Terrarium Lab
Objective/Introduction:
The objective is to make a terrarium to observe the ecosystem inside; and to observe the cycles of energy and matter.
Hypothesis/ Specific Question:
I predict that the black ants will eat the compost and then the crickets will eat the ants as a secondary consumer.
Materials:
Glass Bowl
Gravel
Earthworms
Crickets
Black Ants
Charcoal
Soil
Decomposing plants
Small Flowers
Moss
Pebbles for decoration
Methods/Procedure:
Step 1: Put the soil, gravel, and charcoal in and plant the plants.
Step 2: Add the ants
Step 3: Add the crickets
Step 4: Observe
Results:
Day 0: We filled our terrarium with soil/pebbles/moss/small plants/decomposing leaves/charcoal. No live animals yet.
Day 3: The plant seems to be dying. The leaves are decomposing very well which will give plenty of nutrients to the worms.
Day 7: We have a new life. A small plant sprout has appeared. However our original plants are dying.
Day 13: There is another small plant. There are two plant sprouts now. Our original plants are dead.
Day 15: Everything is dead except for the two small plant sprouts.
Analysis:
Some of the factors, both biotic and abiotic, that have limited our terrarium would be the fertility of the soil, an inconsistent watering pattern, the physical space inside the dimensions of our terrarium, how fast the leaves could decay, and the supply of food to the organisms in our terrarium. For example, the space that our container provides limits the carrying capacity of our terrarium. Also, the amount of food that was provided limits the biodiversity as well as carrying capacity of our terrarium because it is a limited source and so cannot support many types of organisms.
We give water to the plants by pouring in the soil. The water is absorbed into the soil and the plant's roots absorb the water. The plant uses the water it needs to grow. It uses the water to photosynthesize which makes food for the plant. Once the water is in the leaves, it evaporates as the plant exchanges water for carbon dioxide. That is called transpiration. Some of the water in the soil is evaporated back into the atmosphere. Our plants probably wilted because of something called turgor. There may have not been enough water given to our plants.
The plants photosynthesize and the carbon in the atmosphere is mixed with water to make sugars. The plants also release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere as a form of respiration. There are also dead leaves in our terrarium. The carbon inside the dead plants would soon be mixed into the soil. The decomposers which are the earthworms release carbon when the decompose the dead leaves.
There is nitrogen in the air. Bacteria help the nitrogen that is absorbed into the soil change between states so that it can be used the plants. Fixation is the first step in making nitrogen usable by our plants. Bacteria help it change into ammonium. The next step is nitrification. The ammonium is then changed into nitrates by the bacteria. Then the plants absorb the nitrates which get used in amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. When our plant died it went through a decaying process called ammonification. The earthworms and bacteria turn the nitrogen back into ammonium. Extra nitrogen in the soil get put back into the atmosphere which is called dentrification.
The objective is to make a terrarium to observe the ecosystem inside; and to observe the cycles of energy and matter.
Hypothesis/ Specific Question:
I predict that the black ants will eat the compost and then the crickets will eat the ants as a secondary consumer.
Materials:
Glass Bowl
Gravel
Earthworms
Crickets
Black Ants
Charcoal
Soil
Decomposing plants
Small Flowers
Moss
Pebbles for decoration
Methods/Procedure:
Step 1: Put the soil, gravel, and charcoal in and plant the plants.
Step 2: Add the ants
Step 3: Add the crickets
Step 4: Observe
Results:
Day 0: We filled our terrarium with soil/pebbles/moss/small plants/decomposing leaves/charcoal. No live animals yet.
Day 3: The plant seems to be dying. The leaves are decomposing very well which will give plenty of nutrients to the worms.
Day 7: We have a new life. A small plant sprout has appeared. However our original plants are dying.
Day 13: There is another small plant. There are two plant sprouts now. Our original plants are dead.
Day 15: Everything is dead except for the two small plant sprouts.
Analysis:
Some of the factors, both biotic and abiotic, that have limited our terrarium would be the fertility of the soil, an inconsistent watering pattern, the physical space inside the dimensions of our terrarium, how fast the leaves could decay, and the supply of food to the organisms in our terrarium. For example, the space that our container provides limits the carrying capacity of our terrarium. Also, the amount of food that was provided limits the biodiversity as well as carrying capacity of our terrarium because it is a limited source and so cannot support many types of organisms.
We give water to the plants by pouring in the soil. The water is absorbed into the soil and the plant's roots absorb the water. The plant uses the water it needs to grow. It uses the water to photosynthesize which makes food for the plant. Once the water is in the leaves, it evaporates as the plant exchanges water for carbon dioxide. That is called transpiration. Some of the water in the soil is evaporated back into the atmosphere. Our plants probably wilted because of something called turgor. There may have not been enough water given to our plants.
The plants photosynthesize and the carbon in the atmosphere is mixed with water to make sugars. The plants also release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere as a form of respiration. There are also dead leaves in our terrarium. The carbon inside the dead plants would soon be mixed into the soil. The decomposers which are the earthworms release carbon when the decompose the dead leaves.
There is nitrogen in the air. Bacteria help the nitrogen that is absorbed into the soil change between states so that it can be used the plants. Fixation is the first step in making nitrogen usable by our plants. Bacteria help it change into ammonium. The next step is nitrification. The ammonium is then changed into nitrates by the bacteria. Then the plants absorb the nitrates which get used in amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. When our plant died it went through a decaying process called ammonification. The earthworms and bacteria turn the nitrogen back into ammonium. Extra nitrogen in the soil get put back into the atmosphere which is called dentrification.