Lemonade-Ed - Lesson Plan for Germination & Temperature

Lemonade-Ed

Lesson Plan: Germination & Temperature

Hei Mahi (Do Now)

Do Now on page 25 of your Knowledge Book:

What is germination?

GERMINATION is the life process in which a seed changes from being dormant to actively growing.

Before a seed germinates, it is called dormant. Dormant is not dead, it is not growing either.

When a seed is in the right conditions, chemical reactions will start happening inside the seed - the seed will stop being dormant.

The PLUMULE and RADICLE will start to develop. The energy in the COTYLEDON will start to be used to make this happen.

These chemical reactions are called germination!

What happens during germination?

Step 1: Water enters the micropyle, so the seed absorbs water and swells. This breaks the testa.

Step 2: The radicle grows using the energy inside the seed. It grows downwards to hold the plant in the ground and absorb water from the soil.

Step 3: The seed uses energy to grow the plumule which comes out of the seed and grows upwards. It is trying to get sunlight so the new plant can do PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

Germination is finished when the plant has used up all the energy inside the seed and the plant begins to do photosynthesis.

Seeds need WOW to germinate - Water, Oxygen, Warmth!

To germinate, all seeds need:

Water - needed for the chemical reactions of germination, because the chemical reactions can only take place in solution when molecules are free to move.
Oxygen - needed for the seed to carry out aerobic cellular respiration. Respiration releases energy from GLUCOSE in the cotyledon, allowing the seed to grow the radicle and plumule.
Warmth - to speed up the chemical reactions of germination. These chemical reactions depend on ENZYMES, which only work in warm conditions.

What is an Enzyme?

An enzyme is a type of protein that has a specific size and shape.

Each enzyme can only carry out one job. Some enzymes break big molecules into small molecules and some enzymes join small molecules together to make big molecules. Enzymes are NOT multifunctional.

Each enzyme has its own unique shape that whatever it is going to break apart or join together fits into.