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Seed Dissection
What’s inside a seed that helps it to grow?
Today we are going to learn all about seeds and how they help a plant to sprout and grow by participating in a seed dissection!
For the seed dissection, you will need a bean seed that has been soaked in water overnight, a pair of tweezers and the “Parts of a Seed” worksheet. You can use this worksheet to draw what your seed looks like and make notes about what each part does to help the seed grow.
To start, let’s remove the seed coat. The seed coat is the thin layer on the outside of the seed. Just like our winter coats protect us in the winter, the seed coat’s job is to protect the seed until it is ready to grow.
Next, we will carefully pry open the seed to take a look inside. Look carefully! You should be able to see the baby plant, called the embryo. This embryo is what will sprout and grow into the adult plant.
Finally, take a look at all the extra white stuff surrounding the plant embryo. This extra white stuff is called cotyledon, pronounced coat-uh-lee-don, and is stored food that contains all the nutrients the embryo will need in order to sprout. This cotyledon provides all the nourishment the seed needs until it can begin using photosynthesis to produce food.
This is why eating seeds, like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, are so healthy! Seeds contain all the nutrients, proteins, fats and carbohydrates that are used to grow a new plant. When we eat the seed, we get all those good things so our bodies grow healthy and strong!
Overview
Grade: K-5
SUPPLIES/EQUIPMENT:
- Bean seed – soaked overnight in water
- Tweezers
- Parts of a Seed worksheet
CURRICULUM INFO:
Objective: To learn the parts of a seed and how they help the seed to sprout and grow.
Standards: 3-LS4-2, 4-LS1-1
