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)

Responses

The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.

The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.
The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.

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

The compost pile was sufficiently moist.

Answer 1

The most likely explanation for the slow decomposition of John's compost pile is that it contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns". For proper decomposition, a compost pile needs a balance of nitrogen-rich materials (greens) and carbon-rich materials (browns). If the pile has too much of one type of material and not enough of the other, it can slow down the decomposition process. Additionally, maintaining the moisture levels in the compost pile is also important for the growth of microorganisms and decomposition to occur effectively.