This lab focuses on the remediation of copper. Well, for several reasons. Many of these compounds accumulate over time and have deleterious effects in the environment. Since there is research describing the use of phytoremediation to remove copper, it should be possible to adapt those techniques to a lab for students. Second, copper and its associations with plants is very interesting.
Copper is used by plants, and is an essential part of their photosynthetic pathways.
And yet, some plants do a good job of binding excess copper, thereby removing it from the soil. This lab will explore this last property. There are many other questions which might be raised and could be answered using the apparatus designed in this lab. In the design of the experiment, methods have been included for testing the contribution of the plants, the soil, and the microorganisms. This experiment is designed to be an open-ended inquiry experiment.