EXPERIMENT 6 DB014

BIOLOGY DB014

EXPERIMENT
6

PLANT GROWTH

DB014 Lab Manual

EXPERIMENT 6: PLANT GROWTH

Course Learning Objective: Conduct basic biology laboratory work on
microscopy, tissues, genetics information, pollen germination and plant growth by
applying manipulative skills.
(P3, CLO 2, PLO 2, MQF LOD 2)

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
i. Observe and record the growth of a bean sprout.
ii. Measure growth parameter (height of plant, length of root and length of

leaf).

Student Learning Time (SLT):

Face-to-face Non face-to-face

2 hours 0

Introduction

Growth is a fundamental characteristic of all living organism. Growth is
always associated with an increase in size. However, increase in size is not
the sole factor to define growth. There are stages in organism development
where there is an increase in cell numbers but not body size. Growth and
development goes together in tandem. Development can also be described as
an increase in complexity. For metazoan, the growth can be divided into
three phases; cell division, cell enlargement, and cell differentiation. Growth
can be measured by plotting parameters such as length, height, mass, surface
area, volume and number against time. Sigmoid curve is a typical growth
pattern for many organisms.

Apparatus

Cotton wool/ filter paper
Graph paper
Plastic container (eg. Mineral bottle, plastic cup etc.)
Ruler
Thread

Materials

Mung beans 20
Updated: 20/05/2020

DB014 Lab Manual

Procedures and Observation

1. Place the cotton wool / filter paper into the plastic container.
2. Pour adequate water into the container.
3. Place the 15 mung bean seeds on the cotton wool.
4. Observe what happens to the mung beans for 8 days. Water them

daily.
5. The observation includes the length of root, the height of plant, and

the length of the leaf.
6. Record your observation in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1 Mean length of root, the height of plant, and the length of

the leaf

Days 0 1 2 3 4 5 67

Mean length of

root/ hypocotyls

(mm)

Mean height of

plant (mm)

Mean length of

leaves (mm)

7. Plot the growth curves of the bean sprouts in a single graph.

Questions:

1. Based on the graph drawn, what is the shape of the growth curve?
Explain why.

2. Which of the parameter shows the most rapid growth? Explain your
answer.

Updated: 20/05/2020 21