Your friend John is having trouble with his compost bin. The material in his compost pile doesn’t seem to be decomposing well. You take a sample of the pile and check for the presence of microorganisms under the microscope. You see that there are indeed microorganisms; however, they don’t appear to be growing very fast. John says that he regularly mixes his compost pile to expose it to oxygen but has noticed the pile feels cold. What is the most likely explanation for this problem?(1 point)

Question

Your friend John is having trouble with his compost bin. The material in his compost pile doesn’t seem to be decomposing well. You take a sample of the pile and check for the presence of microorganisms under the microscope. You see that there are indeed microorganisms; however, they don’t appear to be growing very fast. John says that he regularly mixes his compost pile to expose it to oxygen but has noticed the pile feels cold. What is the most likely explanation for this problem?(1 point)
Responses

The compost pile was sufficiently moist.
The compost pile was sufficiently moist.

The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.

The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".
The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".

The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The most likely explanation for the problem with John's compost pile is:

The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".

In composting, a balanced ratio of 'greens' (nitrogen-rich materials) and 'browns' (carbon-rich materials) is essential for maintaining microbial activity and generating heat. If there is an imbalance, it can lead to slow decomposition and a cooler pile, as you described.