| Explore | -Plants need water, the correct temp. , soil to start germinating -Plants need sunlight -What does a Pearl Millet look like when it is full grown? -Plants can start to photosynthesize when they have leaves. -Have roots -Plants receive water through their roots. -They have leaves -Plants can stay as a seed for a long time! |
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| Research Question | How does the temperature of a Pearl Millet seed affect how it germinates? |
| Predictions | If we place a Pearl Millet seed in different temperatures (freezer, fridge, room temperature, under a direct light), then the Pearl Millet plant that is in room temperature will germinate the fastest and the one that is in the freezer will not germinate at all. |
| Experimental Design | -Gather materials -Place 10 seeds on top of damp paper towel in petri dish. -Do this step in four different petri dishes. -Place one petri dish with 10 seeds in a freezer, one in room temp, one in a refrigerator, and one under a light. -Leave all 40 seeds alone for twenty four hours; Come back the next day and make sure paper towels are damp. If they are not, add a very small amount of water to them. PAPER TOWELS MUST STAY DAMP AT ALL TIME. -Observe the 40 seeds each day and record length of root and stem for one week. |
| Conclusion | Claim: The Pearl Millet plants germinate the fastest when under a grow light. Evidence: The Pearl Millets under the grow light had 10/10 of the plants germinating by the end of the week, the room Pearl Millets had 9/10. The fridge and the freezer Pearl Millets both were at a dead 0/10. The difference between all of the Pearl Millet seeds would be 10 seeds that started germinating by the end of the week . Reasoning: When the Pearl Millet seeds were under the grow light they started germinating the fastest because the climate was the most suitable to them. Pearl Millet plants need a minimum of 64 degrees fahrenheit in the soil to start germinating. The seeds in the fridge and freezer must have been below 64 degrees fahrenheit in the soil because not even a single one of them started germinating. The freezer seeds also could not start germinating because the seeds were frozen along with the water given to them. They could not soak in the water in time. The seeds under the grow light grew faster because they were above the minimum temperature to begin germinating. The seeds in room temperature still germinated, but were still 1-3 seeds behind the grow light seeds. |