Ben Franklin High School Name________________________ Period_____

How Do Seed Parts Develop into Young Plants? Biology

Part I - A Dicot Seed - The Bean

The seed is a matured ovule and the final product of angiosperm reproduction. The new plant is
provided with stored food and special coverings. Under the proper conditions vegetative growth begins.
This is known as seed germination.
Procedure and Observations
Obtain one dry red bean and one that has been soaked overnight. Examine the dry seed and note its
external markings. Locate a scarlike structure, the hilum.
1) What does it represent?_________________________________________________________________
Locate the micropyle, a tiny opening close to the hilum.
2) What is the significance of the micropyle?________________________________________________
3) Would you expect all seeds to have a hilum and a micropyle? _________ Explain. __________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Examine a seed which has been soaked overnight. Compare this seed to a dry seed.
4) What changes have occurred? ____________________________________________________________
5) Offer an explanation for what you observe.__________________________________________________
Remove the thin outer seed coat, the testa.
6) Describe the cotyledons which are now visible. _______________________________________________
7) What is their function? ___________________________________________________________________
Separate the cotyledons allowing the embryo plant to remain attached to one of them. The epicotyl, often
called the plumule, consists of two, tiny leaves which enclose the terminal bud of the future plant. Below
the epicotyl is the hypocotyls, the embryonic stem. Locate the radicle at the base of the hypocotyls. The
radicle is the embryonic root. Add a drop of iodine to the testa, cotyledon, epicotyl, and hypocotyls.
Remember that starch turns blue-black in the presence of iodine.
8) Which contains the greatest amount of starch? _____________________________________________
9) Suggest an explanation for what you have observed. __________________________________________
On the figure of the external view of the bean, label: hilum, micropyle. On the figure of the internal view,
label: cotyledons, epicotyl, hypocotyls, radicle.

External Internal
Part 2 – A Monocot Seed – Corn Grain
Procedure and Observation

Think about an ear of corn complete with husk and corn silks.

10) Is it the product of a single flower or a group of flowers? _________ Explain your answer. ____________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Remove a single grain. Locate the silk scar as a projection near the top of the grain.
11) Account for the location of the silk scar. ___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
A corn silk represents a greatly elongated style ending in the stigma. It is attached to an individual
ovary.
12) If an ear of corn had 250 grains, how many corn silks would there have been? ___________ Explain.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
13) Would you expect to find a hilum and micropyle in the corn grain? _______ Explain why you are not able to
locate them. _______________________________________________________________________________
Locate the prominent dent on one side of the grain marking the location of the cotyledon and the embryo
plant. In corn, the point of attachment corresponds to the stalk of the bean's flower. It is the pathway
through which the grain receives nourishment. On the figure of the external view, label: point of
attachment, silk scar, embryo.
Position a soaked kernel''dent" side up. Using a scalpel, cut lengthwise at right angles to the broadside of
the grain. Observe the embryo and its parts in longitudinal view. The outer covering is the ovary wall.
The lower portion contains the embryo and cotyledon. The upper part of the embryo is the epicotyl
sheath, directly below is the hypocotyls. The cotyledon is attached to the epicotyl and hypocotyl. The bulk
of the grain is endosperm tissue which supplies food to the embryo plant. Add a drop of iodine to the
endosperm.
14) What color appears? ___________ In what form is food stored in the corn grain? _______________
On the figure of the internal view, label: embryo, cotyledon, epicotyl sheath, hypocotyl, endosperm. Point of
attachment. On the figure of the external view, label: embryo, silk scar, point of attachment.

Part 3 -From Seed to Seedling

Procedure and Observations
Observe your 1, 6, and 10 day seedlings.
Bean Seeds: 15) What embryonic structure emerges first from the seed coat?____________________________
16)Why is this important to the seedling? ________________________________________________________
Observe the growth of the hypocotyls.
17) How does it appear? _____________________________________________________________________
18) What advantage could this be to a seedling growing in the soil? ___________________________________

19) Describe the positionSteps

of the in the germination
cotyledons. of a bean seed
______________________________________________________
20) As germination progresses, what becomes of the cotyledons? ______________________________________

Study the drawings representing stages in the germination of a bean seed. Use four colored pencils to indicate
each part of the embryo in the earliest stage. With the same color, shade in those structures in later
stages.

Corn Grain: Observe a germinated corn grain. Note the direction of development of the emerging root
and shoot.
21) How are you able to distinguish each?
______________________________________________________
22) What type of tropism does each exhibit? ____________________________________________________
Examine a seedling that has "emerged" above ground level. Look for a colorless structure known as the
epicotyl sheath, which surrounds and encloses the developing shoot. A similar structure is at the root tip.
23) What function would these structures have for the developing seedling?__________________________
24) What becomes of the epicotyl sheath as the foliage develops? ___________________________________
Below, use four colored pencils to indicate each part of the embryo in the earliest stage. Use the same
color for each structure in later stages.

Steps in the germination of a corn seed

Summary

Review what you have learned about seed structure and germination by filling in the blanks in the
following statements.

Answers: cotyledons, epicotyl sheath, epicotyl, radicle, hypocotyls, silk scar,

hilum, point of attachment, micropyle, primary root, endosperm

1) The ___________________ of the seed becomes the first true leaves of the newly emerged dicot plant.

2) The radicle of the seed becomes the ________________________ of the new seedling.

3) The ____________________ of a dicot seed supply food to the developing embryo.

4) The _________________ in the bean marks the point at which the ovulewas attached to the fruit.
5) The _________________ of the corn grain contains starch.

6) The point at which the pollen tube entered the embryo sac is marked by the ________________.

7) The arching over of an emerging bean plant serves for protection of delicate tissues. In a corn seedling this
function is served by the __________________________________.

8) The ______________________________ of a corn grain is likened to the pedicel on the ovary of a bean
plant.