NAME: Alonzo Brown DATE: March 19, 2022 BIO GROUP: 5-B

Lab #15
TOPIC: GROWTH (MM/ORR)

Aim: To determine the growth rate of red peas

Apparatus/Materials
Red peas, plastic cups, paper towel, Ziploc bag, soil, water, ruler, graph paper, camera

Method
1. 15 red peas were placed in damp paper towel and placed in an open Ziploc bag.
2. The bag was left to sit until the radicles began to emerge.
3. Three plastic cups were filled 3⁄4 way up with dirt. Soil was damped.
4. Three seeds were strategically planted in each cup.
5. The cups were left outside in an open, sunny area.
6. Each day the height of the plants from base to top was measured and recorded.
7. Once the leaves began growing, one was marked with white out.
8. Every three days the surface area of the marked leaf was measured using a graph paper.
9. The results were then recorded.

Observations
TABLE SHOWING THE HEIGHT AND LEAF SURFACE AREA OF RED PEA PLANT OVER 2 WEEKS
Day Height (cm) Leaf Surface Area

1 0 0

2 0

3 0.2

4 0.3 67

5 2.5

6 7.3

7 10.6 387

8 12.3

9 15.2

10 17.0 411

11 21.4

12 25.3

13 28.5 418

14 32.1

1
GRAPH PAPER WITH TRACES OF A LEAF TAKEN EVERY THREE DAYS

GRAPH SHOWING THE GROWTH CURVE OF A RED PEA PLANT OVER A TWO WEEK PERIOD

2
DISCUSSION
Germination is the process by which a seed grows into a seedling. In order for this process to occur
seeds need adequate sunlight, moisture, air and suitable temperature. In addition, seeds have built-
in inhibitors that stop them from germinating before they are in a suitable environment. Soaking the
peas in damp paper towel significantly sped up the process of germination by softening the seed
coat, leaching out inhibitors and stimulating chemical reactions inside the seeds needed for
germination. These processes happen in nature as seeds are faced with harsh conditions, but it takes
a significantly longer amount of time.
A sigmoid growth curve is used when examining the growth rate of plants and it shows
how the rate changed over the observation period. When the peas were first planted there was a
period of two days where there were no signs of growth. This is called the lag phase and it occurred
because they were adjusting to the amount of resources that were available to them.
After that the growth rate increased exponentially from day 4 to day 7. This period is called the
exponential phase, where the highest rate of growth occurs and the size of the plant increases the
fastest. Then the curve begins to smooth off around day 8. During this period the growth rate begins
to slow down. Finally, the curve enters the stationary phase around day 11 and the growth rate is
extremely low.

LIMITATIONS
The plants received varying amounts of sunlight and water per day as a result of inconsistent
weather conditions.
It should be noted that this data was sourced from a fellow student.

PRECAUTIONS
In heavy rain, plants were moved to a covered area to avoid damage.
Holes were pierced in the base of the cups to allow water to drain out to prevent the soil from
getting waterlogged.

CONCLUSION
The peas showed no signs of growth until day 3, but from days 4 to 7 they grew exponentially. The
growth rate began to level off after day 7 and continued until the rate was very low on day 14.