Bio Lab - Germination P&D (Corrections pt1)

Jada Joseph
5N
Biology- Plan and Design Lab
Title: Germination
Problem Statement: Sharon’s mother planted some red bean seedlings into cups and left them on
the stairs. Sharon and her sister knocked them down while playing, but the seedlings continued to
grow in the pots. You are required to plan and design an experiment to investigate the effect of
gravity on the germination of seeds.
Hypothesis: If the seedling is rotated then the stem of the seedling will still react negatively towards
gravity and grow upwards to reach the sunlight.
Aim: To determine how gravity affects the germination of a seedling
Materials and Apparatus: 3 cups, marker, string, ruler, scissors, stick, toothpicks, Styrofoam, tape,
seedlings and soil
Variables
Independent Variable: Orientation of seedling
Dependant Variable: Direction of plant (root/ shoot) growth
Constant Variable: The amount of water and sunlight given

Diagram
Procedure
1. Mark the cups A,B and C respectively

2. Poke a hole on each side of c up C with the stick and poke another hole with a diameter of 3
cm at the bottom of the cup.
3. Cut 35 cm of string and tie one end in one hole and the other end in the next hole.
4. Pour soil into cup A and B and plant the seedlings.
5. Carefully push the shoot of the last seedling through the bottom of the hole in cup C and
then gently fill with soil
6. Leave cup A standing upright
7. Take cup B and push two toothpicks into the same side of the cup and push it into a thick
piece of Styrofoam to secure it from rolling
8. Cover cup C with the cover of a chips bottle or a homemade cover and hang the cup,
somewhere sunny, on a hook.
9. Keep all cups in an area where they can receive daily sun and water daily as well.
10. Over the period of 2 weeks, measure the growth using a ruler, of each shoot every 2 days
and record and compare the results.
11. On the last day, carefully remove each seedling, wash the soil away from their roots and
then line a clear plastic cup with a napkin and tuck the seedling between the cup and the
napkin and moisten the napkin
12. Record the final growth
Results
Treatment of Results:
TABLE SHOWING THE GROWTH RATE OF THE SEEDLINGS
Days Height of the Seedlings (cm)

Seedling A Seedling B Seedling C
Day 1
Day 3
Day 5
Day 7
Day 9
Day 11
Day 13
Day 14
Expected Results:
Conditions if hypothesis is correct: Seedling A should have grown straight upright, seedling B should
have made a 90 degree turn and started growing upright, lastly seedling C should have grown from
under the cup and shoot upright at the side of the cup
Conditions if hypothesis is wrong: Seedling A would have grown straight upright, seedling B would
have grown downwards due to the pull of gravity and seedling C would have grown straight, towards
the ground
Discussion
Germination refers to the process by which an organism grows from a seed or a spore. The
most common forms of germination include a seed sprouting to form a seedling and the formation
of a sporeling from a spore. For a seed to germinate it needs water, oxygen and the right
temperature to germinate. This experiment is investigating how gravity affects the process of
germination. Plants respond directly to Earth’s gravitational attraction, and also to light. Stems grow
upward, or away from the centre of Earth, and towards light. Roots grow downward, or towards the
centre of Earth, and away from light. These responses to external stimuli are called tropisms. Plants’
growth response to gravity is known as gravitropism; the growth response to light is phototropism.
Both tropisms are controlled by plant growth hormones.
Auxin, is a plant hormone that, in high concentrations, stimulates growth and elongation of
cells in stems, while retarding the growth of root cells. When auxin is distributed uniformly
throughout a stem, all sides of the stem grow at the same rate, thereby enabling the plant to grow
toward light and away from gravity. If the plant is tipped over on its side, auxin concentrates on the
lower side of the stem, causing the cells on the lower side of the stem to elongate. This process turns
the stem so that it once again grows upward, presumably toward the light. Therefore proving the
hypothesis ‘ If the seedling is rotated then the stem of the seedling will still react negatively towards
gravity and grow upwards to reach the sunlight.’ to be factual.
Precautions:
1. Ensure the cups are secured

2. Ensure that the hole’s diameter at the bottom of the cup C is not larger than 3 cm
Limitations:
If the weather is not sunny it might affect the results

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Jada Joseph

Biology- Plan and Design Lab

Aim: To determine how gravity affects the germination of a seedling

Independent Variable: Orientation of seedling

Dependant Variable: Direction of plant (root/ shoot) growth

Constant Variable: The amount of water and sunlight given

1. Mark the cups A,B and C respectively

TABLE SHOWING THE GROWTH RATE OF THE SEEDLINGS

Days Height of the Seedlings (cm)

1. Ensure the cups are secured

If the weather is not sunny it might affect the results

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