Example data. These ten weeks are a sample column so you can explore every tab. Add your first reading in the Data log and the examples are replaced.
APES Unit 1 lab tool
Turn weekly ecocolumn readings into graphs, explanations, and a finished report
An ecocolumn is a bottle ecosystem with a land chamber, a sand chamber, and a water chamber. Students measure it every week. This lab draws their column from the numbers, shows where the nitrogen is in the cycle, tells them what to change when a reading goes out of range, and builds a report from the whole run.
STEP 1
Measure
Once a week, at the same time of day, test the water and the land chamber and record plant height and what you see.
STEP 2
Log it
Type the readings into the Data log, or paste rows from a spreadsheet. Leave a box empty if you did not measure it.
STEP 3
Read the column
My column shows what each number means and gives a plan for the week. Nitrogen cycle shows how far the bacteria have got.
STEP 4
Explain the pattern
Trends pairs any two measurements. Report pulls the whole run together with claim, evidence, and reasoning prompts.
What to measure
The healthy ranges are the ones this lab uses for its Healthy, Watch, and Danger labels. Any tool that gives the same units will work.
The three chambers
Land chamber
Soil and five plants. It stands for a farm field, lawn, or forest. Anything added to the soil can wash downhill.
→runoff and leaching
Sand chamber
A filter, like soil layers and groundwater. It traps particles, and bacteria on the grains convert some nitrogen.
→drains to
Water chamber
A pond, lake, or bay. It collects whatever comes from upstream, and it is where the animals live.
For teachers
Weekly routine
Test at the same time of day with the same tools. Enter the reading, open My column, and read the plan for the week. Change one thing at a time, then re-test, so students can tell which change made the difference.
Connects to
APES Topics 1.1 (biotic and abiotic factors), 1.5 (the nitrogen cycle), 1.8 (primary productivity), 8.5 (eutrophication), and 8.6 (thermal pollution). It practices the Data Analysis and Environmental Solutions science practices.
Discussion questions
When did ammonia peak, and what happened to nitrite a week later? Why does dissolved oxygen drop when the water warms? Which real-world pollution problem did your column model, and what would reduce it? What did you change, and how do you know it worked?
Privacy
Readings stay in the browser on the device where they were typed. Nothing is sent anywhere. Ask students to name their column with a group number, not student names, and to use the same device each time or keep a spreadsheet backup.
Setup this lab assumes
Three chambers (land, sand, water), five plants in the land chamber, and small animals in the water chamber. A different setup still works. Leave any box you did not measure empty.
What the drawing is showing
Where the nitrogen is right now
Waste and rotting material release ammonia, which is toxic. Two groups of bacteria turn it into nitrite and then nitrate. Plants and algae use the nitrate to grow. Your three test results show how far along that chain your column is.
Stage by week
Your nitrogen readings over time
Who does what in your column
Producers
Your five land plants, the water plants and algae. They make food from light, water and CO₂, and release oxygen.
→eaten by
Consumers
Fish, snails and insects. They eat, use oxygen, and release CO₂ and nitrogen waste.
→waste and dead matter
Decomposers
Bacteria and fungi in the soil, sand and gravel. They break down dead material, use oxygen, and return nutrients to the producers.
Energy flows one way through this chain and leaves as heat, so the column needs light every day. Matter such as carbon, nitrogen and water is recycled inside the bottle.
Measure at the same time of day each week. Dissolved oxygen rises in daylight, when plants and algae photosynthesize, and falls overnight.
Your column is a model watershed
Land chamber
Stands for a farm field, lawn or forest. Whatever you add to the soil can wash downhill.
→runoff and leaching
Sand chamber
Stands for soil layers and groundwater. It filters particles, but dissolved nutrients pass through.
→drains to
Water chamber
Stands for a pond, lake or bay. It collects everything from upstream.
Real-world problems your column can show
Glossary
Dissolved oxygen (DO)
Oxygen gas mixed into water. Aquatic animals breathe it through gills.
Nitrification
Bacteria converting ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate. It needs oxygen.
Eutrophication
Extra nutrients cause an algae bloom. When the algae die, decomposers use up the oxygen.
Hypoxia
Water with too little oxygen for most animals, usually below about 2 to 3 mg/L.
Total dissolved solids (TDS)
Everything dissolved in the water: minerals, salts and nutrient ions.
pH
How acidic or basic the water is. Each step is a tenfold change.
Limiting factor
The one resource in shortest supply, which sets the cap on growth.
Leaching
Water carrying dissolved nutrients down and out of the soil.
Biotic and abiotic
Living parts of an ecosystem (plants, fish, bacteria) and non-living parts (water, light, temperature, pH).
Every measurement at a glance
Each card shows the latest reading and the shape of the whole run. Click a card to put it in the top chart below.
Compare two measurements
The green band is the healthy range. Stack two charts and look for moments where both lines change at the same time.
Pairs worth trying
Water temperature and dissolved oxygen. Warm water holds less gas. Do your lines move in opposite directions?
Nitrate and plant height. Does growth speed up when more nitrate is available?
Nitrate and pH. Nitrification releases acid. Does pH drift down as nitrate builds?
TDS and nitrate. Dissolved solids include nutrient ions. Do they climb together?
Add a reading
Leave a box empty if you did not measure it that day. Entering the same date again replaces that day's reading.
Use a group number, not student names. It appears at the top of the Report.
All readings
Paste rows or load a CSV file
Copy rows from Google Sheets and paste them here, one reading per row. Columns must be in this order: . Dates can be 2026-10-08 or 10/8/2026. A header row is skipped. A row with a date already in the log replaces that reading.
Readings are saved in this browser on this device only. Use the same device each time, and download the CSV or copy the rows into your group's spreadsheet as a backup.