Biodiversity

Experiment : Effects of Water Pollution on Plant Diversity

Water pollution can have severely negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystems, particularly on plant populations. In many cases, these pollutants are introduced to the environment through everyday human activity.

In this experiment, you will contaminate several water samples, as well as purify a water sample. You will then evaluate the effects of water pollution and purification on the biodiversity of wildflowers.

POST-LAB QUESTIONS

Table 1: Water Observations (smell, color, etc.)

Beaker Observations

1 No smell at all, and is clear

2 Smells like vegetable oil, light yellowing within the top layer (oil), but still clear at the bottom layer (water); with three bubbles forming in between oil and water

3 Heavy vinegar smell, no discoloration it is clear to sight with with tiny bubbles at the top

4 Smells like dish soap a little, slightly cloudy white discoloration with bubbles forming

5 No smell, milky brown discoloration; no bubbles

6 Slight dirt/mud smell, more dense brown color with a little oil layer forming at the top

7 Smells like vinegar, yellow brown color a little transparent; a few bubbles forming

8 Smells like dish/laundry soap, brownish color; very fine little bubbles

Questions

1. What effects did each of the contaminants have on the water in the experiment? Use Table 1 for reference.

2. What kinds of human activities could cause oil, acids, and detergents to contaminate the water supply?

3. What are the differences in color, smell, visibility, etc. between the "contaminated" water and the "treated" water?

4. From the introduction to Lab 2, you know that there are typically five steps involved in the water treatment process. Identify the processes (e.g., coagulation) that were used in this lab and describe how they were performed.

5. Develop a hypothesis regarding how using contaminated or purified water might affect plant biodiversity. Which pot do you believe will contain the greatest biodiversity (greatest number of species)? Why?

Hypothesis = I believe that the water that is contaminated will not grow or contain any species, and the water that is purified will grow

Final Lab Report must contain the following seven sections in this order:

1. Title Page - This page must include the title of your report, your name, course name, instructor, and date submitted.

2. Introduction - This section should discuss why the experiment was conducted. At a minimum, it should contain three paragraphs. One paragraph must cover background information of similar studies that have already been done in the area. This is accomplished by citing existing literature from similar experiments and explaining their results.

A second paragraph should discuss an objective or a reason why the experiment is being done. Why do we want to know the answer to the question we are asking? A third paragraph should provide a hypothesis for the experiment conducted, along with your rationale behind that hypothesis.

3. Materials and Methods - This section should provide a detailed description of the materials used in your experiment and how they were used. A step-by-step rundown of your experiment is necessary; however, it should be done in paragraph form, not in a list format. The description should be exact enough to allow for someone reading the report to replicate the experiment, but it should be in your own words and not simply copied and pasted from the lab manual.

4. Results - This section should include the data and observations from the experiment. All tables and graphs should be present in this section. Additionally, there should be at least one paragraph explaining the data in paragraph form. There should be no personal opinions or discussion beyond the results of your experiments located within this section.

5. Discussion - This section should interpret or explain the meaning of your data and provide conclusions. At least three paragraphs should be outlined here. First, a paragraph should be present that addresses whether your hypothesis was confirmed or denied and how you know this.

Second, you are to discuss the meaning of your findings in this area utilizing scholarly sources to put the paper into context. For example, how do your results compare with the findings of similar studies? Also, you should discuss if there are any outside factors (i.e., temperature, contaminants, time of day) that affected your results. If so, how could you control for these in the future? Finally, you should discuss any future questions arising from your results and how you might test them with new experiments.

6. Conclusions - This section should provide a brief summary of your work. What are the key take-away points from your study?

7. References - Provide a list of at least two scholarly sources, two credible sources, and your lab manual that will be used in the Final Lab Report.

The Lab Report must be three to five pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style.