Experiments/activities

An experiment to study an onion:

Requirements:

• An onion, a glass jar, water, a pot, and soil.

Procedure:

• Fill a glass jar with water and place the onion on the rim such that half of it is in water.
• Observe over the next few days.

Observation:

• Roots and shoots can be seen emerging from the tuber.

Conclusion:

• Reproduction in onion occurs by vegetative reproduction/propagation.

An experiment to observe budding in yeast:

Requirements:

• A petridish, sugar, baker's yeast (dry), warm water, a magnifying glass

Procedure:

• Put some dry yeast in warm water and some sugar in a petridish.
• View it using a magnifying lens.

Observation:

• When dissolved in warm water and sugar, the yeast cells get activated and bubbles with foam are given out.
• A certain characteristic smell is given out.

Conclusion:

• The yeast cells divide to multiply and increase the volume of the solution.

An Experiment to Dissect a Flower:

Requirements:

• Any flower (e.g., hibiscus), scalpel, glass slides, and a blade for cutting a longitudinal section of ovary.

Procedure:

• Peel out all the petals of the flower. Place them on the glass slide.

• Carefully take out all the whorls of the flower and place them separately.
• Observe the kind of stamens that the flower has.
• Slice off the pistil of the flower lengthwise to reveal the ovary.

Observation:

• We can observe that pollination in such a flower takes place by insects.
• We can also observe ovules in a flower by taking a longitudinal section of ovary.