Our
Experiments
We
conducted six experiments. Each condition had 3 beans in a baggie. The
materials for and descriptions of each experiment and are described here
briefly. You can look at the data, results, and images from each of these
experiments.
- The
Basics (water, light, soil, and air)
- Beyond
the Basics (water AND either light, soil, or air)
- Unusual
Liquids
(dish soap, vinegar, baby oil, salt water, and sugar water)
- Temperature
(room temperature, freezer, refrigerator, heating pad)
- Seed
Parts
(seed coat, seed leaves, and embryonic plant)
-
Types of Seeds (navy, kidney, corn, pumpkin, and
sunflower)
1.
The Basics
What
does a seed need to sprout? Water? Light? Soil? or Air?
Materials
-
5 plastic baggies
- 10
paper towels
-
12 dry lima beans
-
3 lima beans soaked overnight in water
-
water
- dark
drawer, cupboard, or closet
-
potting soil
- petroleum
jelly
| Condition |
Preparation |
| 1.
Seed only (control) |
3
dry beans |
| 2.
Seed + water |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans |
| 3.
Seed + no light |
3
dry beans placed in the dark |
| 4.
Seed + soil |
3
dry beans covered in soil |
| 5.
Seed + no air |
3
dry beans coated with petroleum jelly |
|
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2.
Beyond The Basics
Does a seed in
water need light, soil, or air to sprout?
Materials
- 4 plastic baggies
- 8 paper towels
- 12 lima beans
(soaked overnight)
- water
- dark drawer,
cupboard, or closet
- potting soil
- petroleum jelly
| Condition |
Preparation |
| 1.
Seed + water (control) |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans |
| 2.Seed
+ water + no light |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans in the dark |
| 3.
Seed + water + soil |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans with soil to cover the wet paper
towel |
| 4.
Seed + water + no air |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans coated with petroleum jelly |
|
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3.
Unusual Liquids
In what liquids
will a seed sprout?
Materials
- 5 plastic baggies
- 10 paper towels
- 15 lima beans
(soaked overnight)
- water
- vinegar
- sugar water
- baby oil
- heavily salted
water
- diluted dish
soap
| Condition |
Preparation |
| 1.
Seed + water (control) |
3
beans in water |
| 2.
Seed + vinegar |
3
beans in vinegar |
| 3.
Seed + dish soap |
3
beans in dish soap |
| 4.
Seed + salt water . |
3
beans in salt water |
| 5.
Seed + baby oil |
3
beans in baby oil |
| 6.
Seed + sugar water |
3
beans in sugar water |
|
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4.
Temperature
In
w hat temperature will a seed in water sprout?
Materials
-
4 plastic baggies
-
8 paper towels
- 12
lima beans (soaked overnight)
- water
- heating
pad
- refrigerator
-
freezer
-
dark drawer, cupboard, or closet
| Condition |
Preparation |
| 1.
Seed at room temperature (control)
|
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans
in the dark |
| 2.
Seed in warm environment
|
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans placed
on heating pad in dark |
| 3.
Seed in cool environment |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans
placed in (dark) refrigerator |
| 4.
Seed in cold environment |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans
placed in (dark) freezer |
|
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5.
Seed Parts
What
parts of a seed are needed for the seed in water to sprout?
Materials
- 7
plastic baggies
-
14 paper towels
-
21 lima beans (soaked overnight)
- water
- utility
knife (or other tool for dissecting beans)
Click
here for instructions for how to identify and dissect seed parts.
| Condition |
Preparation |
| 1.
Whole seed (control) |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans |
| 2.
Seed minus seed coat |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans
without seed coats |
| 3.
Seed minus seed leaves |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans
without seed leaves |
| 4.
Seed minus plant embryo |
Moistened
paper towel with 3 pre-soaked beans
without plant embryos |
| 5.
Seed coat only |
Moistened
paper towel with seed
coat from 3 pre-soaked beans |
| 6.
Seed leaves only |
Moistened
paper towel with seed
leaves from 3 pre-soaked beans |
| 7.
Plant embryo only |
Moistened
paper towel with
plant
embryos from 3 pre-soaked beans |
6. Types of Seeds
Do all seeds in water sprout the same?
Materials
-
6 plastic baggies
-
12 paper towels
-
3 lima beans (soaked overnight)
-
3 kidney beans (soaked overnight)
-
water
-
3 sunflower seeds (soaked overnight)
-
3 pumpkin seeds (soaked overnight)
-
3 corn seeds (soaked overnight)
| Condition |
Preparation |
| 1.
Lima beans (control) |
Moistened
paper towel with 3
lima beans |
| 2. Navy
beans |
Moistened
paper towel with
3
navy beans |
| 3. Kidney
beans |
Moistened
paper towel with 3
kidney beans |
| 4. Corn
seed |
Moistened
paper towel with 3
corn seeds |
| 5. Pumpkin
seeds |
Moistened
paper towel with 3
pumpkin seeds |
| 6. Sunflower
seeds |
Moistened
paper towel with 3
sunflower seeds |
|
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