Purpose: To introduce you to the chemistry and use of composting as practiced in nature.
Completion and submittal instructions: Download this lab as a Word document and enter your responses directly into the form. Downloading this doc will be necessary before you can access the links in it. Submit your completed lab document into the Lab: Composting Lab Setup assignment submission folder in Module 1 for grading and feedback. Please note that you will be observing your composting project throughout the course and will submit your completed Lab: Composting Lab in Module 10.
Before beginning this lab, make sure you read the Understanding Composting page in Module 1. This page gives an overview of this lab, its purpose, and the necessity for weekly measurements.
Note: Alt-text is not available for some images in the links. If this creates an accessibility issue for you, please reach out to me.
Part One: Building Your Compost Column
Timing: 1-2 hours to construct; 10 weeks to observe.
Objective: Observe the decomposition process.
Resources:
Materials:
Setup Instructions:
Follow the assembly instructions provided in the link for Build a Decomposition Investigation Column with the following changes:
Once the column is constructed, fill it to within several inches of its top by alternating thin layers of dirt/soil with nitrogen-rich GREEN and carbon-rich BROWN organic wastes. Start and end your layers with BROWN materials. GREEN materials include fruit peels/cores, vegetable scraps, tea leaves, fresh leaves, grass clippings, fresh flowers, and coffee grounds. BROWN materials include dry leaves, straw, pine needles, egg shells, and shredded newspaper. Mix or shake lightly. Do not pack the compost; let it fill in on its own.
Due to the small scale of your column and the location of it (indoors), do not include wood or animal waste (such as chicken bones or beef fat or dairy products).
Add a small amount of water to make the compost lightly moist and spongy; do not soak. Replace the “lid” on the very top of your column.
Compost Column Questions and Predictions:
Answer all questions below after completing the setup of your compost column. Use the Understanding Compost Page (located in this module) and the various links in the Resources section to help you. Type your answers directly into this Word document using a different color font.If using a different color font creates accessibility issues for you, please reach out to me.
Day 1 (Week 1) Observations:
Answer the following questions. You will answer these same questions each week as you observe your experiment. You will record the answers on the data table located below.
Data Table:
Record your measurements and observations for Day 1 (under Week 1 in the table below) to be submitted in the Lab: Composting Lab Setup assignment area.For the Module 1 Lab: Composting Lab Setup submission you will only include Day 1 data and the answers to the questions you previously answered.A copy of this table is also part of the Lab: Composting Lab in Module 10. For each week of the course make the following measurements on your compost column. A copy of the full, completed table will need to be included with the Composting Lab in Module 10.
Week |
Compost height (in millimeters) |
Condensation & (Optional) Temperature (in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit) |
Water today? Yes or No |
Observations (i.e.- color, texture, presence of other organisms, etc.) |
1 |
||||
2 |
||||
3 |
||||
4 |
||||
5 |
||||
6 |
||||
7 |
||||
8 |
||||
9 |
||||
10 |
Part Two: Monitoring your compost column
Completed from Weeks 2-10:
Resources
Freudenrich, C. (2017). How composting works [Web page]. Retrieved from http://home.howstuffworks.com/composting2.htm
Trautman, N. (1996). Compost physics [Web page]. Retrieved from http://compost.css.cornell.edu/physics.html
UIUC Extension. (2017). The composting process [Web page]. Retrieved from http://urbanext.illinois.edu/compost/process.cfm
Bottle Biology. (n.d.). Build a decomposition investigation column [Web page]. Retrieved from Bottle Biology | Decomposition Column | Build
http://bottlebiology.org/investigations/decomp_build.html
Urgenthomework helped me with finance homework problems and taught math portion of my course as well. Initially, I used a tutor that taught me math course I felt that as if I was not getting the help I needed. With the help of Urgenthomework, I got precisely where I was weak:
Read More
Follow Us