Mayra Espinosa L.

AP Environmental Science
P4

Inorganic vs Organic Fertilizers

The purpose of this project is to find out how seed germination rates are dependent on
organic fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. Natural Fertilizers are chemical or substance added to
soil That Increase and supplies the growth of the plant; however, there are two types of organic
and inorganic fertilizers the, both of the plants Provide With the nutrients needed to grow healthy
and strong. For example, Organic fertilizers eat from manures, compost, "Since bacteria and
fungi decompose organic fertilizer to have before they can be taken up by plants, nutrients are
released more slowly, especially during cold weather when soil microbes are not as active.
However, organic fertilizers have many advantages, "(Savonen, 2016). This shows organic
fertilizer That Takes a long process to decompose before it can take up to the plants, but in a
healthy / safe way.
In the other hand, Inorganic fertilizer is made in a. "Inorganic nitrogen fertilizers come
in many different forms: such as ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate, and urea.
These high levels of fertilizers Contain nitrogen, one of the MOST vital nutrients for plant
growth. However, these inorganic fertilizers tend to Increase the pH of the soil upon application,
increase increasing the chances of burn and damage to seedlings. Others pull moisture from the
air, making them difficult to apply and store, "(Maier, 2014).
Both Organic and Inorganic fertilizers have an environmental impact. For example,
inorganic fertilizers are available to your plants immediately, but subject to leaching they are, to
process That Occurs When fertilizers are washed by rain or irrigation water below the level of
plant roots. Heavy applications can burn your plants and build up to toxic salt Concentrations in
the soil, which can create chemical imbalances. "(Miller, 2008). Organic fertilizers "are made
from the natural sources, only limited Amounts of fossil fuels are used in production. This Means

Mayra Espinosa L.
AP Environmental Science
P4

greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere is lower in organic fertilizer production than it is in
inorganic fertilizer production. "(Miller, 2008).

Experimental Design
Problem Question: Which type of fertilizer is the best at germinating seeds?

Hypothesis: If we were to put organic fertilizer to germinate our seeds, it will spur faster because
organic fertilizer has the nutrients that our needed in a seed to help them grow than inorganic
fertilizer that has less nutrients and chemical added in soil.

Iv: we will use organic and inorganic fertilizers

DV: The amount of fertilizer we apply, the amount of water we provide, and the amount of sunlight.

CG: Topsoil will be our control group

EG: Our group will have two experimental. One of the experimental group will be inorganic fertilizer and
other will be organic.

Materials & Methods

we would use 2 bottles per experimental (3 experimental). We will measures the amount of fertilizer and
the water that we would be adding in the 3 experimental. Next we would cut the bottles in half to put the
organic and inorganic fertilizer in two different bottles, in the bottom of the two bottles we would add the
soil and the corn seed.

Seed growth

Mayra Espinosa L.
AP Environmental Science
P4
Orgnic

Inorgnic

Top soil

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Conclusion

At the end of the lab, the best fertilizer for a seed to germinating the best is the Inorganic
fertilizer. This experiment shows how Inorganic, Organic, and top soil fertilizer are compare each

Mayra Espinosa L.
AP Environmental Science
P4
other, on how it affects the germination of seeds (corn). Base on the data, our Hypothesis is proven
wrong.

The data shows Inorganic fertilizer was working better and faster than other two, however, the
organic was catching up with the inorganic fertilizer, slowly but it was getting there. It also
shows that corn its more impact with the inorganic fertilizer than the organic. Finally, the lab
experiment has proven that inorganic fertilizer has a better impact on the growth of the seed.

Citation

By comparison, applying inorganic fertilizers is simple, because the amount of a given element
and the rate of application are known. (n.d.). Inorganic Fertilizer Vs. Organic Fertilizer.
Retrieved November 03, 2016, from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/inorganic-fertilizer-vsorganic-fertilizer-39528.html
Here's the scoop on chemical and organic fertilizers. (2016). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/955
Types of Inorganic Fertilizers. (2004). Retrieved November 03, 2016, from
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/types-inorganic-fertilizers-39293.html