Effects of pH Germination Urban Underground Team James, Malik, Sean and Tesean

Scientific Question Can we test alfalfa seeds to see if the germination rate is affected by various ph levels, water, coffee and baking soda?

Hypothesis If we apply liquids of various pH levels then the liquid with the neutral pH will cause the alfalfa seed to germinate more quickly.

Materials Source of tap water Baking Soda Coffee Alfalfa Seeds Beakers Ziploc Bag Paper Towel Measuring Spoons Graduated Cylinders

Procedures 1.Fill 3 beakers with 50 ml of tap water 2.In beaker one, add two teaspoons of baking soda 3.In beaker two, add two teaspoons of coffee 4.In beaker three, leave the water as is for the control. 5.Create 3 zip lock chambers with paper towels inside for each trial 6.Place 3 seeds in each chamber and lay in window sill 7.Add 20 ml of baking soda solution to bag #1 daily for 7 days 8.Add 20 ml of coffee solution to bag #2 daily for 7 days 9.Add 20 ml of the tap water to bag #3 daily for 7 days 10.Check for germination daily 11.Record Results in table

Baking Soda Solution DaysTotal SeedsNumber of seeds germinatedPercent of germination 13000% 23000% 33000% 43026% 53026%

Coffee Solution DaysTotal SeedsNumber of seeds germinatedPercent of germination 13000% 23000% % % %

Water Solution DaysTotal SeedsNumber of seeds germinatedPercent of germination 13000% 23000% % % %

Graphical Representation

Day 1 This is the beginning stage of our experiment.

Day 4 Progress Looking at the germination, Baking Soda showing no growth and Coffee showing some growth also Water showing majority of growth.

Results The original purpose of this experiment was to determine whether the alfalfa seeds that were watered with various solutions on the pH scale would affect the speed of germination. According to the pH of coffee is 5, the pH of water is 7 and the pH of baking soda is 9. The results of the experiment were that all the seeds that were given water had a 100% rate of germination. The seeds that were fed with the coffee solution had a 90% germination rate. The seeds watered with the baking soda only had a 6% germination rate.

Conclusion Our hypothesis stated that the seeds that were watered with a neutral solution would have the highest percentage of germination. We applied liquids of various pH levels and our results showed that the liquid with the neutral pH caused the seeds to germinate more quickly. Alfalfa has the greatest sensitivity to acid soils of any crop we grow, so managing soil pH is critical. The legume simply will not grow below a soil pH of 6.0, while other field crops are quite happy down at levels 5.5 or even 5.0.

Future Questions I think if we use more Acidic pH levels the seeds would’ve probably germinate faster than with the baking soda. -What if we used battery Acid? -Would lemon juice work?

References "Alfalfa: Lime Is a Must on Low PH Soils." Alfalfa: Lime Is a Must on Low PH Soils. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar