Terrarium Lab Report:
Objective:
Our objective is to create a smaller version of a creek with plants that would be living with it. We have a section with water that will act as the creek, and the land portion will act as the dirt with life inside.
Materials
Plants:
Fern, Tree (twig), Moss
Decomposer:
Worm
Nonliving materials:
Sand, Dirt, Water, Plastic Tub, Pencil, Papers
Procedure:
1) Get the Materials
2) Clean out the tank
3) Make a basic layout of where we want our materials to go
4) Put down soil/rocks
5) Put in water plants
6) Put freshwater in the designated area
7) Put land plants/seeds in the areas that were plotted out
8) Place nightcrawlers into the terrarium
9) Place terrarium in sun and change water often
Objective:
Our objective is to create a smaller version of a creek with plants that would be living with it. We have a section with water that will act as the creek, and the land portion will act as the dirt with life inside.
Materials
Plants:
Fern, Tree (twig), Moss
Decomposer:
Worm
Nonliving materials:
Sand, Dirt, Water, Plastic Tub, Pencil, Papers
Procedure:
1) Get the Materials
2) Clean out the tank
3) Make a basic layout of where we want our materials to go
4) Put down soil/rocks
5) Put in water plants
6) Put freshwater in the designated area
7) Put land plants/seeds in the areas that were plotted out
8) Place nightcrawlers into the terrarium
9) Place terrarium in sun and change water often
Results:
11/12/15:
The terrarium was growing slowly with the steady amount of water we have been using. The dirt is moist and the small ferns seem to be growing abundantly. The small trees and ferns have started growing stable roots. The creek part of the terrarium is slightly dirty but thats good for the moss living inside. The two worms that live under the dirt are doing well, but it's hard to see them because they never come up. 12/7/15 The ferns continued to grow, but the small tree started falling over, so that means its roots started weakening. I believe that the root of the problem could be that there isnt enough sunlight hitting the leaves. We kept feeding the plants with water and stuff. The water level in the small creek decreased, so we had to put more water in there. The moss is growing bigger, but its not too noticable. The ferns are flourishing, and the worms seem to be too. 12/11/15 The trees are growing to the side, and the ferns are growing bigger. The leaves are beginning to spread out, and the ferns are trying to get more sunlight. The moss is growing very big, and taking control of the environment. The leaves on the tree will help it get the sunlight that it needs. |
Analysis:
The abiotic elements of the terrarium were: dirt, sand, and water. The biotic (living) creatures in our terrarium were: ferns, small tree, and worms.
There are many limiting factors that played a role in the survival of the plants in our terrarium. Those factors effected my terrarium making it harder for the plants to grow. Some of those factors were: the amount of sunlight was minimal (we didn't have a good spot), there was no current in the water, temperature, humidity. We couldn't control most of those things, so our terrarium ended up much different then what we based it on. We were going for a creek-like environment, but because of those limiting factors, it wasn't close to ending up like one.
The water cycle went through our terrarium starting with us watering it, as if we were rain. Once the "rain" was absorbed into the dirt and creek, it moved onto the roots of the plants. With the plants using the water to survive.
The Carbon cycle started with the intake of carbon from either the worm or the students exhaling. The plants got the carbon and used it, expelling oxygen that gave the worm and the people around it air.
The Nitrogen cycle starts in the air and is absorbed into the dirt and roots of the plants. Once inside the plant, if it dies the worm will get the nitrogen from consuming the dead plant. Once taken from the plant, the worm passes it as waste and it finds bacteria that clean it and send it back to the atmosphere.
The abiotic elements of the terrarium were: dirt, sand, and water. The biotic (living) creatures in our terrarium were: ferns, small tree, and worms.
There are many limiting factors that played a role in the survival of the plants in our terrarium. Those factors effected my terrarium making it harder for the plants to grow. Some of those factors were: the amount of sunlight was minimal (we didn't have a good spot), there was no current in the water, temperature, humidity. We couldn't control most of those things, so our terrarium ended up much different then what we based it on. We were going for a creek-like environment, but because of those limiting factors, it wasn't close to ending up like one.
The water cycle went through our terrarium starting with us watering it, as if we were rain. Once the "rain" was absorbed into the dirt and creek, it moved onto the roots of the plants. With the plants using the water to survive.
The Carbon cycle started with the intake of carbon from either the worm or the students exhaling. The plants got the carbon and used it, expelling oxygen that gave the worm and the people around it air.
The Nitrogen cycle starts in the air and is absorbed into the dirt and roots of the plants. Once inside the plant, if it dies the worm will get the nitrogen from consuming the dead plant. Once taken from the plant, the worm passes it as waste and it finds bacteria that clean it and send it back to the atmosphere.