Question

A. Define the term BOD, including the form of metabolism that is being measured.
B. You perform an experiment in a pristine aquatic ecosystem by measuring the effect on BOD before andafter introducing Fe2+. State the hypothesis you are testing, and given that you see an increase in the BOD, state your conclusion.

Answer 1

A. BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) is the amount of dissolved oxygen required by aerobic organisms to break down the organic material present in a water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. So by estimating BOD, aerobic respiration rate i.e glycolysis,creb's cycle is being measured.

B. Null hypothesis- There is no change in BOD before and after addition of Fe2⁺

Alternate hypothesis-There is a change in BOD before and after addition of Fe2⁺

Conclusion- There is an increase in the BOD, that means null hypothesis is rejected and alternate hypothesis is accepted. Because addition of inorganic Fe2+ increases the activity of metabolic enzymes and hence the resultant BOD.