Dylin Myers Ms. Rothel Accelerated Biology 22 September 2014 Germination Lab Purpose- The purpose of this experiment is to test the differences of plant growth between areas that have access to light and to those who do not. Research- A seed is, ”a flowering plant 's unit of reproduction, capable of developing into another such plant” (dictionary.com). Germination is, “the stage in which a germ or a living thing starts to sprout, grow and develop” (biology-online.org). A cotyledon is, “the primary or rudimentary leaf of the embryo of a seed plant that either remains in the seed or emerges upon seed germination; a modified leaf that is part of the plant embryo within the seed; a seed leaf” (biology-online.org). Many things go into triggering germination such as nutrients, and some non-nutrient chemicals. One can tell when germination ends by observing the shoot breaking through the soil. Materials- 20 radish seeds Paper towel 20mL of water 2 small plastic containers, one dark, one clear 2 pairs of scissors Graduated cylinder Pipet 2 lids to the plastic containers Procedure Cut paper towel into 2 small circles fit to the bottom of container. Place the paper towel into the bottom of the container, one per container. …show more content…
The reason that this occurred is because the plant was much more rushed to reach the surface in search of light than those who had access to light at all times (. Germination does require light, along with temperature, oxygen, and water which both test subjects had access to, but for an unknown reason, the seeds in the dark grew more than those in the light. It’s seems to be that by adding water to a seed in the correct environment germination is the triggered to start. Both test subjects did not complete the germination process by sprouting and beginning to grow leaves. One of the major parts of a seed embryo is the cotyledon. Cotyledon, “usually becomes the embryonic first leaves of a seedling” (sciencedaily.com). Inside of the cotyledon is where the seed has all of its food stored. In conclusion, for germination to occur, a seed must has access to light, oxygen, water, and …show more content…
One of the many mistakes in the lab was the amount of water that was put into the seeds in the beginning of the lab, upon observing the results, I noticed that all of seeds in both of the containers were completely drowned in water. The lab in a whole was not as successful as one would have expected because of the contradicting results between what happened and what should have happened. From this lab experiment I was able to learn what germination is, cotyledon is, the anatomy of a seed embryo, and how light can affect the way that a seed can