All you science wizs out there, here's a question for you:?

Question

an agricultural company wants to try hydroponics to determine if it is more economic method than using soil.

Design an experiment to determine if carbon,nitrogen and potassium are really essential for proper plant growth and development.

please help!!!!

Answer 1

The 1st part seems unrelated to the experiment (unless you need to do this all hydroponically).  

To set up the experiment you will need to germinate many plants.  Let the plants grow until they lose their cotyledons (the cotyledons will supply the plant with energy and nutrients, so for this experiment you will want the cotyledons to be gone).  When you start the experiment, select similar sized plants with the same number of leaves.  Next set up a sealed tank and pump in straight O2 (or other CO2-less gases).  Then, using sterilized potting soil, grow a plant in the chamber and water with only distilled water.  You must also have a control.  This will be a plant exposed to air and nutrients (miracle grow or something with N and K.  Give both plants the same amount of water and sunlight and have several replicates.  Record things like plant height, number of leaves, size of leaves, yellowish leaves (chlorosis), dead or brown spots (necrosis), number of flowers, etc.

Answer 2

in a lab. put a seed in water and seal the air tight box. Attached to the box are three tubes that are attached to a carbon tank, a nitrogen tank, and a potassium tank.  The seed only has contact with pure water and these three gases. Note the observations each day.

Dunno if this would work...but maybe could get you thinking.

Answer 3

It is easy to set the experiment. It is difficult to implement it.

Prepare about 1000 seedlings of same age with same no. of leaves and make sure that the cotyledons are lost.

Prepare the hydroponics support medium of sand by roasting it upto 300-350 °C and putting flame to it to burn off the carbon matters.  Plant the seedling in groups of 125 (subdivided into groups of 25) and make 8 such isolated huts in green house where gases can be controlled.

To the first hut/trent group of plants (25 plants) provide everything except nitrogen.

To the second hut/trent group of plants (25 plants) provide everything except carbon or carbon dioxide.

To the third hut/trent group of plants (25 plants) provide everything except potassium.

Do not deplete anything from 4 th group.

Reapeat the experiment by palnting another set in soil and allow it to grow.

Repeat the experiment in 5 more groups under each condition mentioned above.

So you will have 25 * 6  = 150 plants data for each of the 4 different conditions and each data group is repeated 6 times.

Also allow the 5th group (25 * 6 = 150 plants) under normal conditions in soil.

Remaining plants serve as replacement volunteers and and plants died within 3 days will be replaced with them.

Replacements will be recorded in details and considered for effects after stastical calculations before finalisinfg the conclusions.

Tabulate the results in a chart with parameters of leaf no, condition (yellow, green), size (leaf area 25mm, 50mm, 100mm or larger), no of days taken to flower, pod no.s or seed no.s, and finally total dry weight of the plant (taken after drying the plant is shdow for 7 days).

The individual group variation should not vary for more than 5%RSD.

After tabulation trend chart the data and find the averages and means and variation from group to group.

After tabulation only you wll be able to draw any conclusion.

For experiment you may consider using fast growing variety of Brassica Rapa which will not only eliminate the genetic variation effect but also reduce the time required to complete the experiment for studing growth through the complete life span of plant.

more.

Please communicate the results. Many companies will be interested in buying these details,