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
40
35
30
Number of
Seeds
25
Germinated
Series1
20
Series2
Series3
15
10
5
0
Lem Juice
Vinegar
Dry
Type of Solution
Water
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>.