Rhibozum Lab - Chemistry

Essay by PardeepkHigh School, 10th gradeA, September 2008

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Background:Nitrate is an oxidized form of nitrogen which is associated with the symbol NO3. Nitrate is a water soluble compound and is usually a common element of many various fertilizers. Nitrate is an important part in a plant's lifecycle because it provides the plant with all the essential nutrients needed for growth. There are about sixteen different elements involved in a plant's growth and one of those element is known to be Nitrate. If there is a shortage in the amount of nitrate in the soil, the plant is most likely to have an imbalance in plant uptake and result the plant to either die or interfere with the growth.

Nitrogen Fixation is a biological process in which the nitrogen ion is taken and transformed from its inert molecular in the atmosphere and is transformed to nitrogen compounds such as nitrate, nitrogen dioxide and ammonia etc. Nitrogen fixation occurs naturally through different prokaryotes, which are a group of organisms that don't have a cell.

Nitrogen fixing is mostly done by the atmosphere or by molecular energy. Nitrogen fixation can also be done through non biological processes and this may include the use of lightning to trigger nitrogen fixation.

Rhizobium also known as Rhizobia is soil bacteria that fix nitrogen once they are stored in the root nodules of the legumes. Rhizobium is mostly found in fertilizers, since absorbing nitrogen is one of the hardest process a plant has to go through, and so Rhizobium bacteria are often available in different fertilizers so it can help legumes to grow better and provide them with right amount of nitrogen. The mechanism that is used by Rhizobium to host plant growth is known to be done through nitrogen fixation, which is also mentioned above and explains how the process of nitrogen fixation occurs.

The relationship between a nitrifying bacteria and a legume such as a pea plant is that they have a symbiotic relationship, which means that the bacteria is dependent on the legume for it to live and the legume is dependent on the bacteria to live. A symbiotic relationship is a close relationship between organisms of different species, and so the both different species depend on each other to survive, and so it makes a close relationship between them.

Purpose:The purpose of the experiment is to find out how Rhizobium bacteria affect pea plant growth, and in what forms does nitrogen exist in the environment and what role it plays in plant growth.

Question:In what forms does nitrogen exist in the environment and what role does it play in living organisms. Also, How does Rhizobium bacteria affect pea plant growth?Hypothesis:It is hypothesized that the plant with the rhizobium in it will grow faster than the plant with no rhizobium in it. Reasons to support my hypothesis is that the rhizobium plant will grow faster because all plants require nitrogen to grow, and so the rhizobium will provide the plant with the nitrogen because rhizobium is a nitrogen fixing bacteria. This means that the rhizobium will provide the pea plant with more nitrogen which will cause the plant to grow quicker, whereas the regular plant with no rhizobium will grow at a much slower rate because the plant will not be provided with the same boost of nitrogen with the Rhizobium plant. Since the rhizobium plant will grow faster, it is also believed that the rhizobium plant will be greener and will have more leaves.

Procedure:Materials Used:The PlantingAnalyzing DataObservations:Sample DataQualitative observations:By looking at all the sample data provided, we know that the final weight of the Rhizobium plant was 13.2 grams heavier than the normal plant.

Also, the Rhizobium plant was stronger and had larger roots than thenormal plant. Including, the Rhizobium plant had a lush green colour to the stem and leaves, whereas the normal plant had a yellowish green colour to the stem and leaves.

AnalysisSample Data for Normal Plant Graph:The graph shows the observations for the normal plant. The day is set to the x-axis, and the Height of the plant is set to the y-axis. The Blue line represents Plant Growth, and by looking at the graph, we can observe that the plant does not grow for the first 3 days, but it eventually starts growing.The positive increases on the graph tells us the increase in Height of the Plant. We also observe that in 17 days of observing the plant, the initial height has went up from 0 cm to 6.5 cm.

Sample Data for for rhizobium plant:The graph shows the observations for the Rhizobium plant. The day is set to the x axis, and the Height of the plant is set to the y-axis. By looking at the graph, we can observe that plant does not grow for the first 3 days, but eventually starts growing. The graph has more of a strong, linear increase in height of the Rhizobium Plant. We also observe that in 17 days of observing the Rhizobium plant, the initial height has went up from 0 cm to 15 cm.

