1

Matric ID:

UN IV ER SITI TER BUKA

M A LA Y SIA

FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SBBI4303
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY
NAME

MATRIC ID

PPT/W

Total

/ 178 marks =

/ 10 %

Note:
1. This report must be submitted on the day of practical. Late
submission WILL NOT be entertained.
2. This report constitutes 10% of your continuous assessment.
3. Students failing to submit this report will get ZERO (0) for this part
of continuous assessment.
4. Students who submit after the practical day will get ZERO (0).
5. Plagiarism in all forms is forbidden. Students who submit plagiarized
report will be disqualified.

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Experiment 1
Soil
A. Soil Profile
Materials: PVC column of 1 meter long, vegetative soil, hammer, a piece of wood, container
Procedure:
1. Insert the PVC column into the soil. Place a piece of wood across the PVC column.
2. Apply several blows on the wood to insert the column into the soil.
3. Once the column is fully inserted into the soil, carefully remove the column and place it in a
container.
4. Carefully remove the column to expose the soil profile in the laboratory and examine it.
Results:
Draw and label the soil profile.

[ 2 marks]
Soil Profile

Matric ID:
Questions
1. Which horizon is the most fertile layer? Why?

[4 marks]

2. Which horizon contains most macro-organisms? Why?

[4 marks]

3. Why there is a change in the horizon colour?

[6 marks]

Total =

/ 16 marks

Matric ID:

B. Contaminated soil profile

Identify a location where the soil is contaminated with wastes such as petrol, engine oil, construction
waste, etc.
The apparatus and procedure of obtaining the contaminated soil profile is similar to Part A - Soil
Profile.
Results:
Draw and label the soil profile.

[ 2 marks]

Questions:
1. Is there any difference between the soil profile in Experiment A and Experiment B? [2 marks]

2. What are the organisms that can inhabit in this place?

[2 marks]

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3. Name TWO (2) methods that can be used to clean this place.

[2 marks]

4. Of the TWO (2) methods mentioned, which is more economical? Why?

[6 marks]

Total =

/14 marks

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C. Characteristics of soil
Materials: containers, different soil (type: sandy, loam, clayey) water, tissue papers, marker
i) Soil Texture
Procedure:
1. Take a few soil sample from the beaker.
2. Add some drops of water into it.
3. Feel the texture and record your observations.

Results:
Soil Type

Texture

A
B

C
[ 6 marks]

Total =

/6 marks

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ii) Soil pH
Procedure:
1. Weigh 20g of the soil in a 100ml beaker.
2. Add 20ml of distilled water and stir the mixture for 20 minutes.
3. Determine the soil pH by using the pH meter.
Results:

Soil Type

pH

[6 marks]
Questions
1. Which type of soil is suitable for vegetation? Why?

[4 marks]

2. What remedial measures can be taken if the soil is acidic?

[4 marks]

Total =

/14 marks

Matric ID:

Experiment 2
Bacterial Growth
Task:
1. By using the results given below, draw the growth curve of this bacteria by using appropriate
scale.
[8 marks]
Results

Time (hr)

Population Density
3

(10 bacteria/ml)
0

10

0.5

20

1.0

40

1.5

80

2.0

150

2.5

290

3.0

450

3.5

520

4.0

520

4.5

515

5.0

260

Questions
1.

List TWO (2) methods to determine population density.

[2 marks]

2.

Name the FOUR (4) phases observed from the graph.

[4 marks]

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10

3.

Briefly explain the FOUR (4) phases above.

4.

Find the generation time of a bacterial population that increases from 10,000 to 1,000,000 cells
in 2 hours of growth? (use the given formula below)
[6 marks]
Generation time, G =
t =
B =
b =

t
3.3log b / B

time interval in minutes

number of bacterial cells at the initial of the time of interval.
number of bacterial cells at the end of the time of interval.

[8 marks]

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5.

Indicate the carrying capacity in your graph.

[2 marks]

6.

What is carrying capacity?

[2 marks]

Total =

/ 32 marks

Matric ID:

12

Experiment 3
Population demography
Table A, B and C below illustrate the population statistics of three (3) countries in 2004.

