Seeds

Question:  What parts of seeds are there?

Equipment:  Seeds soaked for 30 hours, knife, forceps, and hand lens.

Procedure:  Open the seeds carefully from the outside curve and examine the parts.

Draw and label parts below

Results:

 

 

What do you think each part does?

seed coat
cotyledon
embryo (root, leaf, stem)

 

What part grows?

whole seed
seed coat and cotyledon
seed coat and embryo
embryo and cotyledon
seed coat, embryo, half of cotyledon
seed coat
cotyledon
embryo (root, leaf, stem)

Conclusions:

 

Question:  What part of the seed grows?

Equipment:  Seeds soaked for 30 hours, growth chamber, ruler, and labels.

Procedure:  Divide beans into the following parts:  cotyledon, cotyledon and embryo, embryo, whole bean, and any other combination or part you choose.  Set each part in the growth chamber, water sparingly, and record the growth.  Continue for two weeks charting and graphing the growth.

Results:

Graph the class results.

Based on your results write what you think each part does.

Conclusions:

 

 

 

Review

Over what temperature ranges would seeds grow?

Would seeds grow if left in water?

Would seeds grow if soaked and then dried out?

What part of the seed grows?

What part of the seed doesn’t grow?

What combinations of the seed parts grow?

What is the cotyledon’s function?

What is the seed coat’s function?

How is plant growth effected by the cotyledon’s size?

What is the embryo’s function?

How is plant growth effected by the embryo’s size?

If you were a seed what parts would you want?  And why?

Where do plants grow from?  All over?  Top?  Middle?  Or bottom?

(experiment to find out)

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's Notes ©