Limiting Factor Affecting Duckweed Growth

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS:

The limiting factor of area is the size of the polystyrene cup used in the experiment. Each of the polystyrene cups was the exact size in order to be able to determine how different amounts of fertilizer affected the duckweed growth. Hence, the factor of size could not be investigated as each different amount of fertilizer was exposed to the exact same area. This can be linked to the literature review that discusses how the area where it is growing affects duckweed growth.

The limiting factor of light intensity was also considered during the experiment. Each polystyrene cup was placed in the exact same place. Hence, each polystyrene cup had the exact same sunlight exposure. The polystyrene cup was also exposed to the exact same weather conditions over the two week time period. Hence, the factor of light intensity could not be investigated as each different amount of fertilizer was exposed to the exact same weather conditions and light intensity. The weather was partly cloudy with lots of instances of rain. In other words, a lack of sunlight was prevalent. This validates the slow growth rate of duckweed. However, during the experiment the weather included humidity. This resulted in an increase in temperature. This caused the enzymes of …show more content…
However, we did not test the pH level of the water before and after adding the different amounts of fertilizer in the polystyrene cups. This could have skewed the data as the literature review discusses: the pH level affects the growth of duckweed. The optimal pH level is between five to nine, which are very alkaline levels. It cannot be determined whether or not the pH level affected the growth of duckweed as it is unknown whether or not the pH level was consistent (kept the same) for each polystyrene cup. Hence, it cannot be said that the factor of pH level was not investigated as the pH level may or may not have been