How many leaves?
Introduction
All seeds have 3 parts: an embryo, a food store, and an outer coat for protection. If the conditions
are just right, the seed will germinate. Seeds need the right amount of heat, sunlight and water
for this to happen. When the seeds germinates, the first leaves sprout out of the ground. These
are called cotyledons or seed leaves. In this experiment you will germinate corn and bean seeds
and see if they are monocot or dicots. Monocots have one cotyledon while dicots have two.
Materials
You will need two plastic cups, bean seeds, corn seeds and some soil.
Procedure
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Read the introduction.
Fill two cups with soil. Label one cup “bean” and the other cup “corn”.
Plant 3 bean seeds in one cup and 3 corn seeds in the other. Press them about ½ an inch
below the soil and gently cover them.
Place the cups in a warm place where they will receive sunlight. Water the seeds when
the soil seems dry.
Wait to see your seeds sprout. This may take a couple weeks.
Observations: Draw a picture of each cup and the sprouts after the leaves appear.
Conclusion: How many leaves did the bean and corn sprouts have? Which plant is a dicot?
Which is a monocot?
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Bean Seed Anatomy
Label the: testa, hilum, micropyle, plumule, radicle, & food storage.
outside of seed
cross-section of seed
Seed Dispersal Methods
Label the three main methods of seed dispersal.
Seed Germination
Label the germination of a bean plant.