Effect Of Different Percentages Of Bleach On The Rate Of Radish Seed Germination (Lab Report Sample)

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Effect of Bleach Concentration on the Rate of Radish Seed Germination
Introduction
The rate of radish seed germination in a seed is the measure of the number of seed of a particular plant that successfully germinates into new seedlings under optimum conditions of environmental factors. This is however affected by the level of bleach concentration present in the seed that may, in turn, affect the overall performance of the seed in the germination process. Depending on the quantity of bleach in a seed, the number of seeds that can germinate over a specified period of time varies. The rate of radish seed germination of seeds under different concentration of bleach is measured in terms of the percentage of the change in the growth with reference to different days the rate of concentration rates. Determination of the rate of seed germination involves the establishments of the viability of a particular population of seeds of a certain plant to germinate under certain environmental conditions. During this process, all other environmental aspects such as air, water, warmth and favorable temperature are kept at optimum levels to avoid getting errors during the experiment. The formula used to calculate the rate of seed germination under such experimental condition is given by
The step by step process in which a seed develops into a mature plant is referred to as germination. For this process to occur, three conditions are necessary. This include; water, carbon (IV) oxide and sunlight (Lindenmayer & Burgman, 14). The rate of radish seed germination is always related directly to the availability of the three factors. However, in this research study, l shall be specific to look into the effects of bleach, on the rate of radish seed germination. Bleach has to be used in very smaller amounts if it has to turn out to be beneficial in improving the rates of seed germination. On the other hand, when used in highly concentrated amounts, bleach turns out to not only lead to poor germination of plants but also leads to plant death (Sorvari, Seppo & Pirttila, 16). Bleach is scientifically known as Sodium Hypochlorite. This is a solution that contains chlorine and Sodium Hydroxide that is yellow in appearance.
Rate of radish seed germination = (The Number of Seeds That Germinate/ The Total Seed Grown)*100
Background Information
The scientific theory that makes the bleach concentration affects the rate of germination is its ability to change the rate of biochemical and physiological process. Germination is the process through which a seed or part of a plant develops into a new plant from a tender age. It is commonly seen when seed sprout from their young age to a new level where they become identical to the parents. As a result, the process of germination is considered as the process where a seed or a part of plant generates into a new being from the small portions of the seeds. The process of germination leads to the formation of seedlings through the process of reactivating a seed metabolic machinery to the emergence of a seed plume and radical that develops into the first shoot and root of the plant.
Bleach concentration and content present in a seed is one such factor that affects the rate of the seed germination and therefore their concentration must be thoroughly checked at all costs to ensure that the germination process is not adversely affected. I am particularly interested in this topic because it offers an insight into the real measures that bleach concentration is important in setting the pace of germination. There are a number of factors that affects the rate of a seed germination under constant conditions and presence of air. Water and warmth.
Objectives
To determine the effect of the concentration levels of bleach in a seed to the rate of radish seed germination of the seed
To measure the rate of radish seed germination rates and the percentage of seeds under different bleach concentrations.
Hypothesis.
Concentration of Bleach does not affect the rate of radish seed germination of the seed and it is expected that the optimum bleach concentration to be 4


Figure 1: A hypothesis of the expected results of effect of bleach concentration on Radish seed germination rate
Variables
The dependent variable is the rate of germination. It is a good measure to give an answer to the research question because it will give an insight into the changes in the enzyme activities that lead to germination. The measurement will be taken using the number of seed that germinate and finding the percentage out of the total number of seed that were initially subjected to the germination process. This is followed by calculating the percentage of the seed that germinate
The independent variable if bleach concentration. It is expected that an increase and a decrease in the concentration of bleach beyond the optimum level will lead to a slowed growth rate. At optimum bleach concentration, the rate of germination will be high. The value chosen are 0,2,4,6 and 8 concentration levels. These values have been chosen because they are fairly spaced and will give a good analysis of the changes in rate of germination.
The control variable is air, water, warmth and temperature that must be kept constant for a fair outcome. These variables may impact the results because they determine the ability of seed to germinate and thus may interfere with the investigation. To keep these variables constant, the experiment must be conducted under room temperature in a well illuminated are free from external interference.
The uncontrolled variables are internal chemical and biological process that cannot be put under human control. These variable may impact the data collected by either increasing or decreasing the rate of germination. The effect of the uncontrollable variables may be minimized by subjecting the seed to equal and similar environmental conditions thus monitoring their changes.
Apparatus
50 Radish seeds
5 petri dishes
5 filter papers
Solution containing 0,2,4,6 and 8 Bleach concentration
A calculator
500 ml water in a jar
5 lids
Methods
A petri dish was obtained and the filter paper put on top of every petri dish. 50 selected seeds were identified and marked with different labels to avoid confusion. The seed was counted in 10s and then soaked in water containing different levels of concentrations of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 content of bleach for over one hour. All the soaked seeds were then spread over the moistened filter papers on Petri dishes. The filter papers were then moistened with enough paper until all the seed began to float in the water. The lid was placed on every petri dish and then the entire experimental setup put under darkness for a day. A static analysis of the number of seeds that germinated in each concentration of the bleach content was taken after three days. The data obtained was the recorded in a table as the seeds were taken out of the petri dish in the dark as they germinated. The data was then tabulated in a table as shown below.
Safety and Ethical considerations:
The experiment was conducted in line with the ethical code of conduct that control seed quality and plant health. The possible hazards related to this experiment was corrosion, burn and consumption of the bleach content that is harmful to human health. Care was taken to avoid any possible environmental impact, pollution and degradation that would result from this experiment. Any social impact that may arise from this experiment was also prevented by educating and encouraging all participant to maintain ethical standards during the experiment.
Data Analysis of The Experimental Results


Figure 2: Graph of efect of Bleach Concentration on the Rate of germination
Calculation.
Germination rate = (Number of seed that germinate/ numebr of seed in the treatment)*100
Bleach
Conc.No. of seed Grown No. of seed that germinatedGermination RateStandard DeviationModeMedianMean01030.30.1496662950.30.50.4621050.50.1414213560.50.50.541070.70.1414213560.50.50.561050.50.1632993160.30.50.56666781030.30.0942809040.30.30.46The optimum level of Bleach concentration that supports optimum radish seed germination is 4, thus it affects the rate of radish seed germination. The number of radish seed that germinated were divided by the number of seed in each treatment to get the germination rate. The calculated value illustrate the proportional number of seed that germinated out of all the seed subjected to every experimental treatment. This tests offers support that the high or low bleach concentration hinders the germination of radish seed.
The data obtained took the pattern of a normal curve in a u-shaped form. The values in the description were 0.3, 0.5, 0.7., 0.5, 0.3 germination rate at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 bleach concentration respectively
The data obtained was subjected to +/- 1 error signifying a 0.05 significance value and strong correlation. There was an anomaly at concentration 2, where the germination rate was higher than expected, signifying an abnormal large errors in the experiment. However, the errors do not invalidate the conclusion of the experiment
The measure of central tendency (mode, median and mean) of all the data obtained was almost equal with a small variance ranging from 0.4-0.56 for mean and 0.5, for media and 0.3 for mode
The error bars overlap thus a more significantly different mean of the data from each other. A t-test confirmed that the observations made were correlated. The error bars are different indicting the natural variation from the actual outcome of the experiment. The abnormal range of error bars is explained by the anomalies present in the raw data that shows at higher bleach concentration the germination rate was stil...