You will be set a research project to be done at home on seed germination. You will then be required to write up the results of your research in a standard scientific report (following the guide on the following pages). The aim of this research project is for you to develop your skills in THINKING and WRITING.

Background Information
Seed production commences when the haploid egg nucleus in the embryo sac of an ovule, is fertilised by the haploid male nucleus of a pollen grain forming a diploid zygote, which develops into an embryo. A pollen grain contains 2 sperm nuclei and the second grain fuses with another 2 nuclei from the ovule. This results in a triploid food storage organ the endosperm. The remainder of the ovule develops into the seed coat. The ovary, surrounding the ovule develops into the fruit.

The aim of this research report is for you to investigate the effects of temperature on the germination of seeds of a native wattle species. Your hypothesis or prediction is that a particular treatment or stress will affect germination. Either it will increase, decrease or have no effect on the rate of seed germination.

Treatment or Stress Question
Temperature (heat) Does temperature affect seed germination?

You need to design and set up an experiment to test your hypothesis on the effects of temperature on seed germination.

Recording the Results
How will you record the germination of treated seeds compared to control seeds?
This is important - we are not interested in growth of the seed - but GERMINATION. What is germination? You will need to find this out. General plant books in the library should provide you with a definition.

Some suggestions are:
1. Number of seeds germinated
2. Time taken to germination

Once you have conducted your experiment you need to write up your report. This should include:
â€¢ Title
â€¢ Introduction (describing the reasoning for what you did)
â€¢ Hypothesis being tested
â€¢ Experimental design (remember controls and replicates)
â€¢ Results (you can include a figure and/or table)
â€¢ Discussion (your interpretation of your results)
â€¢ References

You will be set a research project to be done at home on seed germi...