An Experiment
Explore the chemistry of sponge taxonomy with this lab experiment.
Purpose- To determine what class a sponge is with only a tiny fragment of the sponge.
Materials-
a fragment of an aquarium sponge
water
small glass jar or vial w/lid
chlorine bleach
pipette
hydrochloric acid
safety supplies (goggles and gloves)
Procedure-
1) Rinse a small piece of sponge to remove organic material. Place the fragment inside the glass container.
2) Add enough chlorine bleach to cover the fragment. Add the lid to the container. Shake well and let set
3) When bubbling has stopped, remove the fluid with a pipette. Leave the residue at the bottom. If there is no residue at all, you have a demosponge. If there is reside, continue with the procedure.
4) Rinse the residue with tap water by squirting a little in. Allow the residue to settle into the jar. Use the pipette to extract everything but a small amount of residue and water.
5) Add a few drops of hydrochloric acid. Be careful! This is a hazardous acid! If you see fizzing, you have a calcareous sponge. If you dont have any fizzing, you have either a demosponge or a hexactinellida!