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Improved Golden
Dr. Melville
ED 4205 YA
Marnie Merchant
Ashley Johnston
10 Pages
Introduction
For this experiment, we will be investigating the effect on the
germination of Phaseolus vulgaris (var. Improved Golden Wax) seeds of
different solutions. As a guiding scientific question, we want to see how the
mass percentage increases in seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris (var. Improved
Golden Wax), based on the liquid they are soaking in after 168 hours.
Germination is a complex metabolic process that involves many steps
in the initial stages of a plants life cycle.1 The overall process oxidizes the
lipids and carbohydrates within the seed and breaks down storage proteins
so that it can release the energy and amino acids that are needed for further
plant development.1 The three main stages involved are pre-germination,
germination and post-germination. 1 For the purposes of this research we are
just focusing on the pre-germination stage which describes the absorption of
water uptake by the bean seeds, as well as the different liquids that may
have an effect on the results. 1
Germination begins with imbibition, which is the uptake of water by the
dry seed. This process is usually completed when the radicle, which is part of
the embryo, pushes through the structure that is surrounding it.1 During
imbibition, the amount of water uptake by the dry seeds is quite large, which
greatly increases the seed size before the initiation of active metabolism
begins.2 The many other events occurring include protein hydration,
subcellular structural changes, respiration, macromolecular syntheses, and
cell elongation. Overall, these processes together result in transforming a
dehydrated embryo to an embryo with vigorous metabolism in growth.3
Some external factors that need to be considered in the germination
process are favourable temperature, light, oxygen, and water. Temperature
can affect the germination percentage as well as the germination rate.4 Most
plants germinate best at a room temperature of 21C. Light is not essential
in the early stages of germination, but it does play a main role later on in the
cycle. Depending on the crop, light can either stimulate or inhibit seed
growth.4 Oxygen is necessary for plants to grow as it is involved in cellular
respiration. If there is a lack of oxygen, there may be a disturbance in the
germination process.4 The most important factor being water, is essential to
the germination process. Since dry seeds will not germinate, the water is
needed to trigger the process of seed germination.4
The independent variables used in this experiment are the four
different solutions. The solutions were changed by adding salt, sugar, and
vinegar to the tap water. The dependent variable used in this experiment
was the mass of Phaseolus vulgaris (var. Improved Golden Wax) seeds. The
mass is expected to change based on the different solutions. The control set-
up used in this experiment was the tap water solution. This was used as a
baseline to compare the mass increase of the other solutions.
Since this study is focusing on the mass percentage increase of the
seeds based on their absorption of the liquid, the effects of salt, sugar, and
vinegar will be observed. There have been previous studies completed on
the effects of salinity in germination. The effect of salinity can either create
osmotic potential which will prevent the uptake of water or by the toxic
effects of ions on the embryo viability.1 Since salt absorbs and retains water
so strongly, it can cause a stress which may cause significant reductions in
the rate of final germination percentage which can lead to reduction of
yields.1 Since the mass percentage increase of the seeds is the object of
concern, the effect from the salt is not as detrimental as if the seeds were
going through the full germination process. The effect of sugar water can
also play a role in osmosis. The sugar water will lower the osmotic potential
because there will be less water available to the seed. The acidity of water
can also have an effect on the germination process.
Focusing on just the water uptake of the seeds and its absorption, for
this experiment, it is predicted that the tap water solution will absorb the
most water after the 168 hours. This is due to the fact that the salt, sugar
and vinegar concentrations cannot interfere and absorb any of the water
itself. Based on previous research, it is predicted that the salt water will have
the least mass increase because of the potential for osmosis to occur.
Hypothesis
Materials
Method
In this experiment, four different liquids are looked at to see the mass
percentage increase in Phaseolus vulgaris seeds after soaking in the liquids
(salt water, sugar water, tap water and vinegar water) for 168 hours. Three
seeds were used in each liquid to get an average mass percentage increase
for the seeds.
To begin the experiment, weigh out three beans using a scale ( 0.02 g)
for one mason jar and label the jar. Repeat this procedure three more times.
Label the mason jars (salt water, sugar water, tap water and vinegar water,
each with three beans per jar. Next, using a beaker, measure out 250 mL of
tap water at 21C and place in a mason jar. Do this for all four mason jars.
Using a measuring spoon, measure 14.79 g of Redpath granulated table salt
and mix into the mason jar labelled salt water. Using a stir stick, stir the
contents for approximately two minutes, or until the salt appears fully
dissolved. Rinse the stir stick off with tap water.
Next, repeat the above procedure using granulated sugar. Using the
measuring spoons, measure 14.79 g of Redpath granulated sugar and mix
into the mason jar labelled sugar water. Using a stir stick, stir the contents
for approximately two minutes, or until the sugar appears fully dissolved.
Rinse the stir stick off with tap water.
Repeat the above procedure using Heinz Vinegar. Using the measuring
spoons, measure 14.79 mL of Heinz distilled vinegar and mix into the mason
jar labelled vinegar water. Using a stir stick, stir the contents for
approximately two minutes, or until the vinegar appears fully mixed. Rinse
the stir stick off with tap water.
Finally, when all four mason jars are labelled and filled with their liquids,
place the relative three beans into each of the mason jars. Place all four
mason jars in a dark box in a room temperature of 21C. The box will remain
in the dark for 168 hours. Once the 168 hours are up, using the scale, weigh
each individual bean seed and record its mass in a table. Using the table,
calculate the mass percentage increase using the formula found in the
appendix. This percentage will show how much water the bean seed has
absorbed during the 168 hours.
Results
Discussion
Appendix
Tap Water:
= 56 %
References