To Study The Effect Of pH On Seed Germination 1 INTRODUCTION
Have you ever put a plant by heater and the plant died or you put a plant
in the garage in winter and it never sprouted? Have you ever wondered
which temperature a plant grows best in?
This experiment is to find out in which plants grow best.
This report contains information on Seed Germination, Seed Dormancy, Root (botany) and Stems and Leaves.
Seed Germination
Germination dose not take place unless the seed is in a good
environment the main keys for growing a plant are adequate water and oxygen and also sunlight. Different kinds of plant germinate at different temperatures. Some plants require more sunlight to germinate then others. During germination, water diffuses though the seed coats into the embryo, which has been almost completely dry during the period of dormancy. With the absorption of oxygen by the seed, energy is made available for growth. From the time of germination until the plant is completely independent of food stored in the seed, the plant is known as a seedling.
Seed Dormancy
Seed Dormancy is when a seed has fallen form the parent plant before they are able to germinate. Lack of viability of seed is often confused with seed dormancy. Many seeds require a so-called resting period after the have fallen from there parent plant. In some plants, chemical changes take place during the resting period that make the seed ready for germination. Still other seeds have
2 extremely tough seed coats that must soften or decay before water and oxygen can enter the seed to take part in the growth of the embryo, or before the growing embryo is capable of bursting through the seed coat.
Root (botany)
The first root of the plant, known as the radicle, elongates during germination of the seed and forms the primary root. Roots that branch from the primary root are called secondary roots. In many plants the primary root is known as a taproot because it is much larger than secondary roots and penetrates deeper into the soil. Some plants having taproots cannot be transplanted easily, for breaking the taproot may result in the loss of most of the root system and cause the death of the plant.
Stems and Leaves
Stems usually are above ground, grow upward, and bear leaves, which are attached in a regular pattern at nodes along the stem. The portions of the stem between nodes are called internodes. Growing plants give rise to new leaves, which surround and protect the stem tip, before they expand. Stems are more variable in external appearance and internal structure than roots, but they also consist of three tissue systems and have several features in common. Leaves are the primary photosynthetic organs of most plants. They usually are flattened blades that consist, internally, mostly of parenchyma tissue called the mesophyll, which is made up of loosely arranged cells with spaces between them. The spaces are filled with air, from which the cells absorb carbon dioxide and into they expel oxygen. The leaf blade is connected to the stem though a narrowed portion called the petiole, or stalk, which consists mostly of vascular tissue.
3 PURPOSE The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of temperature on the germination percentage of Mung beans. The information gained from this experiment could help farmers or anyone who wants to grow a garden decide what temperature the soil should be before they plant their seeds to get the best germination.
4 HYPOTHESIS My hypothesis is that the plant with the soil temperature normal will sprout faster then the plant with the soil temperature higher and lower.
My hypothesis was that Mung beans would germinate best in 21°C
temperature. I thought 32°C would be too hot and would have a lower percent of germination and 10°C would be too cold and would have a lower percentage of germination. I base my hypothesis on Encarta 2000, which says extreme cold, or heat will make the plant not be able to germinate. I also based it on my mom as a plant grower she said that when she put plants next to a heater they needed more water more often then the other plants in the house and if the plant did not have the extra water they would start to die.
6 EXPERIMENT DESIGN The constants in this study were:
● The quality of the seeds
● The type of seeds(Mung bean) ● The type of plastic cups ● The size of cup ● The size of seeds ● The type of paper towels ● The size of paper towels ● The length of germination time ● The amount of light the seeds are germinated at (dark) ● The amount of seeds in each group ● The amount of water in each group
The manipulated variable was the temperature that the seeds
were germinated at. The responding variable was the percentage of the seeds that germinated. To measure the responding variable I counted how many sprouted out of the 100 in each group.
8 MATERIALS
QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION
300 mung bean seeds
3 paper towels 3 plastic cups
3 pieces of plastic wrap same size
as paper towels
1 100 ml graduated cylinder
1 heat pad 1 refrigerator 3 small boxes
9 PROCEDURES
1.Obtain materials. 2. Tear off three paper towels and cut three pieces of plastic wrap large enough to fit over the paper towels and cover them. 3.Place 100 seeds in the middle of each paper towel. 4.Place a piece of plastic wrap over each one. 5.Roll the paper towel up so that the seeds are a little above the middle. 6.Wrap a rubber band around the towel slightly under the seeds tighlty. 7.Turn the heating pad on medium and put the medium metal pan on top. 8.Place 100 milliliters of water in each of the three cups. 9.Place a roll in each cup. 10. Place 1 cup in the fridge, 1 cup on the pan and 1 cup out at room temperature. 11. Put the boxes over the top of each cup. 12. Check the cups each day, but wait 4 days to check them. 13. When you count carefully take the rubber band off of the paper towel. 14. Carefully unroll the paper towels so that you can see and count through the plastic. 15. Count every seed that has a sprout. 16. Record the data on a data sheet as you count. 17. With a calculator average the percents out.
10 RESULTS The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of temperature on the germination percentage of Mung beans.
The results of the experiment were that 52% of the seeds in 32°C germinated. Of the seeds in 21°C there were 43% that germinated. Out of all the seeds in 10°C none of them germinated.
In this graph you can see the different trials for each degree. For ten degrees you see that every trial had zero that germinated. For twenty-one degrees in the first trial sixty-one percent, then thirty-six percent for the second trial and thirty-two percent for the third trial.
11 In this graph you can see the average of the three trials for each degree. Ten degrees had zero percent average. For twenty-one degrees forty-three percent germinated. Finally for thirty- two degrees fifty-two percent germinated.
12 CONCLUSION
My hypothesis was that Mung beans would germinate best in
21°C temperature. I thought 32°C would be too hot and would have a lower percentage of germination and 10°C would be too cold and would have a lower percentage of germination.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected
because the beans in 32°C had the best germination which was 52% germinated.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder what would
have happened if I would have used more temperatures.
If I were to conduct this project again I would use different
kinds of seeds. I would also do 5 trials instead of just 3.
