Your friend John is having trouble with his compost bin. The material in his compost pile doesn't seem to be decomposing well. You take a sample of the pile and check for the presence of microorganisms under the microscope. You see that there are indeed microorganisms; however, they don't appear to be growing very fast. John says that he regularly mixes his compost pile to expose it to oxygen but has noticed the pile feels cold. What is the most likely explanation for this problem? (1 point)

Question

Your friend John is having trouble with his compost bin. The material in his compost pile doesn't seem to be decomposing well. You take a sample of the pile and check for the presence of microorganisms under the microscope. You see that there are indeed microorganisms; however, they don't appear to be growing very fast. John says that he regularly mixes his compost pile to expose it to oxygen but has noticed the pile feels cold. What is the most likely explanation for this problem? (1 point)

• The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.
• The compost pile was sufficiently moist.
• The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
• The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".
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Answer 1

• The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".

The lack of proper balance between "greens" (nitrogen-rich materials like food scraps and grass clippings) and "browns" (carbon-rich materials like dried leaves and wood chips) can cause the compost pile to decompose slowly. This imbalance can lead to a lack of available nutrients for the microorganisms to thrive and break down the organic matter effectively. Additionally, a cold compost pile might indicate that the microbial activity is slow due to insufficient nitrogen content in the pile. It is important for John to adjust the ratio of "greens" to "browns" in his compost pile to help speed up the decomposition process.