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Fertilizer experiment variation
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Fertilizer experiment variation
My child found a science fair project idea on your website but wanted to modify it and wanted to know if her version would work. It's based off of "Something's Fishy About That Fertilizer". Instead of using aquatic plant/animal life (counting to see how many survive each test day), she wanted to use potting soil in planters and test the runoff water in bottom tray. Still 4 containers, 1 control and 3 different brands of fertilizer, and test the pH of the runoff water each time for changing acidity to see which brand is safer (contaminates less). Would this version still be a valid experiment? Are there any other factors to consider? Thank you for your help!
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Re: Fertilizer experiment variation
Hi!
This is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure it will work. Fertilizers themselves can be either acidic or basic, and if they're not extremely far from pH 7, it may be hard to detect them. This will be especially if you're using pH strips, which are not that sensitive. Before doing the main experiment, you can try soaking equal amounts of a few fertilizers in water and then pHing the water. If the pH differences are very clear, then maybe it'll work. This is basically a positive control. The amount of fertilizer that gets through the soil and into the runoff water will likely be less than this extreme case, so I'd expect your experimental pH changes to be less dramatic than this.
I'm also not sure if this scenario is realistic because usually you'd have plants in the soil being fertilized, and they should be taking up the fertilizer, meaning less will end up in the water. However, I don't think this experiment would work with plants in the soil either because they cause chemical reactions that end change soil pH. Thus, any observed effects may not be caused by the fertilizer, but rather by the plants.
I'm not a plant expert at all, but these are the potential problems I can think of! I do think it's a good idea though and maybe someone else can think of a good way to control for these issues!
Good luck,
Megan
This is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure it will work. Fertilizers themselves can be either acidic or basic, and if they're not extremely far from pH 7, it may be hard to detect them. This will be especially if you're using pH strips, which are not that sensitive. Before doing the main experiment, you can try soaking equal amounts of a few fertilizers in water and then pHing the water. If the pH differences are very clear, then maybe it'll work. This is basically a positive control. The amount of fertilizer that gets through the soil and into the runoff water will likely be less than this extreme case, so I'd expect your experimental pH changes to be less dramatic than this.
I'm also not sure if this scenario is realistic because usually you'd have plants in the soil being fertilized, and they should be taking up the fertilizer, meaning less will end up in the water. However, I don't think this experiment would work with plants in the soil either because they cause chemical reactions that end change soil pH. Thus, any observed effects may not be caused by the fertilizer, but rather by the plants.
I'm not a plant expert at all, but these are the potential problems I can think of! I do think it's a good idea though and maybe someone else can think of a good way to control for these issues!
Good luck,
Megan