Terrarium Lab
Introduction/Objective- Create a human made self-sustaining ecosystem in a container. Check on it almost everyday for two months and log your terrarium's progress.
Hypothesis- The succulents will do well in their environment because they will receive healthy soil and require a limited amount of water. The succulents will also have a good amount of sun exposure which will allow them to flourish.
Materials-
~glass bowl
~soil
~sand
~charcoal
~pebbles
~succulents
~spray bottle
Methods/Procedure-
steps
1) get a container
2) place pebbles on the bottom of the bowl
3) put some soil into the bowl, and layer a little bit of charcoal on top
4) layer sand and soil
5) plant the succulents
6) put some pebbles around the succulents
7) water the succulents
Observations-
week 1:
-Succulents have grown strong roots.
-They need little water.
week 2:
-They do well in sunlight. They seem to be growing towards the sunlight.
-The room that they're in is very cold during the night and in the early morning, but once the heater gets turned on, the room temperature is comfortable.
week 3:
- I didn't see much change.
-plants continued to grow towards the sunlight.
week 4:
- The terrarium did fine during the break.
week 5:
-The terrarium is still doing well.
-It's continuing to grow towards the window/sunlight.
-It doesn't seem that the succulent has gotten much bigger, but the roots have gotten much stronger.
week 6:
-The succulents are beginning to grow towards each other.
-They are also starting to grow upwards towards the sunlight.
Analysis/Conclusion-
The abiotic limiting factors that I encountered with my terrarium were space and temperature. The succulents only had so much space to flourish because they were living inside of a fish bowl. The room temperature was very cold in the mornings, but then it could warm up throughout the day. Availability of sunlight was another abiotic limiting factor. Even though they were close to a window, they would have gotten more sun exposure if they would have been outside. My terrarium did not have the biotic factors, such as competition that would normally be in the environment. For example, if the succulents were actually out in nature they would have to compete for the nutrients in the soil. Since there were only two small plants in my fish bowl, they had enough soil to nourish both of them. The succulents also didn't have any predators in my terrarium. Out in nature the succulent's predator may have been animals such as rodents, bird, and spiders. The water cycle in my terrarium wasn't very complex. I would water the succulents, the soil would absorb the water. If there was extra moisture, the sun would cause some evaporation. The photosynthesis that occurred in my terrarium is part of the carbon cycle. The plant's respiration was also part of the carbon cycle. If the succulents were to die, their decay organisms would also be part of the carbon cycle. The plants released the nitrogen into the atmosphere. They get their nitrogen from the nutrients in the soil. (Organic matter also creates nitrogen.) Throughout the past few weeks the succulents have developed strong roots and are beginning to grow together. I have also noticed that they are growing toward the sun. The plants require little water, and do well in sunlight.
Hypothesis- The succulents will do well in their environment because they will receive healthy soil and require a limited amount of water. The succulents will also have a good amount of sun exposure which will allow them to flourish.
Materials-
~glass bowl
~soil
~sand
~charcoal
~pebbles
~succulents
~spray bottle
Methods/Procedure-
steps
1) get a container
2) place pebbles on the bottom of the bowl
3) put some soil into the bowl, and layer a little bit of charcoal on top
4) layer sand and soil
5) plant the succulents
6) put some pebbles around the succulents
7) water the succulents
Observations-
week 1:
-Succulents have grown strong roots.
-They need little water.
week 2:
-They do well in sunlight. They seem to be growing towards the sunlight.
-The room that they're in is very cold during the night and in the early morning, but once the heater gets turned on, the room temperature is comfortable.
week 3:
- I didn't see much change.
-plants continued to grow towards the sunlight.
week 4:
- The terrarium did fine during the break.
week 5:
-The terrarium is still doing well.
-It's continuing to grow towards the window/sunlight.
-It doesn't seem that the succulent has gotten much bigger, but the roots have gotten much stronger.
week 6:
-The succulents are beginning to grow towards each other.
-They are also starting to grow upwards towards the sunlight.
Analysis/Conclusion-
The abiotic limiting factors that I encountered with my terrarium were space and temperature. The succulents only had so much space to flourish because they were living inside of a fish bowl. The room temperature was very cold in the mornings, but then it could warm up throughout the day. Availability of sunlight was another abiotic limiting factor. Even though they were close to a window, they would have gotten more sun exposure if they would have been outside. My terrarium did not have the biotic factors, such as competition that would normally be in the environment. For example, if the succulents were actually out in nature they would have to compete for the nutrients in the soil. Since there were only two small plants in my fish bowl, they had enough soil to nourish both of them. The succulents also didn't have any predators in my terrarium. Out in nature the succulent's predator may have been animals such as rodents, bird, and spiders. The water cycle in my terrarium wasn't very complex. I would water the succulents, the soil would absorb the water. If there was extra moisture, the sun would cause some evaporation. The photosynthesis that occurred in my terrarium is part of the carbon cycle. The plant's respiration was also part of the carbon cycle. If the succulents were to die, their decay organisms would also be part of the carbon cycle. The plants released the nitrogen into the atmosphere. They get their nitrogen from the nutrients in the soil. (Organic matter also creates nitrogen.) Throughout the past few weeks the succulents have developed strong roots and are beginning to grow together. I have also noticed that they are growing toward the sun. The plants require little water, and do well in sunlight.
Results-
The succulent grew towards each other and towards the sun. They require a limited amount of water. The plants did well in a small environment (the fish bowl) and were fine in a classroom because they didn't need lots of water.
The succulent grew towards each other and towards the sun. They require a limited amount of water. The plants did well in a small environment (the fish bowl) and were fine in a classroom because they didn't need lots of water.
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