Creating Biofuel from Algae: Does Growth Depend on the Water Source?

Abstract

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In this experiment, we are testing to see if different samples of water will affect the amount of biomass that is shown.  In this experiment, our independent variable(IV) is the water that is used and the dependent variable(DV) is the algal biomass or algae growth.  We are using different kinds of water to determine which has the correct chemicals for algal growth.  We are using tap, bottled, and DI water.  We believe that the different water sources will have an effect on the algal growth, because of the chemicals that are currently present in the water. We used a sample of a solution that contained algae and added 4mL of this to the bottles and allowed them to sit.  We then measured the algal growth of the different bottles and determined the amount of cells/mL. The experiment was then repeated with DI water.  Our hypothesis is that the DI water will show more algae growth than the tap water.