Lab Report Part 1: Experimental Plan● You are encouraged to ask your instructor questions as you work on this

research proposal.

● Once submitted, every student will receive feedback and a chance toedit/resubmit if needed.

● Do not set up your experiment until you begin Lab Report Part 2 later thissemester.

Step 1: Learn about seed germination /observations

A scientist makes careful and detailed observations before determining a central question or a

hypothesis. Modern scientists use not only their own observations but also the observations

and research of other scientists who are studying a similar species/subject to help them develop

their own hypotheses and ultimately their research.

In addition to the scientific literature, you need to make sure you understand the basics of the

process of seed germination. Use this link: Germination

1. Using scientific literature, the germination link above, or your own observation if you

have ever germinated seeds – list at least six facts/observations about germination. For

each fact listed, include the source where you found it (you will need this information

when writing your lab report).

● All seeds need moisture, oxygen and the right temperature to germinate, or

grow. Until they have these conditions, the seed remains dormant and does

nothing.

● Some seeds need light to germinate. Others need darkness.

● Once the seeds have the right conditions, the plant inside starts to grow and get

bigger. It pushes open the seed coat – sort of like a chick hatching out of an egg.

Tiny leaves appear and push out of the soil.

● Some plants, like ferns, don’t produce seeds. They make spores. Look under the

leaves and you’ll see rows of tiny round spores. These drop off the plant and

eventually make new plants.

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● Animals often eat seeds. The seeds come out in the animal’s poop. They drop to

the ground and make new plants.

● Some seeds are carried to new places by the wind.

Step 2: Central Question and experimental designFor the experimental part of this lab, you are responsible for asking a question about an

environmental factor that could affect seed germination.

Here is what your experiment in Lab Report Part 2 will look like:● Please note: you will not do this experiment until Lab Report Part 2 later this semester

o Right now we just want to organize our thoughts about HOW the experimentwill be run

● In Lab Report Part 2 you will use a Ziploc baggie or a small covered container for seedgermination. In the bottom of the container, you should place a wet paper towel (but

drain off excess water!).

o When you set it up be sure to trap air inside the container or the baggie.● In each germination container, you will include about 10 seeds (you can either buy them,

or try using dried beans)

o You should count (or estimate) how many seeds you have available to help youplan.

o Please note that if you use dried beans, you will need to soak them in room tempwater over night before you set up your experiment.

● Below, you will choose one variable as your independent variable . You need at least 1experimental treatment and at least 1 control treatment.

● For your dependent variable you are required to record the % of seeds germinated ineach container after 1 week. You also need to make observations such as the color and

health of the seedlings. You can add other dependent variables if you want.

● INCLUDE REPLICATION! This means that for each environmental condition you shouldhave at least 2 germination containers.

o For example, I might set up four germination containers with 10 seeds in each.Two of the containers I place in the control temperature and the other two

containers I place in my experimental temperature.

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Central Question:2. First, brainstorm several ideas for questions you might ask about seed germination. List

at least 2 possible questions below. what do plants need to

germinate?Does fertilizer speed up the germination process?

3. Now you are ready to write your central question. Look over your ideas above and

choose one testable question (if none of your questions above are testable you will need

to come up with a new one). [Using the corn example, a good central question might be

written as follows: “Does fertilizer affect the growth of Zea mays?” Notice that the

scientific name for corn plants is used rather than the common name.]

Write your central question below. Keep your question simple and focused on

one variable.

Does pH level affect the growth of Raphanus sativus?

Determine your independent and dependent variables.

The independent variable is the variable that is being manipulated or changed by the

researcher. This is the variable that you are asking your question about!

The dependent variable is the observed result of the independent variable being manipulated.

Often times, the dependent variable is determined by measurement.

[For example if one were doing an experiment to see how fertilizer affects the growth of corn

plants, the “amount of applied fertilizer” would be the independent variable and the height of

the corn plants would be the dependent variable.]

