Lab Report Duckweed

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Introduction

Duckweeds are small aquatic plants that float on the surface on bodies of water. One plant has a leaf-like structure with a root under the plant. The diameter of a leaf is usually not more than 0.5 cm (Duckweed).

The water in its habitat has to be slow-moving or still, no faster than 0.3 m/second. Therefore they grow in areas that are protected from wind and waves. The water has to be nutrient-rich and fresh or brackish. They can be found in many places in the world as they can live in a range of different climates, although they grow the best in warmer regions, such as tropical and temperate regions. This is because the water temperature has to be between 6 and 33 degrees Celsius for duckweeds to grow.

Nutrients must be available …show more content…

This will be done by adding different amounts of the nutrient into cups with duckweed and measure the growth of the duckweed. The cups shall contain 30 ml of water and be divided into 5 sets of three. The first set will not contain any trisodium phosphate, the second will contain 0.01 grams, then 0.1, then 1 and lastly 10 grams. 3 duckweed plants are added to each cup and then the plants are added, the number of leaves are counted. As the leaves are quite similar in size, this will serve as the measuring tool for the following measurements along with the number of …show more content…

This is important because sunlight is important in photosynthesis. If the plants in some cups receive more, they might experience a more rapid growth.

Temperature
As duckweed cannot grow in certain temperatures it will be kept the same. The initial temperature will be measured and controlled in the water using a thermometer. The placement of the cups will also be taken into consideration. The cups will not be placed in anything that can change the temperature such as a heater. The cups will be placed in the same place so that all cups experience the same temperature.

Wind and waves
The cups will be kept in a place where there is no draft of wind. A place where the water will be absolutely still, as it otherwise may kill the plants

Water and water source
Deionized water will be used in order to make sure that all plants have an equal start. In tap water there can be minerals and perhaps even nutrients. Using deionized water makes sure that there No nutrients from start that could otherwise affect the experiment. There will also be no pollutants. The cups will not be placed indirect sunlight either as this might cause the water to

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