Bean Bag Help

Directions for Dissecting a Bean Seed

The following instructions will help you to locate and remove the seed coat, seed leaves, and plant embryo from a bean seed. Dissecting a bean can be quite tricky. You may need to practice on a few beans before using the different bean parts in your experiments.

Materials

• kitchen or utility knife
• several beans soaked overnight in water

  Safety Note: All bean dissections should be done by an adult.

Removing the Seed Coat from a Bean Seed

1. Use a knife to pry along the edge of a bean's seed coat (the hard outer-covering of the seed).
2. Carefully peel away the seed coat, keeping it intact.

Removing the Plant Embryo from a Bean Seed

1. Use a knife to cut through the seed coat.
2. Pull the seed coat away from the seed without removing it from the seed.
3. Without opening the two seed leaves, locate the plant embryo on the small side of the bean.
4. Use a knife to scrape out as much of the plant embryo as possible.

Removing the Seed Leaves from Bean Seed

1. Use a knife to cut through the seed coat.
2. Pull the seed coat away from the seed without removing it from the seed.
3. Locate the plant embryo attached to the small side of the seed.
4. Use a knife to remove as much of the seed leaves as possible without disturbing the plant embryo, or detaching it from the seed coat.

Removing the Seed Leaves and Plant Embryo from a Bean Seed

1. Remove the seed coat from the seed as described above.
2. Remove the two fleshy halves of the seed. These are referred to as seed leaves.
3. Look for the plant embryo attached to the inside of the 'small side' of the seed.
4. Use a knife to carefully remove the intact plant embryo without disturbing the seed leaves.

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