Nitrate and phosphate are useful as fertilizers in agriculture
and gardening. Nitrate and phosphate aid agricultural production
by producing more abundant crops. However, since the mass
production of ammonia during the 1940's by way of the Haber
process, it has been noted that a phenomenon known as “nitrate
pollution” may occur. This pollution can be demonstrated by
conducting this simple experiment. This experiment demonstrates
two main ideas. The first is a test of what levels of nitrate
and phosphate allow for optimum algal growth. The second
demonstrates at which levels of nitrate and phosphate algal
blooms may occur, causing harm to an aquatic ecosystem (Freeman,
2002). b. Given three cultures with different concentrations of
nitrate and phosphate, students will evaluate the nitrate and
phosphate levels at which an increase in algal growth occurs in
a closed system. It is recommended that students have prior
knowledge of algae’s ability to carry out photosynthesis. Also,
students should be familiar with