Journal Questions

Journal Questions

1. Make a hypothesis about how you think the two species of Paramecium will grow alone and how they will grow when they are grown together. (Make sure you understand what a hypothesis is before you address this!)

The hypothesis for the two species of Paramecium is that they will grow better alone than together. In addition when they do grow together, it is more likely that one will kill off the other.

2. Explain how you tested your hypothesis. (Give details of how you conducted your experiment. Consider this the "Methods" section of a lab report.)

I used the experimental control technique, three test tubes had rice in them. The difference in condition was that one test tube had the Paramecium caudatum, one test tube had the Paramecium Aurelia and the other test tube had both in it. Every two days a sample from each test tube was looked at to see what varied or what remained the same.

3. On what day did the Paramecium caudatum population reach the carrying capacity of the environment when it was grown alone? How do you know?

When grown single-handedly the Paramecium caudatum population reached the carrying capacity of the environment on the 14th day. This was obvious because on the 16th day the population started declining.

4. On what day did the Paramecium aurelia population reach the carrying capacity of the environment? How do you know?

When grown single-handedly the Paramecium aurelia population reached the carrying capacity of the environment on the 14th day. This was obvious because on the 16th day the population started decreasing

5. Explain the differences in the population growth patterns of the two Paramecium species. What does this tell you about how Paramecium aurelia uses available resources?

When grown single-handedly the Paramecium aurelia population grew a lot faster than the Paramecium caudatum population. This proves that the Paramecium aurelia was able to use all the available resources that were present.

6. Describe what happened when the Paramecium populations were mixed in the same test tube. Do the results support the principle of competitive exclusion?

When mixed the second version of the Paramecium took over and eventually controlled all of the area in the solution. This definitely supports the principle of competitive exclusion.