| Experiment with Growth of Sea Lettuce |
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Inger Klit, Favrskov Gymnasium Algae can contribute to the solution of our energy demands because they can be turned into bio-ethanol. The latter can be used as fuel, for instance in cars. The green alga Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactura) is suitable for demonstrating the growth potential of algae. It is a common alga in the Danish Waters. It is easy to study the growth of each alga, because it is very thin in its structure. In only two weeks, it is possible to obtain data from an experiment. The experiment is relatively cheap. The algae can possibly grow in plastic boxes to save the cost of aquariums. Faglige aktiviteter There are several activities for the students in the experiment: They calculate the salt concentration and weigh the salt that has to be added to the aquariums. Besides, fertilizers have to be measured and added to the water. The sea weed is cut into circular slices. The students measure the area of those slices before putting them into the water. After two or three weeks, the slices are measured again, and the growth rate is calculated. By combining different concentrations of fertilizer and salt in each aquarium, the optimal conditions for Sea Lettuce can be estimated. Experiments with growth of sea weed can be used in several contexts. We used it in an AT-course (multisubject coursework) where the theme was "Sustainability". Besides, it is obvious as an interdisciplinary cooperation between mathematics and biology, also at higher level in public school. Finally, we regard it as a possibility to use it in NV (science coursework) to demonstrate the way we work experimentally in science.
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