Stuck in someone else's frames? break free!
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
  |
|||
|
GERMINATE SEEDS IN JARS, THEN TURN Now we're going to find out if roots always grow down and stems always grow up. We have some wet blotters and some glass jars. Blotter paper is more stiff than paper towels, and we need the stiff paper to hold the seeds in place against the sides of the jars. We'll germinate some bean seeds and some radish seeds (radishes are FAST!), right next to the glass, so we can see them easily. A few days after the seeds have germinated, we'll turn the jars onto their sides, and see which way the roots and stems grow. Do you think they will turn and grow up and down? Or, do you think they will grow sideways? In another few days, we'll turn the jars again and see what happens. We could even turn the jars upside down, if we put them onto a tray to catch any drips of water that may fall. If we wanted, we could plant three bean seeds in a glass and keep it sitting upright, plant three corn seeds in another jar and turn it onto its side after the seeds germinate, then plant three pea seeds in a third jar, which we would turn upside down after the seeds germinate. What do you think would happen then? Another neat thing we could do is to plant some seeds in soil in a little pot and turn it onto its side after the seeds germinate. We could only see the stems, but the plants would grow for a long time, if we took good care of them. If plants always grow with roots growing down and stems growing up, why do you think that is? I was told by a person who should know that roots grow down because of gravity. I don't think that is correct, because the roots of some plants grow laterally (away from the sides of the plant), level with the soil, but maybe two or three inches below the surface of the soil. The reason they grow that way instead of down is because there is no water in the deeper soil. They can only get water from the surface, either from dew or shallow watering (by rain or by a person). If gravity made roots grow downward, and there was no water beneath the surface, they would wither and die. This is something that should be investigated. Again, why do you think plants grow with roots growing down and stems growing up?  Any problems with this page? Send URL to
webmaster. Thank you!
We publish two newsletters a couple of times a month. To subscribe, send a blank email to the appropriate email address. Topica will send you a message asking if you really intended to subscribe - just click reply - that's it! Free Recipe Collection Newsletter: Jewish Recipe Collection Newsletter:
Tired of Geek Speak when
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
