Seed Germination in Acidic Solutions

By: Madison Welsh

9th Grade

Academy of Notre Dame de Namur

Problem

• This experiment was designed to test the effect of acids on plant seeds.

• The project is designed to show whether or not soaking seeds in vinegar, lemon juice, or water enhances or inhibits the growth of pea seeds.

Research

• Vinegar has a pH level of 2.4 to 3.4.

• Lemon juice has a pH level of 2.3

• Water is not a base or an acid, so its pH level is 7.

• pH levels measure the acidity of solutions.

• It also measures the activity of hydrogen ions.

Research Continued

• Seed germination is the growth of a plant inside its pod.

• All developed seeds have an embryo inside.

• Some empty seeds do not contain an embryo. They are called empty seeds.

• Water, oxygen, light, and certain temperatures are required for seed germination.

More Research

• The germination rate tells how many seeds out of 100 will germinate.

• The germination rate for chive seeds is _____.

• Chive seeds germinate after three weeks.

Hypothesis

• If pea seeds are soaked in lemon juice, vinegar, water, or left natural, then the seeds soaked in water will germinate first, followed by the lemon juice, then the seeds soaked in vinegar, and the dry seeds will not germinate.

Materials

480 pea seeds

4 plastic containers

¼ liter of vinegar

¼ liter of lemon juice

¼ liter of water

24 paper towels

Procedure

A paper towel was rinsed in vinegar and placed in the bottom of a plastic container.

40 pea seeds were placed on the paper towel and covered with another paper towel soaked in vinegar.

The procedure was repeated three times, substituting vinegar for water, lemon juice, and paper towels without any solution.

This procedure was repeated twice.

Data

Conclusion

• Parts of the hypothesis were correct but others were not.

• The hypothesis stated that the seeds soaked in water would germinate first, followed by the seeds soaked in lemon juice, and finally the seeds soaked in vinegar.

• However, all of the seeds sprouted after 48 hours, but the number varied for each solution.

Conclusion Cont.

The acids killed the majority of the pea seeds soaked in vinegar and lemon juice.

In this respect, the hypothesis was correct because the vinegar killed the most seeds, followed by the lemon juice, but the solutions did not slow or quicken the growth.

The hypothesis was also correct because the dry seeds did not germinate.

Works Cited• "Acetic Acid." EdInformatics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2009.

<http://www.edinformatics.com/ math_science/science_of_cooking/acetic_acid.htm>. "Acid Rain Experiments- Experiment 7- Observing the Influence on Acid Rain on Plant Growth." Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 8 June 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2009. <http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/education/experiment7.html>. Carpi, Anthony. "Acids and Bases: An Introduction." Vision Learning. N.p., 2003. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. <http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=58>. Cummins, R. Hays. "Final Presentation of the Effect of Acid Rain on Plants." Jr. Science. Miami University, 10 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 Nov. 2009. <http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsfall02/ FinalArticles/FinalPresentationofTheEff.html>. Holt, S. A. "How to Grow Mint Indoors." eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. <http://www.ehow.com/how_4493938_grow-mint-indoors.html>.