Lab Activity: Germination of Mustard Seeds
All work should be done in your lab notebooks.
Objective: The purpose of this experiment is to germinate the greatest amount of seeds in a period of 2 days.
Materials:
50-100 mustard seeds
4 Petri dishes
Graduated cylinders
Wax marking pencil
Identify the following variables and controls before beginning your experiment:
a. Dependent Variable
b. Independent Variable
c. Controls
Write your Hypothesis in the “if…then…because…” format
Procedure (list, in number format, the step-by-step ‘recipe’ for your experiment; someone who is unfamiliar with your work should be able to follow your procedure and carry out your experiment EXACTLY the way you did it)
Data Table (construct a table, with title, in which you will put all your data when you collect it; on reverse side)
· Decide if the data you need to collect should be quantitative or qualitative
Graph
· Decide what type of graph would best show the data
· Make sure the graph has a title, x, and y axis labels.
Analysis of Data: (answer in complete sentences)
1. Which dish germinated the most seeds? The least?
2. Infer why you might think this happened.
3. Refer back to your hypothesis—were you correct or incorrect? Explain using your data.
4. Other than your independent variable, identify other “hidden” variables or possible errors that might have affected the overall results of your investigation. How might you correct for these if this investigation was repeated?
5. The purpose of “doing science” is to advance our knowledge of how our world works. What did you learn about our natural world by doing this experiment? Who else would benefit from this knowledge?