Seed Germination Lab Report

Introduction

In our experiment, we tested which liquid made the Phaseolus vulgaris seed germinate the best.
Phaseolus vulgaris, or black turtle bean is a small shiny bean that comes from a variety of other common beans. They have a dense, meaty texture and germinate rapidly and reliably. Black turtle beans germinate in about 8 to 10 days and are ready to harvest in about 90 to 140 days. The beans should be watered regularly in well drained and fertile soil.

Purpose

The purpose of this experiment is to test which liquid would make the Phaseoulus vulgaris seed grow and germinate the best.  The liquids we decided to use are: Kool-Aid, Gatorade, Lemonade, and water as our control.

Hypothesis

If Phaseoulus vulgaris seeds are watered with different liquids, then the more sugar in the liquid the higher the growth rate.

Materials

- 40 phaseolus vulgaris
- water
- Kool-Aid
- lemonade
- Gatorade 
- 8 plastic cups
- potting soil
- graduated cylinder
- well lit area to place germinating seeds
- marker
- ruler

Procedure

1.  Gather all materials listed above.
2.  Put an even amount of potting soil in each cup. (Fill about half the cup with potting soil)
3.  Place 5 seeds in each cup about an inch below the surface of the soil
4.  Water 2 cups with 60 mL of water, 2 cups with 60 mL of Kool-Aid, 2 cups with 60 mL of lemonade, and 2 cups with 60 mL of Gatorade.  Water again on after the 5th day.
5.  Label each cup with the name of the liquid used to water the seeds.
6.  Place the cups in a well lit area and check periodically.
7.  Observe to see if there is any growth in the cups.
8.  Measure the growth of the seeds by measuring the plants with a ruler.
9.  Water again when soil is damp.
10.  Record all data and create graphs.
11.  Analyze data.
12.  Discuss the growth of the seeds and conclude whether our hypothesis was supported or not.

Data Analysis/Results

Liquid:	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
Water	No growth	No observation	No observation	3 germinated; 1 cm	4 germinated; 4 cm, 8 cm, 9 cm, 11 cm Avrg: 8 cm	No observation	4 germinated; 12.5 cm, 17 cm, 20 cm 22.5 cm Avrg. 18 cm
Kool-Aid	No growth	No observation	No observation	No growth	No growth	No observation	No growth
Lemonade	No growth	No observation	No observation	No growth	No growth	No observation	No growth
Gatorade	No growth	No observation	No observation	No growth	No growth	No observation	1 germinated; 1 cm

Based on our data, we observed that the only plants that actually grew successfully were the seeds planted with water.  Although 1 seed watered with Gatorade germinated 1 cm on day 7, the growth wasn't enough to conclude that the seeds also grew consistently in Gatorade.  

All cups day 1

        Lemonade                            Gatorade                        Kool-aid                      



            Water

Day 2-3

  Lemonade Kool-aid Water

                 And Gatorade

Day 4-5

      Lemonade Gatorade Kool-aid

Water

Day 6-7

Planting Day

     

                       Chloe about to place       Adrian digging a hole        Chloe and Adrian showing

                       our plant in the garden.    for our plant.                     teamwork while planting.

Graph

The graph shows that only seeds planted with water and Gatorade germinated, while the seeds watered with the other liquids did not germinate at all.


 Conclusion

According to our data, our hypothesis was not supported because only the seeds watered with water survived and grew consistently.  One of the seeds planted in Gatorade also germinated a mere 1 cm, but we decided that there wasn't enough growth in the seed to say for sure the the seed germinated well in that liquid.  There was a strong unpleasant smell emitted from all of the cups, and all of the soil in the cups, excluding water, molded within the first few days.  On day seven we found the Gatorade to have created an air pocket under the soil.  With that being said, water was the only successful plant that germinated and grew.


Discussion

In retesting our experiment there are some things that we would revise.  In our experiment, we tested which seeds would germinate and grow the best, but we did not add holes as filtration.  That is why some of our seeds got very smelly, and did not grow at all.  Next time, we would retest our experiment by adding holes at the bottom of each cup as a filtration device, making it less smelly and better for examining the seed growth.  We may also not water them with as much liquid as our cups resulted with flooding.  Another thing we may change is how often we observe and water as there were many days where we were not able to collect data.  Also, next time we might test different liquid, because based on our experiment, the seeds did not grow well with sugary liquids.  We could use liquids such as vinegar, salt water, oil, etc. with water as the control.  One key revision though would be to test a larger amount of seeds as we only had ten per liquid.  If we repeated our experiment I believe we may want to change our hypothesis based on our results this time.

All about Chloe Stothers

      Hello, my name is Chloe Stothers.  I have lived in San Jose my entire life.  I have grown up with an orange and apple tree in our backyard.  We used to occasionally grow a garden, but now it is a yearly occurrence.  In previous years we have grown green beans, snap peas, lettuce, carrots, corn, cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme, rosemary, and squash.  This year we are growing strawberries, red peppers, zucchini, pumpkins, and tomatoes.  My grandparents grow a big, bright, beautiful garden year round.  My grandpa studied some field of agriculture in college and has taught me a few of his tricks.  My grandma weeds and picks the ripe vegetables in their garden and uses them in her homemade meals.  She makes almost everything from scratch and is a very talented cook.  I hope I grow up to be like my grandparents.

All About Mako Goldston

Hello, my name is Mako Goldston.  I have lived in San Jose ever since I was born.  I haven't gardened before, but I have a cherry, plum, peach, apricot, orange, and lemon tree.  I also have a basil and tomato plant.   I watered the trees and pulled out weeds when I was younger, but other than that, I haven't gardened much.  Although I am not good at cooking at all, I like to watch my mom cook.  She often uses the basil or tomatoes that we grow in our yard.  My mom also knows a lot about gardening.  She doesn't really garden anymore, but she used to garden a lot when I was younger.  She has taught me a lot of important gardening techniques, but I have forgotten most of them.  In the future, I am going to try to garden more.

All About Adrian Mendez

Hi my name is Adrian Mendez. I was born and raised in San Jose, California. I have family in San Jose and Mexico.

I haven't really gardened before, although I have helped my uncle water some plants. He plants tomatoes and they taste delicious. We use the tomatoes for rice, soup, and salsa and my family makes some of the best salsa ever. I enjoy to cook although i don't do it often.

All About Robert Najar

My name is Robert Najar. I was born and raised in San Jose, California. I live with my brother, mom, and dad. My grandparents live 5 min. away from where I live. I go over to their house a lot to visit.

I've gardened in 5th grade for my school. I forgot what we gardened but I really liked it. I cook sometimes with my mom or my dad. I love to BBQ and my dad teaches me house to cook a lot. My dad is a great cook and so is my mom, but i like my grandpas beef stew thats the BEST FOOD EVER. My grandma cooks good too but shes more like a pasta person.