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Researched by Eric D.
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The purpose of this experiment was to determine to what degree x-ray radiation affects a percentage of radish seed germination.
I became interested in this idea because I have always been interested in radiation and its effects. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to study it.
The information gained from this experiment will benefit society by
better educating them about radiation and how it affects their plants.
My hypothesis was that the radiation produced by the x-ray would reduce the germination rate of the seeds.
I base my hypothesis on a web site that reported a similar experiment and the radiated seeds had either died or were dying.
The constants in this study were:
- The time seeds are radiated
- The amount of seeds in each trial
- The type of seeds used
- The method of germination
- The surviving seeds
The responding variable was the percent of seeds that germinated.
To measure the responding variable I will count the sprouted seeds.
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| 80 | Radish seeds |
| 1 | X-ray machine |
| Tap water | |
| 4 | Clear petri dishes with lids |
| 4 | Moist circular filter papers |
1. Gather materials.
2. Place moist filter paper in each of the three petri dishes.
3. Count out twenty radish seeds and place in separate dishes.
4. Label a dish Trial 1, another Trial 2, and the third Trial 3.
5. Place Trial 1 dish under X-ray.
6. Remove after 30 minutes.
7. Remove seeds from petri dish.
8. Moisten the circular filter paper.
9. Replace seeds in dish on the moist filter paper.
10. Check and compare seeds with control group every day for any signs
of germination.
11. Repeat steps 5-10 with Trial 2 and Trial 3.
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine to what degree x-ray radiation affects a percentage of radish seed germination.
The results of the experiment were of the radiated seeds, 57 of the 60 seeds did not germinate, and all of the control group seeds did.
My hypothesis was that the radiation produced by the X-ray would reduce the germination rate of the seeds.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if the amount of
radiation would change the effects of this experiment very much. I also
wonder if the type of radiation would effect the outcome.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible. First, I would like to thank my mom, Kelli, for encouraging me and making my experiment possible. I would also like to thank the people at Memorial Hospital for letting me conduct my experiment. I would lastly like to thank Mr. Newkirk, for helping me during the whole period of time this project took.
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