| Explore |
What do we know about plants from our experiences outside of school?
Plants need CO2, water, sunlight, and nutrients in soil to grow. Plants produce oxygen. Plants use photosynthesis to make their own food.
What have we discovered in class and background research?
Pollination is the transfer of pollen (male gametes) to the pistil (the female part of the flower). Plant breeding involves sexual reproduction, or the process by which two parent cells give rise to offspring of the next generation by each contributing a set of chromosomes carried in gametes. The sperm nucleus in the pollen grain unites with the egg nucleus--each containing one half of the genetic info--to form the zygote, the first cell of the next generation, which grows with the ovule to produce a multicellular embryo (the offspring plant). For the most part, breeding is random and there are many combinations that can happen because the gametes carry a unique assortment of genes. However, selective breeding, or purposefully crossing plants with other plants exhibiting desirable traits, is fairly common.
Biotechnologists have improved the productivity of plants through selective breeding and created techniques for transferring deoxyribonucleic acid into plant cells (genetic engineering). Plants cells can be coaxed to synthesize a variety of new plant products or to exhibit new phenotypes coded for on an imported DNA segment.
What questions about plants interest us?
What specific types of nutrients are needed for seed germination, if any?
How much C02 is needed to have seed germination grow exponentially?
Does sunlight play a significant role in seed germinating?
What external factors take into account of germination? Temperature, light or darkness, soil moisture?
What amount of water is needed for sufficient seed germination?
Daugherty, E. (2017). Biotechnology: Science for the new millennium. St. Paul, MN: EMC Publishing.
Wolny, E., Betekhtin, A., Rojek, M., Braszewska-Zalewska, A., Lusinska, J., & Hasterok, R. (2018, September 25). Germination and the Early Stages of Seedling Development in Brachypodium distachyon. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6212949/
Bradford, K. (1990, October). A water relations analysis of seed germination rates. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1077306/ |
| Predictions |
The possible outcomes could be that pea seeds germinate in the same amount of time given various amounts of water, the pea seed given the most water germinates the fastest, and the pea seed given the least amount of water germinates the fastest. As seeds take up water, the seed’s enzymes are hydrated and thus reactivated. The seed releases energy and this causes pressure to build in the embryo’s cells, causing them to enlarge and break open. Seeds need water to germinate. This will be confirmed with the control group, where the pea seed will receive no water. |