Earthworm Experiment
Question/Purpose: Do different diets affect earthworms and the soil they enrich?
Hypothesis: The diet that is best for earthworms is one made up of soil and grass, because earthworms are more likely to have grass in their environment outside the classroom.
Introduction: Earthworms are defined dictionary.com is “any one of numerous annelid worms that burrow in soil and feed on soil nutrients and decaying organic matter.” However, what if the “soil nutrients” were changed into three different groups? After extensive research, I decided to test the effect of fruit peels, grass clippings, and coffee grounds on earthworms and their soil. It has been proven previously that a rich diet enhances the enzymes and biomass of earthworms, …show more content…
Place a beaker on the scale and set the scale to zero with the beaker on it. Put twelve worms in the beaker and weigh them before adding them into one of the pots. Repeat this step three more times for each of the remaining pots. Be sure to label each pot with your sharpie control, fruit, coffee, and grass. Record the weight of each group of worms.
4. With each the worms in each pot, add enough of each “food” to cover the top of the soil and be sure to weigh how much you put in. For the control, pour in worm food, for the pot labeled fruit, put in fruit peels to cover the top, for the grass, put in grass to cover the top, and for coffee, pour in the coffee to cover the top. Record the mass of the each “food”.
5. Pour in another two inches of soil. Spray each pot five times with the spray bottle, and pat down the soil gently.
6. Cutting apart the garbage bag, cover each pot with it. Be sure to poke air holes with your scissor.
7. Place each pot on the tray and store the earthworms somewhere cool.
8. Each day, check in on the earthworms. See how much food they ate, if any, and record it. Add food if necessary. Also, check to see if the earthworms are still living. Be sure to weigh anything you add and record any changes in the
Question/Purpose: Do different diets affect earthworms and the soil they enrich?
Hypothesis: The diet that is best for earthworms is one made up of soil and grass, because earthworms are more likely to have grass in their environment outside the classroom.
Introduction: Earthworms are defined dictionary.com is “any one of numerous annelid worms that burrow in soil and feed on soil nutrients and decaying organic matter.” However, what if the “soil nutrients” were changed into three different groups? After extensive research, I decided to test the effect of fruit peels, grass clippings, and coffee grounds on earthworms and their soil. It has been proven previously that a rich diet enhances the enzymes and biomass of earthworms, …show more content…
Place a beaker on the scale and set the scale to zero with the beaker on it. Put twelve worms in the beaker and weigh them before adding them into one of the pots. Repeat this step three more times for each of the remaining pots. Be sure to label each pot with your sharpie control, fruit, coffee, and grass. Record the weight of each group of worms.
4. With each the worms in each pot, add enough of each “food” to cover the top of the soil and be sure to weigh how much you put in. For the control, pour in worm food, for the pot labeled fruit, put in fruit peels to cover the top, for the grass, put in grass to cover the top, and for coffee, pour in the coffee to cover the top. Record the mass of the each “food”.
5. Pour in another two inches of soil. Spray each pot five times with the spray bottle, and pat down the soil gently.
6. Cutting apart the garbage bag, cover each pot with it. Be sure to poke air holes with your scissor.
7. Place each pot on the tray and store the earthworms somewhere cool.
8. Each day, check in on the earthworms. See how much food they ate, if any, and record it. Add food if necessary. Also, check to see if the earthworms are still living. Be sure to weigh anything you add and record any changes in the