I'm instructed to wrtie a full lab raport for a lab I did a couple of months ago. My aim was to find the most efficient concentration of fertilizer to grow red lentils. I planned to do this by taking the average of the number of lentils sprouted each day for eight days and divide that by the concentration used for that sample, then use the relative ratio of that to draw a conclusion.
My issue is that I used a sample with no concentration, which leaves me with a 0 in my equations. I.e. 0.75/0. I have dwelled on this for ours and can't figure out a way around it. I tried adding a konstant to every denumenator but that did not work since the ratio was not the same as before when I tested.
Sorry if this is hard to understand, English is not my native language and I'm pretty sleepy. Any help would be greatly apprecieated.
You are implying that the number of sprouts is proportional to the concentration
sprouts = k * c
in which case k would be undefined for zero c
However I doubt if that sort of relationship exists.
the number of sprouts probably does increase with c but levels off at some value where more fertilizer does no more good and number of sprouts probably increases fastest with small fertilizer concentrations.
Therefore I would tend to assume a function like
sprouts = max (1 - e^-kc )
when c = 0, e^-kc = e^0 = 1
so sprouts = max (0) = 0
when c gets large , e^-kc gets small
so sprouts ----> max
then you fool around with k and max to fit your experiment
Thank you for your help and time.
You are welcome, good luck !
Writing a comprehensive lab report can be challenging, but I'll try my best to help you address the issue you're facing. It seems like you're calculating the efficiency of different fertilizer concentrations by dividing the average number of lentils sprouted each day by the concentration used. However, you encountered a problem when you used a sample with no concentration.
To resolve this issue, you need to find a way to handle the scenario where the concentration is zero. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Exclude the sample with no concentration: You can remove the sample with zero concentration from your dataset before performing the calculations. This way, you won't include any instances where division by zero occurs.
2. Assign a small but non-zero concentration: Instead of using zero as the concentration for the sample, you can assign a very small, non-zero value. While this might not accurately reflect the absence of concentration, it will prevent division by zero and allow you to calculate the ratio.
3. Consider the limit as concentration approaches zero: Alternatively, you can assess the behavior of the ratio as the concentration approaches zero. If the ratio tends to a specific value as the concentration gets closer to zero, you can use that as an approximation when dealing with the sample of zero concentration.
Remember to properly explain whichever approach you choose in your lab report. Justify your decision and discuss any potential limitations or assumptions associated with it.
Additionally, it's essential to double-check your calculations and verify if any other errors or inconsistencies might be affecting your results. Good luck with your lab report!