Avisha Thakkar Environmental Systems and Societies, Section 2 Seed Germination Lab

February 12, 2012

Introduction An ecosystem is a community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they inhabit. More broadly, an ecosystem is made up of biotic and abiotic factors interacting with each other. While biotic factors, such as producers and consumers, consist of the living, biological factors that may influence the ecosystem or other organisms, abiotic factors are the non-living, physical factors that may influence the ecosystem or other organisms. Understanding the interaction of the biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem provides a broader understanding of the dynamics of the natural environment. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the process of seed germination through the manipulation of an abiotic factor. The germination of a seed occurs when the young root, called the radicle, emerges from the seed coat. The ability of seeds to germinate, often termed viability, is key for plant development. In order for seeds to germinate and survive, the abiotic factors must be agreeable. This lab will examine the impact different concentrations of water and vinegar solutions as an abiotic factor have on the biotic development of lima beans. Hence, the overarching research question that guided the experiment was: how does the concentration of an acidic solution affect the germination of lima beans? The initial hypothesis that served as the basis of the experiment was: if the concentration of vinegar in the water-based solution for lima beans increases, then the growth of the lima beans would be increasingly less. The independent variable that was manipulated in the experiment was concentration of vinegar in the solution. The dependent variable was the germination of the seeds. The control group was the sample in which concentration of vinegar was 0%, a pure water solution. All other abiotic factors, such as light and temperature were controlled in order to isolate the influence of acidic water on seed growth. Materials The materials used in the experiment include: nine lima beans, three petri dishes with covers, a bottle of pure white vinegar, paper towel sheets, a bottle of 10% bleach solution (mold-removing agent), and a lab notebook to record data. Method The first step of the data collection phase of the experiment was to prepare the lima beans and the solutions of water and vinegar that would be used to moisten the lima beans. First, the lima beans were soaked in an anti-mold agent, consisting of 10% bleach, for ten minutes. During that time, three solutions were mixed: pure water, 5% vinegar, and 10% vinegar. The three petri dishes were lined with paper towel sheets that would absorb a different acidic solution. Each paper towel in the petri dishes was moistened with one of the three solutions. 30 mL of each solution was initially used. In each of the three samples, the nine lima beans were then divided and placed on the moistened petri dishes. The petri dishes were the sealed shut to avoid any contamination of the experiments. All other abiotic factors were held constant by storing the petri dishes in a dark drawer at room temperature in order to isolate the influence of concentrated, acidic solutions on the growth of lima beans. The petri dishes were then observed every one to two days for a total of four observations. After every observation, the beans were moistened again with 10 mL of their respective solutions. All observations and measurements of seed growth were taken in SI units. All of the data from the three samples were then recorded and analyzed.

Data Collection and Processing

Table 1: Observations of the Effect of Acidic Solutions on Seed Germination: Number of Seeds Germinated
Concentration of Vinegar 0% Vinegar Group 5% Vinegar Group 10% Vinegar Group Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Percent Germinated (Day 5)
[(3/3)*100]=

100%

33.3%

0%

Table 2: Observations of the Effect of Acidic Solutions on Seed Germination: Growth of Lima Bean Roots (cm)
Concentration of Vinegar Day 1
Seed 1: 0 cm

Day 2
Seed 1: .825 cm Seed 2: 1.50 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm

Day 3
Seed 1: 2.00 cm Seed 2: 2.75 cm Seed 3: 1.25 cm Seed 1: 0 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm

Day 4
Seed 1: 3.65 cm Seed 2: 4.00 cm Seed 3: 3.00 cm Seed 1: .04 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm

Day 5
Seed 1: 5.20 cm Seed 2: 6.25 cm Seed 3: 4.90 cm Seed 1: .95 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm

0% Vinegar

Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm

5% Vinegar

Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm Seed 1: 0 cm

10% Vinegar

Seed 2: 0 cm Seed 3: 0 cm

Figure 6: Growth of Lima Bean Roots

7 6 Length of Roots (cm) 5 4 3 2 1 0 0% Vinegar 1 (Pure Water) 2 5% Vinegar Solution Petri Dish by Concentration of Vinegar 3 10% Vinegar Solution 0.95 0 0 0 0 0 5.2 6.25 4.9

Discussion, Evaluation, and Conclusion The original hypothesis stated that as the proportion of vinegar to water as a solution to moisten lima beans increased, the growth of the lima beans in question would be lesser. In considering this hypothesis in the context of the experiment, it was evident that the experiment and the data it yielded confirmed this hypothesis. Figures 1 to 5 are illustrations of the lima beans over the course of the experiment. As observed, the lima beans that were moistened with pure water experienced the fastest and greatest growth. By the fifth day of observation, as observed in Figure 5, Petri Dish 1, the radicles and the hypocotyls of the lima beans had emerged from the bean and had grown significantly. In Figure 2, it is observed that by Day 2, the solution with 5% vinegar content had germinated one lima bean, as a small radicle had emerged. Table 1 summarizes that the pure water solution had achieved the most seed germination, as 100% of the seeds germinated. The solution that consisted of 5% vinegar had only germinated one-third of the seeds, or an estimated 33.33%. The solution that consisted of 10% vinegar had hindered seed germination completely. Table 2 and Figure 6 summarize the total growth that all of the lima beans had or had not experiences. Clearly, pure water had generated the greatest growth in roots. In comparison, the solution with 5% vinegar had caused slight growth in one of the beans, and the solution with the greatest concentration of vinegar had caused the beans to not germinate at all. All in all, it is evident that the data that was collected supports the initial hypothesis as it is evident that manipulations of the concentration of vinegar in a solution had created some abiotic stress for the lima beans. At the same time, the observations and conclusions derived from the observations must be questioned because of the probability of error that would skew the data and by extension, the analysis and ultimate conclusions that were drawn. The predominant form of human error during the course of lab was observational error due to the inability to perfectly examine the lima beans without tampering them. It is possible that emergence of some radicles or other signs that the process of germination had begun could have been overlooked. Moreover, as with many experiments, systematic error can result from the use of measurement instruments that were used to calculate the growth of the beans roots. It is possible that the measurements were miscalculated. Further, it is possible that the solutions of vinegar and water that were mixed were not perfect representations of the intended concentrations. This would put into question the trends that were observed. Overall, these errors do have important implications as they put into question the validity of the observations due to the potential oversight that could have transpired. Any form of inaccuracies in the observational data will question the validity of the conclusions derived from the experiment. What would strengthen the experiment if it were to be repeated again would be expand the number of experimental groups that were used by using smaller concentrations of vinegar to confirm the hypothesis. Using concentrations less than 5% would be ideal. Perhaps, the use of different kinds of seeds and beans could have broadened the scope of the experiment by testing the hypothesis against all forms of plants. Improvements such as this would ultimately create a more viable experiment.