| Explore | Plants do a process called photosynthesis where they make glucose. They need carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight to grow. Not only does the plant make glucose, it also emits oxygen as a waste product. All of this happens in the chloroplast of a plant, which is a part of a plant cell. Photosynthesis makes glucose and cellular respiration uses the glucose to make ATP energy which allows the plant to grow. We also know that a seed needs 3 things to germinate. These are water, the right temperature, and finally a good location. If a seed has all of these it will be able to germinate. |
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| Research Question | How does the temperature of water affect the germination of seedlings? |
| Predictions | If you change the temperature of water, then the room temperature water will make the seedlings germinate the fastest. We think this, because the cold water may slow down the process of photosynthesis. We think the hot water will be different for the seed because it may not be used to warmer water. |
| Experimental Design | Step 1: Put a paper towel and 10 seedlings in each bag Step 2: Label each bag with hot, cold, and room temperature so we can identify which temperature of water goes where Step 3: Water each bag with room temperature water, warm/hot water, and cold water. (3 mL each day) Step 4: Measure out 3 mL of hot water, room temperature water, and cold water, so one seed doesn't grow faster than another. Step 5: Measure the height of the plant to see how fast it germinates. Step 6: Repeat steps 3-5 |
| Conclusion | If the water is cold, then the seeds will grow longer. When the water was hot the average growth of the seeds on day 6 was 2.2 cm. When the water was room temperature the average growth of the seeds on day 6 was 3.4 cm. Lastly, when the water was cold, the average growth of the seeds on day 6 was 4.88 cm. This is because due to our prior knowledge we knew that buckwheat seeds like temperatures about 50-70 degrees, and the cold water was right around that temperature. Also, once the seed germinates it normally likes cooler temperatures (about 10 degrees fahrenheit lower). This is why the colder water grew the most. I think this was a fair test because we tried to minimize source of error, and our results also made sense. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Teacher Name | Kristen Stiem |
| School Name | DeWitt Middle School |
| Session | Spring 2021 |