You have read that inorganic fertilizers contribute to water pollution and would

Question

You have read that inorganic fertilizers contribute to water pollution and would like to make a switch from inorganic fertilizers to organic compost in your vegetable garden. A friend graciously gives you a truck load of his compost. As a good researcher and critical thinker you are not convinced that organic compost will yield the same results as the inorganic fertilizer you have used for years with good results. To draw your own conclusion based on scientific evidence you decide to conduct an experiment in your garden. State a good hypothesis, design an experiment (include test subjects, sample size, control(s), dependent and independent variables, type of data collected) and hypothetical results/conclusion. Does your conclusion support the hypothesis?

Explanation / Answer

Hypothesis: Using organic fertiliser will give more corn yield compared to both using inorganic fertiliser and not using any fertiliser

Test subject: Corn plants grown on an experimental site which was strongly leached

Sample size: In a hectare of land 100 corn plants are grown on different conditions (control, inorganic fertliser and organic fertiliser)

Data collected: Yield in terms of tonnes of corn produced per hectare of land

Hypothetical results: The control plants which were not added any fertiliser will show stunted growth. The plants which were grown with organic fertiliser showed double the growth compared to plants grown with inorganic fertiliser. This will affect the yield of corn produced. The plants grown with organic fertiliser will show higher yield compared to plants grown with inorganic fertiliser.

Conclusions: Usage of organic fertiliser will have a positive effect on the plant's growth, which ultimately reflect on its yield.

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