Cambridge Science Competition

In recent years there has been a rising problem with excess use of inorganic fertilisers, causing pollution and affecting ecosystems within bodies of water, specifically rivers, lakes and oceans. Algal blooms and eutrophication have been severe consequences of these excess nutrients present in these waters. 

That is why myself and two other Year 10s, Alex and Kiara, felt compelled to take on the challenge of further exploring means of preventing and potentially solving these issues through the Cambridge Science Competition during the course of October. After a period of background research, we had our experiment planned and ready. We would investigate the strength of nutrient uptake, specifically ammonia, by Ulva, conducting this experiment  at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa in Sea Point over the course of a month.

Now, you may be wondering what any of that means. Ulva is a genus of seaweed that is commonly used in aquaculture and bioremediation. In our experiment and investigation, we hoped to assess the effectiveness of Ulva in nutrient uptake, and whether it would be an effective means of combating problems such as water pollution and eutrophication. 

Over the span of a month, we were able to divide up the work amongst ourselves to best fit our own personal schedules. Over the first week, we set deadlines for ourselves, delegated scientific literature to research, and wrote up our findings. We began conducting the experiment in the second week. 9 tanks of Ulva were set up, 3 having a low concentration of nutrients, 3 having a high concentration of nutrients and 3 control tanks. This was to ensure we could average our results to increase the reliability of them. Then, we took daily measurements of nutrient levels (once in the morning, once in the afternoon), and the Ulva’s gain in mass and light over the course of the experiment, roughly 5 days worth of results. 

Kiara dealt with the collection of raw data, as she had access to the lab in which our Ulva tanks were contained, as well as processing this data and testing each of the samples for changes in nutrient levels. Alex and I mostly dealt with background research, writing up processed data and dealing with the writing of our scientific report. 

Our experiment was mostly successful – our processed data and observations indicating a decrease in ammonia levels in the water of the tanks but with minimal growth of the Ulva itself. However, we did have some anomalous results, specifically regarding the control sample from day 3 of the experiment, where there was an increase in nutrient levels at the end of the day. 

One of the main challenges we encountered as a team was conflicting schedules, especially amidst school hours, tests, assignments, essays and the like. We were only able to meet outside of school roughly twice in the duration of our investigation, though these two sessions were quite productive. Additionally, we had a very limited time period to work and conduct our experiment, gather data and write up a scientific report.

So we were quite proud of the outcome! We were able to achieve gold with internal marking, and have our report be sent on to Cambridge for further consideration. As a team, we worked incredibly hard on this project and it was such a rewarding process in terms of our own growth as students.

While this was both an interesting and tough experience that took a lot of hard work and sacrifice, especially on Kiara’s end, as she spent days processing water samples for hours on end, ultimately we all gained quite a bit from this experience. To be able to efficiently tackle tasks we delegated amongst ourselves, while remaining communicative and flexible in order to meet deadlines, is a skill that will most definitely be useful for the rest of our lives and our education.

For those interested in taking part in this competition in future, absolutely go for it! It truly is an enriching experience, just be sure that you have the time and discipline to motivate yourself to work and carry out your own investigation on top of school responsibilities and your own personal life. You won’t regret it!

-By Georgia

Photos By Kiara