School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and Sciences

CM011L General Chemistry Laboratory

1st Quarter SY 2019-2020

Experiment No. 6

Ecosystem Dynamics: Assess the effect of fertilizers

on the phosphorus cycle

Submitted by:

Rodrigo Jr, Richard M.

CM011L – OL60

Experiment #6│ Date 10/31/2020 1 of 2

 School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and Sciences
CM011L General Chemistry Laboratory
1st Quarter SY 2019-2020

I. INTRODUCTION

Cultivating a new type of food source in a new environment has always been a norm in humans.
Everything that can be eaten or grown on a new planet will have a huge impact on the people on the planet.
Although there may be several benefits to humans, consequences can also occur, especially the effects of
harvesting several newly cultivated crops. The purpose of this lab simulation experiment is to identify the
causes of a consistent decline in the annual production of Whean crops, the meaning and purpose of
fertilizers, and the effects on the planet. The experiment is mainly about growing Whean crops and is limited
to some given factors of studies such as fertilizers, dead organisms, and the atmospheric deposition that
affects the growth of Whean Crops. Hence, identifying the main problems in the growth of Whean crops will
be accurate.

II. ANALYSIS

Going through the lab experiment. It was assigned to study the effects of fertilizer and some gathered
phosphorus examples to measure soluble phosphorus; intending to find a sustainable way of increasing the
yield of Whean crops without affecting the planet’s phosphorus cycle and ecosystem. The simulation was
started by gathering phosphorus samples obtained from the soil sample by using a tool called vortex. By
having identified the deficient soil sample, it is hypothesized that the possible way to increase the
concentration of phosphorus in the soil is to add an excess of phosphorus. Measuring soil phosphorus
through different experimental processes, and also measuring the effects of fertilizer on the phosphorus
cycle, the answer was then determined. The result shows that a process called Weathering is the only
process that can create new soluble phosphorus because it does not show signs of a living organism.
Therefore, the added excess of phosphorus increased the yield of Whean crops.

III. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, after the lab simulation of the experiment, the results showed that various effect of
fertilizer was found in the phosphorus cycle of the soil. The experiment also identified the effects of fertilizers,
showing that the fertilizer used in growing Whean crops did a good job of nourishing the crop and did not
cause any adverse effects on the soil. The rationale behind this is due to the fertilizer reaction along with the
phosphorus cycle that produces the nutrients of the Whean crops. Moreover, learning first the study of
fertilizer provided a good beneficiary by understanding whether it will give good or bad effects to the crops
and, also by studying the process of the phosphorus cycle, it has been a great help by fully understanding
the consequences of using fertilizer.

Experiment #6│ Date 10/31/2020 2 of 2