The effects of ammonium nitrate on fern spore germination CIntroduction: Organisms need their own set of nutrients. These nutrients help the cell survive so that the entire organism can survive. Organisms have their own set of nutrients. On earth, there are three areas of life. These domains are bacteria, archaea and eukarya (Brooker et al. 2013). Most of the cells that are researched and examined are Eukarya domain cells, because cells in this domain typically exist in a multicellular complex. In the eukarya domain, the genus examined in this laboratory was Ceratopteris, also called c-fern; This plant is used in research to see how plant growth is affected by various changes that affect plant growth. (Lloyd, 1973) The reason C fern is used for research is its development process. The reason their life cycle is so unique is that it has a biphasic life cycle with two independent diploid and haploid generations. (Hickok et al., 1995) This is useful because haploids and diploids can be isolated, which will provide information on how each variable affects each different stage during each life cycle. (Hickok et al., 1995) Another advantage of why C ferns are used in research is their short life cycle. After inoculation, germination takes place within the next 3 to 4 days and full sexual maturity occurs between 6 and 8 days after germination. After one to two weeks, roots and leaves begin to appear on the diploid sporophyte. (Hickok et al., 1995), these are the main reasons why C ferns were chosen to observe the effects of nitrogen. All plants, including C ferns, need nitrogen to function properly. These plants require nitrogen as it is a main component...... middle of paper ......statistical analysis was used to understand the data collected. The f test was the first statistical analysis used to determine whether the next step would use the t test or Welch's approximate t test. Work cited: Brooker R, Widmaier EP, Grahm LE, Stiling PD. 2013. Biology. 3rd edition. Hickok LG, Warne TR, Friborg RS. 1995. International Journal of Plant Sciences. Vol156: 332-345Lloyd RM. 1974. Systematics of the genus Ceratopteris Brongn. (Parkerianceae) II.Taxonomy. Brittonia 26:139-160Melan MA, Whittier DP. 1990. Effects of inorganic nitrogen sources on spore germination and gametophyte growth in Botrychium dissectum. Plant, cell and environment 13: 477-482.Nachurs. (nd). Nitrogen: An essential element in crop production. Retrieved from http://www.nachurs.com/nitrogen.html