| Explore | Here on earth, plants and seeds are some of the top needs for survival of life. Seeds are not only edible, like soybean and sunflower seeds, but they also help plants reproduce and grow more. If we did not have them, plants wouldn’t be able to keep growing, and they would eventually die. Seeds are usually “asleep” for a while, but they are very well alive. Some seeds have been grown that has been around for over 1000 years! When a seed is grown it is usually dried, and when the seed gets wet, it soaks and softens the seed, and starts the seed germination. When germinating a seed, the first step to germination is the radicle, or the baby root comes out of the bottom and “roots” into the soil. Then, the baby stem or Plumule pushes the seed up, out of the soil. Then, the seed splits and out come the baby leaves or the Cotyledons. Sometimes, seeds are dead, and aren't able to grow. That’s why many people, including our mentor, recommend planting multiple seeds. |
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| Research Question | How do different pH levels affect seed growth? |
| Predictions | We think that if we water the plants with higher pH levels it will slow down the plant growth. If the plant is water with water of a lower pH level, the growth of the plant will quicken, or not be affected. |
| Experimental Design | Soak soybeans in tap water (7pH) for 12 hours. Spread the seeds out evenly between 4 groups. Each group will be watered with water that has different levels of pH (7.00, 9.18, 4.000). Every Friday, measure the growth of the stem. We want to see which group of seeds grow the most, and what the level of pH is. |
| Conclusion | Our prediction was incorrect, the plants with the lower level of PH (4.00) grew better than the plants with higher PH (9.18), but the plants that grew the best were our control that we watered with tap water (7.00 PH). One theory that we have about why the plants watered with more acidic water grew faster is that the acid helped break down the seed coat which would have speed up germination. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| School Name | Live Oak School |
| Session | Fall 2018 |
| About this Project | This team worked very well together, cooperating on all parts of the project, each person contributing with excitement and effort from beginning to end. They responded well to suggestions and help from their mentor and teacher, and also took the initiative, by adding their own great ideas to come up with a unique project they designed creatively and scientifically. Thinking scientifically and communicating scientifically made this team a stand out group and a great example of productive collaboration. |