Resources from Ms. Williams

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Abstract: Our project was about finding the rate red worms decompose foods with different textures. Our hypothesis that he softer food will be easier to decompose because the worms don’t have teeth, they coat their food with saliva. So the food will be easier to swallow and digest. To do this experiment you need 3 boxes that are the same size, drill air holes in the sides of the box, put a blanket over the top of the box, place the box in a dark environment where the temperature is between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the food under the bedding then place the worms inside the box spread out evenly over all the boxes. To get your data, you need to do a daily checkup and record how much they are eating. Our key results were the softer foods did get eaten more, because the carrots didn’t get eaten that much over the period of time, but the softer foods like the bread and the inside of the banana’s got eaten by the worms much more. We concluded that the research we did on our hypothesis supported our data. Some of the steps we took in our experiment could have been faulty, such as placing different amounts of the worms in each of the different bins. All-in-all though I believe that our data was accurate and we performed a good expirement.

Topic: Which food textures are easier to decomposed, and take less time to decompose by red worms.

Purpose:  The purpose is to find out which food texture can be decomposed the fastest, and which is the  easiest. 

Testable Question: How do different textures of food affect the rate of decomposition by red worms?

Background Research: Red worms decompose food by ingesting the waste through the mouth. Red worms mouth's can grab anything the worm is trying to eat. Red worms have no teeth, so they coat their food with saliva, which makes the food softer, so it's easier to digest.

Red worms create soil by expelling manure, which has mucus in it. Then when the manure is exposed to air it hardens. When it is mixed with plant soil, they combine nutrients to feed the plants. The hardened mucus does not decompose, but it makes the soil organic. Red worms can adapt in many different places, but the ideal temperature for their home is 55 - 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Red worms need a moist environment because they breathe through their skin, and their skin must be moist to breathe like amphibians. The lid needs to have air holes because worms need oxygen to live; they produce carbon dioxide. The box should be 1 to 1-and-a-half feet deep. For a family with 4-6 people an ideal worm box would be a box by 1 foot by 2 feet by 3 feet. For 2 people a box should be 1 foot, by 2 feet, by 2 feet. For the materials of your box, never use treated wood or any container that might have been used for chemicals. Some good containers are old Rubbermaid containers, wooden pallets, or old ammunition boxes. For setting up a good worm system you will need 1. A worm box; 2. Bedding; 3. A couple of handfuls of soil or sand; 4. A scale, if you want to know how many pounds of food waste you have, and 5. Moisture. Worms' bodies & the bedding should have the same amount of moisture content. This amounts to 75% to 90% moisture content.

Hypothesis:  Our hypothesis is that the softer food will be easier to decompose because worms don't have teeth, they coat their food with saliva. So the food will break down, and will be easier to swallow, and digest.

Variables: Controlled Variables : Water, newspaper, light, temperature, bin, mass of worms

                       Independent Variable : Food scraps.

                        Dependant Variable : Worms. 

Materials: Worm box, newspaper, worms, food scraps, 100 watt bulb, and water.

Procedure:  First, you will need to start by buying 3 worm bins that are the exact same in width, length, and height. Next, you will have to drill the same amount of holes in each bin. Place a blanket over the top of the box like a cover. Now you will have to find your bedding. We are going to use ripped up newspaper, but there are many other beddings. Make sure that all of the beddings you put in the boxes are the same. Then slightly dampen the newspaper.  Now take your food that you are going to decompose, and place it in the worm bin under the bedding. After you are done this, place the worms in the bins, but make sure you evenly spread out the worms. Make sure you divide the worms up evenly by how much they weigh. After all of the food and worms are in the bin, place the bins in somewhere dark and that has a good temperature for the worms (between 55-77 degrees). Put all of the bins in this spot. You are done now, and you can wait until you see which food decomposes the fastest! Make sure you do a daily checkup on the worms.

Data: http://spreadsheets.google.com/a/mpsvt.org/ccc?key=0Ar7PlcCwFP83dDBXOUcwQ202Z0gwaC1QMmcxWkREb1E&hl=en 

Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions: The relationship between the independent and dependent variables is that the dependent relies on the independent variable.

Application of the Results: This information could be useful to someone who owns red worms because this might be something better to feed the red worms, or better nutrients could be in the soil.

Conclusion: In conclusion, we now know based on are evidence that softer foods, like bananas ,and bread get eaten faster, unlike the hard carrots. Our data shows that the softer the food, the easier, and faster it is to compost. And the harder the food, the longer it takes to compost. I think this happened because the worms don't chew their food, they coat it with their saliva, so it was easier to compost the softer foods. But they couldn't chew the carrots, so it was harder for them. So now we know which food is easier to compost based on the data we collected.

 Resources: Worms Eat my Garbage