Terrarium Lab Report:
Objective: In this lab our whole objective was observation. We put together our terrariums so that we could insert live species and record how they do and how they are liking the habitat. We could make changes to our terrarium to suit the needs of the Animals, Insects, and Plants we had living in the terrarium.
Materials: For this lab we needed a variety of materials. Some came from home and some were supplied for us by the classroom. Here is our materials list for my groups specific habitat.
-Fishtank -Ice plant
-Charcoal -Other species of succulent
-Sand/Pebbles -Water
-Fertile Soil
-Moss/Grass clumps
Procedure: Our procedure was very simple. Since we knew that our water that we put in the terrarium would have to go somewhere we layered the soil in the bottom of our fishtank. Underneath the initial dirt we had a layer of sand and small rock. This would filter out the dirt and soil from following the water down to the bottom of the terrarium. Finally, at the bottom we included a layer of charcoal to filter the water even more. This was very effective. We took notes on how our terrarium was doing every week here and here is some picture evidence to show you.
Materials: For this lab we needed a variety of materials. Some came from home and some were supplied for us by the classroom. Here is our materials list for my groups specific habitat.
-Fishtank -Ice plant
-Charcoal -Other species of succulent
-Sand/Pebbles -Water
-Fertile Soil
-Moss/Grass clumps
Procedure: Our procedure was very simple. Since we knew that our water that we put in the terrarium would have to go somewhere we layered the soil in the bottom of our fishtank. Underneath the initial dirt we had a layer of sand and small rock. This would filter out the dirt and soil from following the water down to the bottom of the terrarium. Finally, at the bottom we included a layer of charcoal to filter the water even more. This was very effective. We took notes on how our terrarium was doing every week here and here is some picture evidence to show you.
Week 1:
Week: 2
Final Week:
Analysis: In our terrarium there are a variety of biotic and abiotic factors limiting us. Our main abiotic factor was the depth of the soil. This, along with the size of the container was a limiting factor in how much our plants could expand and grow. One biotic factor of our terrarium was how fast the plant grew. It was hard to get significant statistics because it grew so slowly.The water in our terrarium entered the mini ecosystem from us pouring water into it. It was then taken in by the plant, the rest sinks to the bottom. As it got hotter during the day the remaining water would rise and evaporate. For carbon, the plants put out CO2 as a byproduct of their photosynthesis. . This would enter our soil and also leak out with air in the top of the fish bowl. Nitrogen cycled as some of our plant life dyed over time. This nitrogen re-fertilized the soil. As well as being consumed by some of the consumers in our terrarium.