| Explore | Plants need and do photosynthesis. They need and do Cellular respiration. They also start as a seed, sprout, grow leaves, and then grow more seeds. I know how photosynthesis works, and how cellular respiration works. I also know some about germination now. The seed is in its dormant stage as a seed. This means that the seed is almost rationing its pre-photosynthesis food supply. While in the dormant stage they wait for the perfect conditions (heat, light, moisture, and good soil). Once they are in these good conditions the embryo sprouts. |
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| Research Question | How does the plant being in light or dark affect the germination rate? |
| Predictions | If the plant is germinating in the dark then it will germinate faster. I suggest that the plant might grow better in the dark for these reasons. The plant will grow better in the dark because in the wild a seed usually grows in the ground. When a seed is in the ground it is also in the dark. The soil also probably protects the seed, so it naturally grows better. When the seed is in the light it might dry out and instinctively not grow. When it is just on the table it will still be in light so the results will be around the same as the seed in the light. |
| Experimental Design | Put paper towels in petri dishes, Make the paper towels wet with 10 ml of water put 5 Buckwheat seed in a petri dish 1 with gloves on and set it under a regular lamp Put another 5 seeds in petri dish 2 with gloves on Put the second petri dish in a cupboard Put 5 seeds in petri dish 3 with gloves on and set it just on a table with no lamp Check on them until one germinates When checking on petri dish 2 use blue light with lights off When checking on them use a ruler but do not touch the seed Repeat 3 more times |
| Conclusion | Claim: The darker the environment the seed is in the faster it will germinate. Evidence: We did an investigation to prove this. In the investigation all of the seeds in the dark germinated on the second day. On the second day, only two seeds left on the table germinated (The seeds left on the table were our control). Throughout all of the days none of the seeds left in the light germinated. This data proves that the seeds left in the dark germinated the fastest. Reasoning: This happens for a reason. Most seeds do better in the dark, so it might have to deal with our seed being a Buckwheat seed. Size can also affect the germination. Our seed could have been considered large because large seeds typically do better in the dark. When a seed is in the dark it’s gases remain undisturbed. When a seed is in the light it’s gases can go away which causes the seed to harden. My prediction in the beginning was that the seed would do better in the dark and I was right. I was correct in my prior knowledge because seeds usually germinate in the soil. This was a pretty fair test unless some minor errors. Like the water escaping out the petri dish because the paper towel was too long. Or the dark being exposed to a little light. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Teacher Name | Evelyn Gray |
| School Name | DeWitt Middle School |
| Session | Spring 2023 |
| About this Project | This team was well organised and I could see improvement in their way of addressing their work on the online platform. The teacher was well organised too. -- Pankaj Kumar, Scientist Mentor |