The purpose of this experiment is to carry out an investigationto compare the ef

Question

The purpose of this experiment is to carry out an investigationto compare the effect of two different fertilizers, Charlie Carp(organic fertilizer) and Thrive (Inorganic fertilizer) on Basilplant's growth.

It is hypothesized that the soluble organic, CharlieCarp fertilizer would encourage more and higher basil leaf growththan the inorganic soluble Thrive fertilizer.

A fertilizer is a natural or synthetic substancecontaining the essential chemical elements that the plant doesn'tproduce in the process of photosynthesis. These elements improvegrowth and productiveness of plants. Fertilizers enhance thenatural fertility of the soil to support plant growth or replacethe chemical elements taken from the soil by previous crops. Thereare two types of fertilizers: organic and inorganic.

Organic fertilizer, for example Charlie Carp, is theproduct of the natural decomposition of plants and animals wastes.One of its main advantages is its capability to improve the soilstructure, or tilth, increases its ability to hold both water andnutrients and allows more air to get to plant roots. It alsoprovides a healthier plant growth since it provides nutrients invery slow release, as a result, it doesn't cause anoversupply of these materials. However, organic fertilizersare not immediately available to plants, for example, if it wasapplied to the soil in spring, it might not be broken down by soilbacteria until mid summer when the bacterial action increases. Inaddition the amount of nutrients and the exact type of elementssupplied to the plant can only be guessed.

Inorganic fertilizer, for example thrive, is a chemicalproduct, of either mineral or synthetic origin, that providesnutrients to stimulate plant growth. One of its main advantages isthat it immediately provides nutrients to plants. However, they caneasily "burn" roots or create a toxic concentration of salts ifover-applied as they are so rich in nutrients.

Both of these types will be tested in this experiment onthe plant Basil. Basil is one of the most aromatic and recognisableherbs. It is very sensitive to cold and grows best in full sun orsemi-shade and a warm, moderately rich soil. Basil tends to like avariety of fertilizers, but it performs best with organic(slow-release) fertilizers this is because fast-release orartificial fertilizers give it an undesirable flush of growth thatmay not greatly sustain its growth as with the organic fertilizer.It has a height range of 30-60cm. In order to grow Basil makestheir own food through the process of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and otherphotoautotrophs use carbon dioxide, water and the captured sunlightenergy to produce sugar (carbohydrates) and oxygen. Inphotosynthesis, carbon dioxide enters through open stomata (whichis situated under the leaf) by diffusion while the water isabsorbed by the roots and transported to the leaf through thexylem.

Photosynthesis balanced equationis:     

                               Sunlight + Chlorophyll

6 CO2 + 12 H2O ----------------------------> C6H12O6 + 6 H2O+ 6 O2

There are sixteen different chemical elements that are importantto a plant's growth and survival as they provide nutritioussubstances. These elements are divided into two main groups:non-mineral and mineral elements.

The non-mineral nutrients include, Hydrogen (H), oxygen (O),& carbon (C). The other thirteen soluble mineral nutrientsare broken down into two subgroups: macronutrients andmicronutrients.

Macronutrients are also divided into two groups: Primaryand secondary nutrients.

The primary nutrients are: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), andpotassium (K). These major nutrients are usually lacking from thesoil first because plants use large amounts of them for theirgrowth and survival in contrast to the secondary nutrients: calcium(Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) which are usually present inthe soil.

Each one of these elements has a particular job in building andmaintaining plant growth.

Each Fertilizer has an N-P-K ratio. This term refers tothe ratio of nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P),and potassium (K) inthe fertilizer. For example, Charlie carp is labeled as 3-0.7-0.1,meaniing it has 3% nitrogen, 0.7%phosphorus, and0.1% potassium. Thrive is lablled as 27 - 5.5 - 9 has

Explanation / Answer

A fertilizer is a natural or synthetic substancecontaining the essential chemicalsthat are not produced by a plant duringthe process ofphotosynthesis. These chemicals improve growth and productiveness of plants.Fertilizers enhance the natural fertility of the soil to supportplant growth or replace the chemical elements taken from the soilby previous crops. There are two types of fertilizers: organic andinorganic.

Organic fertilizer, for example Charlie Carp, is theproduct of the natural decomposition of plants and animals wastes.The main advantage of this is about its capability to improve the soil structure, ortilth, it also increases the abilityof soil to hold both water and nutrients and provides good aeration to plant roots. It provides ahealthier plant growth by providingnutrients in very slow release. As a result, it doesn't cause anoversupply of these materials. However, organic fertilizersare not immediately available to plants. For example, ifit is supplied to the soil inspring, it might not be broken down by soil bacteria until midsummer when the bacterial action increases. In addition the amountof nutrients and the exact type of elements supplied to the plantcan only be guessed.

Inorganic fertilizer, for example thrive, is a chemicalproduct, of either mineral or synthetic origin, that providesnutrients to stimulate plant growth. One of its main advantage isthat, it immediately provides nutrients to plants. However, theycan easily "burn" roots or create a toxic concentration of salts ifover-supplied (as they are rich in nutrients).

Both of these types will be tested in this experiment onthe plant Basil. Basil is one of the most aromatic and recognisableherbs. It is very sensitive to cold and grows best in full sun orsemi-shade and a warm, moderately rich soil. Basil tends to like avariety of fertilizers, but it performs best with organic(slow-release) fertilizers. This is due tothe fast-release or artificial fertilizers give it anundesirable flush of growth that may not greatly sustain its growthas with the organic fertilizer. It has a height range of 30-60cm.In order to grow, Basil makes its ownfood by the process ofphotosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and otherphotoautotrophs use carbon dioxide, water and the captured sunlightenergy to produce sugar (carbohydrates) and oxygen. Inphotosynthesis, carbon dioxide enters through open stomata (whichis situated under the leaf) by diffusion while the water isabsorbed by the roots and transported to the leaf through thexylem.

The balanced equation for Photosynthesisis:     

6 CO2 + 12H2O----------------------------> C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6 O2

There are sixteen different chemical elements that are importantto a plant's growth and survival as they provide nutrientsubstances. These elements are divided into two main groups:non-mineral and mineral elements.

The non-mineral nutrients include, Hydrogen (H), oxygen (O),& carbon (C). The other thirteen soluble mineral nutrientsare broken down into two subgroups: macronutrients andmicronutrients.

Macronutrients are also divided into two groups: Primaryand secondary nutrients.

The primary nutrients are: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), andpotassium (K). The soil usually lacks these nutrients as large of these areused up by the plants for their growth ans durvival. Contrastingly,the secondary nutrients like calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), andsulfur (S) are usually present in the soil.

Each one of these elements have a particularrole in regulating and maintaining the plant growth.

Each Fertilizer has an N-P-K ratio. This term refers tothe ratio of nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P),and potassium (K) inthe fertilizer. For example, Charlie carp is labeled as 3-0.7-0.1,meaniing it has 3% nitrogen, 0.7%phosphorus, and0.1% potassium. Thrive is lablled as 27 - 5.5 - 9 has

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