The Effect of Daylight Exposure and Temperature on the Decomposition of Ammonia into Nitrite
To combat the increasing number of polluted bodies of water due to agricultural runoff, this experiment aims to target the time of year that is most efficient to limit fertilizer use. To simulate fertilizer pollution, two drops of ammonia were put into Solo cups, and these samples were put into three different boxes, twelve cups per box, each box imitating a season (winter, spring, and summer). The seasonal simulation was done through the use of a UV light to give off particular number of hours of light per day and the water temperature was also controlled. After four weeks, the amount of nitrite in parts per million (ppm) was measured and averaged for each seasonal set. The set with the lowest amount of nitrite would prove to have the slowest nitrogen cycle, and the one with the highest would have the quickest nitrogen cycle. Having the slowest nitrogen cycle would make a season the most efficient time to limit pollution is because that pollution would be in the water supply for longer than other seasons. After analyzing initial results, it was quite clear that the winter season, with an average of zero ppm of nitrite, had the slowest nitrogen cycle. To determine the season with the quickest nitrogen cycle, a two sample t-test was done between spring and summer data. The result showed that summer did, in fact, have the quickest nitrogen cycle as it overall developed a higher concentration of nitrite after four weeks.
Research Conducted By:
Amber Agusti
Fraser High School
Madi Scally
Fraser High School
Warren Consolidated Schools