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If you are having trouble with these two terms, revisit the video we watched in lab 02:

https://youtu.be/nqj0rJEf3Ew

4. What is the independent variable for this experiment?

ph levels/different solutions

5. What is the dependent variable for this experiment? (look back at the design

parameters for minimum requirements)

percentage of seeds germinated over the course of one week

Step 3: HypothesisA hypothesis is a potential answer to your central question. The hypothesis should be based

upon your observations and past research. A hypothesis also needs to be testable.

[A possible hypothesis for the corn example might be “Zea mays plants that receive more

fertilizer will have increased growth rate”.]

6. Write your hypothesis below.

Raphanus sativus with an neutral pH will have an increased percentage of seeds

germinated over the course of one week rate than the raphnus sativus with acidic pH

level.

Step 4: Prediction

The prediction describes the specific data that you expect to observe IF your hypothesis is

supported. A prediction is written as an “if, then” statement and must include both the

independent and dependent variables.

If (independent variable) is related to (dependent variable), then (prediction of what will

be observed in the experiment).

[Example- If fertilizer increases Zea mays growth rate, then the plants that receive

fertilizer will grow taller than the plants that do not receive fertilizer.]

7. Write your prediction below.

If distilled water increases Raphanus sativus germination percentage then the seeds

placed in a distilled water will have a higher percentage of seeds germinated over the

course of one week than seeds placed in area with diluted.

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Step 5: Design your experiment:Now you need to plan the specifics of your experiment. It is very important that you control all

of the variables which are not being tested in your experiment and that you are including a

control treatment and replication. Remember, you already came up with your independent and

your dependent variables. Please ask instructor if you need help here!

Control / Control Treatment.Your control is a natural condition, normal condition, or zero added condition that you are

testing for a comparison to your experimental condition. You will have at least 2 germination

containers in your control treatment.

8. What is your control treatment?Experimental variables / treatments

9. Raphanus sativus placed in distilled water

These are the conditions that are different than normal and that you are including in order to

test your hypothesis. You must have at least one experimental treatment but you are allowed

to include up to three if you have enough seeds and germination containers. Remember – you

need to include at least 2 germination containers is each treatment.

10. What is your experimental treatment or treatments?

Raphanus sativus placed in diluted vinegar

Controlled VariablesThis is an essential part of every experimental plan. You need to think about all the other things

that are not related to your central question but that might affect your data.

[In the example of the corn plant growth experiment, the researcher is asking about the

effects of added fertilizer. Some controlled variables would include the amount of water,

sunlight, soil texture, and temperature.]

11. List at least three different controlled variables for your experiment. You should list as

many as you can!

Temperature, amount of sunlight, same location

2 germination containers in each treatment, 4 in total

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Replication.Another vital aspect to any experiment is replication. You need reproducible results. The

minimum requirements for replication for this experiment has already been described for you

on preceding pages. Use this section to review the replication for this lab.

12. How many germination containers will you use in each treatment?

10 radish seeds

13. How many seeds will you place in each container?

Some other things to consider:

Details of your planTake some time to review the past pages and make a final plan on how your experiments will

work. In this section, I want all the details. Specific locations in your house, specific amounts of

water, specific temperatures, light amounts, amounts of anything you are adding (if this applies

to you) etc.

14. Write your detailed experimental plan here:

I will do the experiment outside of my guest room window, it recvives the best light in the

house. I will get two germination containers. I will label the containers. 2 for the control

treatment and 2 for the experimental treatment. I will start with the control treatment.I will

place 10 radish seeds in two Ziploc baggies with paper towels soaked in distilled water. I will

give the seeds 5 hours of sunlight each day. I would keep the seeds in room tempture at 72

degrees fahrenheit. I will consistently take notes over the course of a week. Finally, after a

week I will calculate the number of seeds germinated ot of 10 seeds for both the control and

experiement groups and calculate the percentage.

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