Student Sheet 5

www.saps.org.uk

Investigating Seed Germination

Technical and teaching notes

This is a simple way to investigate the germination of seeds.

Another way of doing this is the ‘Investigation Seed Germination on Agar’ practical, also on
our website.

Apparatus
 A straight-sided 1.5 litre plastic bottle, with a diameter equal to that of your Petri
dishes
 Wooden base, approx 30 x 7 x 2cm
 Bases from plastic bottles
 Circular grids photocopied onto acetate
 Petri dishes
 Filter paper
 Seeds
 Water, or other solution depending on the nature of the investigation

Preparation of materials
To remove the label cleanly:

 Fill the bottle with hot water (not too hot or it will buckle)
 Screw the cap back on the bottle and in a short time the label should peel off.
 Empty the water out of the bottle.

To prepare the bottle:

 Use sharp scissors to cut the bottle as shown to

create a reservoir which will support Petri dishes
lying on their sides..
 If you leave a ragged cut edge it could cut
fingers. You may wish to cover the cut edge with
tape.
 Make a cradle for the bottle - Use the coloured bases from plastic bottles, screwed to
wood and cut to make the cradle

Acknowledgements to: Dr Jerry Roberts, School of Agriculture, University of

Nottingham