Sample data of both plants:The graph shows a comparison of both the Regular and Rhizobium plant. The chart is a comparison of both plants growing on the same days, and so this was done to see which plant grew faster and taller. On the Data graph, both plants started growing on the 4th day, and you can concur that Rhizobium plant showed the greatest above-ground growth by comparing its final height to the normal plant's final height.

DiscussionConcepts1.Can Rhizobium be used as an alternative to fertilizing?2.Can Rhizobium bacteria help any type of plant?3.Can these bacteria have a negative impact on the environment, people, and plants?1. No, rhizobium cannot be used as an alternative to fertilizing becauserhizobium cannot play the role of a fertilizer. A fertilizer is a compoundgiven to fertilizers to encourage growth with the use of nutrients whichmake the plant grow taller and greener. On the other hand, Rhizobium is achemical specifically used to help with nitrogen fixation that a plantrequires, and so Rhizobium can not be used as an alternative to fertilizing.

2. No, Rhizobium bacteria can not help any type of plant, and there are many reasons supporting this. Rhizobium is only a nitrogen fixingbacteria which can be used only on legumes, which are dry fruits thatdevelop from a carpel and usually opens along a seam on two sides.

Rhizobium takes nitrogen gas in the air and converts it into NH3 for thelegumes. Rhizobium is specifically associated with a particular family, and so it only requires nodules that can only be found in that particular family,and that's why it can not help out the other plants.

3. These bacteria can have both negative and positive impacts on our environment, people and plants. The negative impacts can include that the chemicals having a chance of leaking into the water supply and causing major affects, and that the final product may not be as good as the plant that was grown naturally. The positive impacts can be that Rhizobium will help make bigger and larger plants which would reduce the CO2 in the air.

TheoryEvery living thing grows at different rates. This experiment can relate to building muscle mass. If a person does exercise twice a week, he/she will eventually gain muscle after a period of time. On the other hand, if one has a weight set and lifts weights 4 times a week, he/she will gain muscle at a faster rate. This relates to Rhizobium because it compares to the weight set. Rhizobium provides nutrients for the plants so the plant can get nutrients easier and grow at a faster rate. The plant with no rhizobium on the other hand compares to the person who does exercise twice a week. The normal plant will still grow, but it will take a longer time because it does not get any help. By looking at the graphs we can see that Rhizobium helped the plant a lot because it grew much taller than the normal plant. When the plants were growing, they were given water each weekday, and they were treated equally and were placed right beside each other so there was no problem with photosynthesis. ThePhotosynthesis process helped in making the plants green, especially the one with the Rhizobium in it, but the normal plant had a lighter shade and this may have been that the normal plant did not receive enough water, and water is essential for photosynthesis to occur because water is one of the raw materials needed for the process.

Sources of ErrorThere are many factors that may have contributed to the experiment not working properly. Factors may include:- Flooding of the tray- Not enough water given- Contamination of rhizobium in the regular plant- Seed planted too deep into the pot- Too much sand used- Too little sand used- Not enough sunlight reached the plantStrengths and LimitationStrengths:- A lot of time given for plants to grow- Both pots were placed beside each other so the same amount of energy were given to both of them.

- Both plants were watered daily- Both plants were observed daily- Unlimited source of energy provided (light from bulbs)Weaknesses:- Both pots were placed inside a classroom, so there would be lesschance of nitrogen reaching the plants.

- Both pots were placed beside each other, so there might have been arisk of contamination.

ConclusionIn conclusion, my hypothesis was correct. The plant with the Rhizobium did end up growing at a faster rate and taller than the normal plant. The rhizobium plant grew at a faster place and turned out to be taller so the results were noticeable; rhizobium helps the plants by providing them with more nitrogen. This lab report describes the nitrogen cycle because it all starts off with Rhizobium, which then converts the nitrogen gas into another state so it can be used up by plants, and because of this, the plant grows and soon denitrification takes place, and eventually the plant dies and decomposes. When this occurs, the nitrogen gas is converted back into its original state.

Overall, there were a lot of new things that was learnt from doing this experiment. We learned what the nitrogen cycle was and how important it is in our ecosystem. We also learned what Rhizobium bacteria was and its role in the nitrogen cycle.

BIOGRAPHY:www. wikipedia.comhttp://library.thinkquest.org/3608/plantsgrow.html