Today marks the final official day of data collection.  After collecting and recording Day 6 observations, students should complete their data table tracking how many of their seeds germinated.  Next, students should construct a data table showing how many seeds germinated as a percent of total seeds (per condition).  Finally, a graph of the percent germinated data needs to be made.  Both data tables and the graph need to be transferred to the Results section of the lab report.

The Results section should include a written explanation of what the data tables show.  Explain how each experimental condition affected seed germination, using the control bag of seeds as the comparison group.

Lab Report Checklist (how to know when you are done…for now)

1. Introduction
2. Procedure
3. Results
   • Data Table #1 = # of seeds germinated
   • Data Table #2 = % of seeds germinated
   • Graph of Data Table #2
   • Explanation of what graph are (not what they mean)

With the first week of our experiment coming to a close, students should return Monday with the following sections of their lab reports completed:

• Introduction – at least one paragraph, perhaps two, filled with information about germination (hook your reader!) and explaining why you selected your manipulated variable.
• Procedure – detailed enough that a stranger could repeat exactly what you did!
• Results with Data Table – create the data table in Google Sheets.  Keep track of the number of seeds that germinate each day.  Then use your data to calculate the percent of seeds that have germinated.  You will create a graph of the percent germinated data next week.  Additional data collected will improve your report and result in an improved lab report score.

All team members must participate equally to writing the lab report.  Pictures are a great way to show your reader both your procedure and your results.  Pictures can go in the Results section and should be clearly labeled and organized.

In addition to efficiently observing seed germination, making measurements of roots and shoots, and recording all the data in Google Sheets, students should browse through the following resources:

• Seed and Seedling Biology web page from PennState Extension
• Just Add Water from the Australian Academy of Science
• Great Plant Escape from the University of Illinois Extension

Students should note whether the seeds used in their own experiment are dicots or monocots, and be prepared to explain the difference between the two.  Students should take careful notes about the optimal conditions for seed germination, focusing on the biology of the seed and especially the sources of energy the seed uses to germinate.

Next, students should work together to write the Introduction paragraph of their lab report.  The Introduction should include the following:

• State (in a sentence or two) the scientific concept the lab is about.  Hint: germination!
• Describe what you know about germination and how the lab is investigating the process of germination.  Include a discussion about how the energy used for germination is different from the energy used for plant growth.
• State the hypothesis in if/then/because format for the experiment and then explain:
  • why this particular hypothesis was selected
  • how the experiment will add to your understanding of germination

Today, we focused on identifying the experimental data to include in the Results section of the Baggie Garden Experiment lab report.  We compared the pros and cons of collecting lots of data with collecting a focused amount of data.  Students identified, discussed, and justified which experimental endpoints they wanted to collect for their experiment, and then created data tables in their lab notebooks to collect the data.  Finally, students made their first careful observations of their baggie gardens and recorded their observations.  We discussed how to calculate percentages so students can track the percent of their seeds that have germinated (notes below):

Finally, students were shown an example spreadsheet created in Google Sheets.  The table below can be copied into Sheets and modified as needed:

The slide deck includes lesson content, including a link to the Chia Pet video which is also available below.