tap water
Procedure:
1. Carefully cut horizontally around the top part of the bottle. Keep the top portion for later use. 2. Place a layer of rocks in the bottom of the bottle for drainage. 3. Loosely add 3inches of potting soil. 4. Use pencil to poke 4-5 holes, about 1inch deep, in the soil. 5. Place a bean sees in each hole. 6. Lightly recover the beans. 7. Sprinkle grass seeds over the top of the soil. 8. Scratch the surface lightly with a fork to place the grass seeds just lightly under the soil. 9. Sprinkle water into bottle until soil is very damp, but not soaked. 10. Screw the cap on tight and place top back on bottle (upside down) 11. Tape the top back on the bottle, making sure it is well sealed. 12. Identify bottle with label
*Repeat steps 1-12 with other bottles, changing certain elements as desired
Observations:
Control Sunlight
Control