The Needs Of Seeds

Introduction:
All seeds need certain things to grow, such as abiotic factors, a seed coat, and germination. Just like seeds we need abiotic factors to live, some of these include water, oxygen, and many more. seeds need these very same things, however they get them from the soil. When these needs are met a seed will be able to germinate or sprout. Now you will conduct an experiment to test the most important abiotic factor. Then you will communicate your data. This lab will show what a seed needs to germinate, grow, and what abiotic factor is the most important for this to occurr.

Question:
What is the most important abiotic factor needed for seeds to germinate?

Hypothesis:
I think that water is the most important abiotic factor. If water is the most important then when the plant is given water it will sprout because if all a seeds needs are met it will be able to germinate.

Materials:

• cups - same size (2)
• Soil (6 spoonfulls)- same kind
• seeds- same kind (6)
• A fixed growing location
• water (12ml per day in one cup)

Materials continued:

• masking tape
• sharpie

Procedure:

• Tear a piece of tape off of the roll.
• Use the sharpie to add your name on the tape.
• Then list one of your controlled variables.
• Now write down your independent variable.
• Repeat the process on a second piece of tape.

Procedure continued:
6. Take your first piece of tape and attach it to one of your cups.
7. Take your second piece of tape and repeat
step 6.
8. In one of your cups pour two spoonfulls of soil into the bottom.
9. Now repeat step eight with your second cup.
10. Place one seed into each cup.

Procedure continued:
11. Now pour one spoonfull of soil on top of the seed in each cup.
12. Now water one of your cups with 12ml of water.
13. Leave your second cup dry.
14. leave the seeds for five days watering your watered cup each day.
15. record your data on the data table on the handout.

classes information and comparisons on the second handout.

Analysis:
1. Water is the most important abiotic factor needed for seeds to germinate.
2. Yes, the needs would be different for these seeds as they mature into plants because as plants get older they make their own food , which would cause a higher need for carbon dioxide and sunlight.
3. Water was the most important variable according to our results of zero plants sprouting with no water. The second most important factor was sunlight according to our results of 79% sprouting with sunlight.

Analysis continued:
3 continued. Soil, carbon dioxide and temperature did not seem to make much of a difference to whether or not the seeds germinated.
4. We used to cups and all of the classes data to make sure the data wasn't false.
5. The flaws in our lab design included the amount of water that was given to our seeds. This affected the data by almost drowning the seeds.
6. Another question I have after doing this lab is, how drastically do the abiotic factors change after a plant matures.

Conclusion:
The question was "What is the most important abiotic factor needed for seeds to germinate. I hypothesized that water was the most important abiotic factor and I was correct. Out of the 207 students that did the experiment with water the non-watered cup had no sprouts total, and the watered cup had 119 sprouts total. This evidence implies that water was the most important factor needed for seeds to germinate because without water no seeds were able to germinate. By the end of the experiment it was clear that water was the most important factor for germination, but what about the most important factor for a matured plant.