Bean Plant Growth Experiments

Dissecting a Bean Plant

• If you are first learning about bean plants, the first experiment you should do involves dissecting a bean, which is the seed that the plant will grow from. Place dried beans (e.g., kidney beans) into a cup filled with lukewarm water for 30 to 60 minutes. You can then separate the two halves (cotyledons) of the bean with your fingers or a razor blade. This should reveal a tiny germinating plant inside of the bean. Draw a picture of the inside of the bean, labeling all parts of the bean plant that you can identify.

Growth of a Bean Plant

• As the next experiment, you can examine the actual growth of a bean plant. Place the beans in a plastic bag lined with some wet paper towels. Just make sure to put the bag in the sun, and watch as the bean plant grows through each stage, such as the growth of the hypocotyl (shoot below the cotyledons) and the roots, the disintegration of the seed coat, the separation of the cotyledons, and the appearance of the epicotyl (shoot above the cotyledons) and the foliage. You can also examine the various parts of the plant under a microscope. For example, looking closely at the roots of the bean plant will allow identification of any root hairs and consideration of why they might be important to the plant. (Hint: They increase the surface area of the roots.) Drawing pictures of what the plant looks like at each stage and labeling the parts of the plant are integral to this experiment.

Bean Plant Experiment with Variables

• You can also grow bean plants in cups, which is a convenient way to design an experiment. Just line a foam cup with a wet paper towel and tuck a bean between the paper towel and the cup's wall. The bean plant will slowly grow, if the paper towel is kept wet. Repeat this step to make several bean plants, changing only one variable between each group of plants. In other words, you might place three of the bean plants in direct sunlight, three in indirect sunlight, and three in a dark area. Take data on the growth of each plant -- including the height, stage of growth, and number of leaves on each plant -- to see which conditions are most conducive to growth.