Age
0- 4

Male
2,230,772

Female
2,125,453

Age
0- 4

Male
3,105,936

Female
2,952,446

5- 9

2,563,716

2,448,160

5- 9

3,104,985

2,950,959

10- 14

2,641,687

2,533,606

10- 14

3,126,946

2,973,591

15- 19

2,496,242

2,417,572

15- 19

3,468,433

3,304,233

20- 24

2,811,024

2,737,473

20- 24

3,909,460

3,735,018

25- 29

2,915,059

2,827,665

25- 29

4,562,498

4,360,047

30- 34

2,706,359

2,757,138

30- 34

5,057,980

4,851,411

35- 39

2,543,959

2,688,494

35- 39

4,338,613

4,233,931

40- 44

2,321,463

2,505,206

40- 44

3,927,665

3,868,652

45- 49

2,054,445

2,200,758

45- 49

3,914,446

3,890,642

50- 54

1,704,166

1,810,250

50- 54

4,703,329

4,748,744

55- 59

1,302,768

1,380,543

55- 59

4,697,001

4,817,095

60- 64

1,064,142

1,153,832

60- 64

4,117,839

4,387,062

65- 69

874,388

981,740

65- 69

3,416,937

3,818,012

70- 74

635,770

740,781

70- 74

2,882,591

3,473,494

75- 79

388,517

481,228

75- 79

2,090,099

2,861,615

80+

282,130

404,931

80+

1,779,563

3,901,729

Table A: Country A

Table B: Country B
Source: US Census Bureau, 2005

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Matric ID:
Age

Male

Female

0- 4

3,650,838

3,384,841

5- 9

4,057,603

3,758,829

10- 14

4,626,818

4,328,637

15- 19

4,655,925

4,398,040

20- 24

4,263,771

4,114,804

25- 29

3,695,630

3,570,729

30- 34

3,319,120

3,334,939

35- 39

2,991,770

3,045,280

40- 44

2,711,344

2,885,819

45- 49

2,086,545

2,355,769

50- 54

1,388,180

1,654,777

55- 59

890,898

1,087,150

60- 64

714,934

947,144

65- 69

638,707

889,260

70- 74

567,598

796,614

75- 79

358,859

579,747

80+

294,860

617,021

Source: US Census Bureau, 2005

Table C: Country C
Tasks:
1. Tabulate the data into percentages for each country.

[15 marks]

2. Draw the demography chart showing the population of these three countries based on the
information given.
[15 marks]

Matric ID:
Age

14
Male (%)

Female (%)

Age

0- 4

0- 4

5- 9

5- 9

10- 14

10- 14

15- 19

15- 19

20- 24

20- 24

25- 29

25- 29

30- 34

30- 34

35- 39

35- 39

40- 44

40- 44

45- 49

45- 49

50- 54

50- 54

55- 59

55- 59

60- 64

60- 64

65- 69

65- 69

70- 74

70- 74

75- 79

75- 79

80+

80+

Total

Total
Table A: Country A

Male (%)

Female (%)

Table B: Country B

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Age

Male (%)

Female (%)

0- 4
5- 9
10- 14
15- 19
20- 24
25- 29
30- 34
35- 39
40- 44
45- 49
50- 54
55- 59
60- 64
65- 69
70- 74
75- 79
80+

Total
Table C: Country C

Matric ID:

16

Matric ID:

17

Matric ID:

18

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3. Characterize the level of development of the countries in Table A, B and C.

[3 marks]

4. List THREE (3) social implications related to Country C?

[3 marks]

5. Based on the patterns among the three (3) demographies, will Country A and Country C place
more emphasis on environmental issues? Why?
[6 marks]

Total =

/ 42 marks

Matric ID:

20

Experiment 4
Municipal Solid Waste
Weight the municipal solid waste (MSW) provided in Table 4.1 and answer the following questions.

Table 4.1: Percentages of dry MSW disposed from three different socioeconomic areas in Selangor.
Socio-economic status (%)
Composition

A
Weight

B
%

Weight

C
%

Weight

Papers
Plastics & rubbers
Glass & ceramics
Food wastes
Textiles
Gard en wastes
Wood

[6 marks]
Questions
1. Draw a bar graph to represent the MSW composition.

[6 marks]

2. Which of the above represents a high socio-economic status? Why?

[6 marks]

Matric ID:

21

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22

3. Which of the above represents a low socio-economic status? Why?

[6 marks]

4. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are collectively known as 3R. Why reduce is given more emphasis?
[6 marks]

Total =

/ 30 marks

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Experiment 5
Water Quality
Materials:

Beakers, markers, pipe water, industrial wastewater, landfill leachate, pond water, pH
meter, DO meter, turbidity meter

Procedure:
Task:
1. Observe and record the following parameters:
a. colour
b. turbidity
c. smell
d. presence of macro-organisms
e. pH
f. oxygen level
Results

Pipe water

Industrial
wastewater

Landfill
leachate

Pond water

Colour
Turbidity
Smell
Macroorganisms
pH
Oxygen level

[6 marks]

Matric ID:

24

Questions
1. Based on your observations, what type of water is suitable for aquatic organisms? Why?
[6 marks]

2. Will turbidity influence aquatic organisms? Why?

[6 marks]

3. If the turbidity level increases in pond water, what type of organisms will increase? Why?
[6 marks]

Total =

/ 24 marks

This laboratory worksheet ends here