IB Biology - Mesocosm Lab

Delaney Lumpkin
Period 3

Procedure: Terrestrial
1. Poured 1 cup of regular soil in empty jar
2. Placed 2 bean seeds in jar
3. Filled beaker with 50 mL of water
4. Poured water into jar
5. Closed lid and placed under heating lamp
6. Checked and made observations for 2 weeks

Qualitative Data: Observations

Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5: Day 6: Day 7:
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday

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-No sprouting -No sprouting -Beans sprouted -Beans look a little

er as
-Wet soil -Damp soil (No school) (No school) (No school) -Two green stems taller

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with round -Green color

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looking tops -Condensation
-Curled down forming on inside

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with dirt on top of of jar
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Day 8: Day 9: Day 10: Day 11: Day 12: Day 13: Day 14:
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday
-Beans look a little -Beans are less -Beans sprouts are -Stems of beans
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taller green (No school) (No school) (No school) bent and less have snapped
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-Dirt is damp on top -More lively -Color of stems are

condensation -Light green light green/yellow
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forming on inside color, a little color

of jar brown -Dirt is dry
-Dirt on top of -Dirt on top of -Little
beans are weighing beans weights condensation
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the stem down the sprouts down

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-Condensation on
inside of jar
-Dirt on top, is dry
but the deeper it
gets the more
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moist it is
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Conclusion
The data in this lab shows that the bean seeds used cannot survive in the environment created. This being

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 said, while throughout the observations the beans did sprout and live for a few days, they did end up
dying. This is shown in the data on day 13. On day 13 the beans that sprouted have changed in color and
look like the stems might break in half. This compared to day 6 when the beans had just started to sprout
and looked very lively shows just how unfit this environment was for this type of plant. The bean seeds
need dirt, water and sunlight to grow, which is what it had. The goal of this lab was to make the seeds
bloom and grow into beans. While the did grow under all of these conditions they did start to die in the
end. The mesocosms demonstrate a perfect environment for plants. It also demonstrates how fast an
orgasm can flourish and then die, after just one week. According to
https://academic.oup.com/plankt/article/23/10/1081/1399359, a mesocosm is a way of observing an
environment, although it may not be ideal and grow the same way, they can inform scientists about any
given ecosystem.

The results of this lab may be because of many limitations created during the observation period.
Limitations include, the lid not being sealed fully. This could create and unstable environment for the
seeds as any outside air or particles can find their way into the mesocosm. Another limitation, includes the

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light varying throughout the lab. Throughout the weekend, the light was turned off. This could’ve affected

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the results by not allowing sufficient and a constant amount of sunlight throughout the lab. This could

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have caused the bean seeds not to grow fully and receive enough sunlight. Finally, due to the top the jar

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being metal, no sunlight was received at the top of the jar and this caused the plant to die. This is because

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the seeds did not receive sunlight on top which is a crucial spot in where they need sunlight.
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There are certain improvements that can be made to improve the results of my lab and higher the chances
of it surviving. The issue of the lid not being fully sealed could be improved. This problem, that could’ve
been a result of the seeds dying, can be resolved by tightening the lid all the way and after every
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observation tightening it a little more. The light being turned off, could be improved by either keeping the
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light off throughout the entirety of the lab or keeping it on throughout all of the lab. By keeping this
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constant this could improve results by allowing for an equal amount of light each day. Finally having a
clear top would improve results by allowing for light all angles of the mesocosm.
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Works Cited
Watts, et al. “Modelling and the Monitoring of Mesocosm Experiments: Two Case Studies.” OUP
Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Oct. 2001, academic.oup.com/plankt/article/23/10/1081/1399359.
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