It Grows on Me: Effects of Different Phosphorous Levels on Algae

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment is to understand the optimal concentration of phosphorus that will allow the best growth of algae. The optimal growth of algae is incredibly important as extensive amounts of algae are required for the production of biofuels. We prepared four bottles of algae for each trial, three for 32 microliters of 0.5M phosphorus and one as control. We prepared the same process, we still had one control bottle, but in the other three we added 64 microliters of 0.5M phosphorus. We hypothesize that an increase of phosphorus will yield in a greater algae growth. Our hypothesis was not supported because the average change in cell count decreased in the 32 microliters of 0.5M added phosphorus. Our results were inconclusive. The graphs of the dry weight and cell count contradicted themselves.