Seed Germination Experiment. How would different levels of temperature of water affect the rate of seed germination?

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Topic: Seed Germination

Introduction: 
Seed germination plays an important factor in our ecosystem as it’s when the seeds are dormant. The significance of germination is to protect the living plant material until conditions are right for it to emerge and grow to its full potential. For many plants, they go through sexual reproduction, and for this type of reproduction, survival is depended on the process of germination of their seeds. In order for seeds to actually germinate, there must be certain conditions that must be met, which include factors such as light, temperature and moisture. For this particular lab, the factor that will be taken into consideration is the different levels of temperature of water that is used to germinate the seeds.

Problem:

How would different levels of temperature of water affect the rate of seed germination?

Materials:

  • 6 Petri dishes/any other types of dishes
  • 3 pieces of paper towel
  • 60 Dry seeds (long beans seeds)
  • Thermometer
  • Water
  • Location with sunlight
  • 6 cups

Variables:

Independent Variables:

  • the different levels of temperature of water

Dependent Variables:

  • The amount of seeds that germinated for each different level of temperature of water

Constant Variables:

  • The type of seed that’s being used
  • The amount of seed used placed in each paper towel
  • Room temperature
  • Air pressure
  • Equipments used
  • The amount of water used for each dish

Procedures:

  1. Take 3 pieces of paper towel and evenly rip each paper towel in half so that, at the end, you obtain 6 pieces of paper towel in total.
  2. Obtain 60 dry seeds of the same type (for this lab, long beans seeds were used) and place 10 seeds in each of the 6 paper towels.
  3. After placing the seeds in the paper towel, fold the paper towel in thirds, so that the seeds are hidden.
  4. First, take 5mL of ice cold water and place two ice cubes in the cub, so that the temperature of the water will become much lower. Measure the temperature with the thermometer.
  5. After finding the temperature of the water for the first cup, gradually increase the water temperature for the 6 dishes by 5°C.
  6. With the 6 different water temperatures, place 30 mL of each for each of the plant dishes. Before watering the seeds, make sure to label the paper towels with a pencil, to identify which what temperature of water was used for each dish.
  7. Water the seeds on a daily basis for about 5-6 days and make any observations necessary.
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Observations

Quantitative Observations

Graph: Water temperature vs. Diameter of Radicle

Qualitative Observations

Conclusion/Evaluation

The purpose of seed germination is that it activates an enzyme, increases the respiration rate and duplicates the plant cells. As the process of germination continues, the embryo becomes too large and the seed coat eventually bursts open. As the bursting occurs, the growing seed emerges and the tip of the root is the first thing that will abrupt. The ...

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