Does Microwave Radiation Affect Plant Growth?

Problem

Does microwave radiation affect the growth of a lima bean seed?

Hypothesis

My hypothesis was that the seeds that were microwaved for a certain amount of time would have a better growing rate than the seeds that weren't microwaved. I predicted this because the radiation and heat would make the molecules in the seeds move faster to grow.

Procedure

1.) I gathered 14 lima beans, 7 zip-lock sandwich bags, 7 paper towels, a marker, a microwave, tape, water, and a window with sunlight.

2.) I put a wet paper towel in the bottom of a zip-lock bag and put two lima bean seeds in the paper towel. These two seeds were not microwaved. I labeled the bag and taped it to the window.

3.) Then, I placed two beans on a damp paper towel and microwaved them for 30 second intervals. I started with 30 seconds and then increased it all the way up to 180 seconds.

4.) Next, I put each set of seeds that were microwaved in a zip-lock bag with a wet paper towel. I labeled the bags with a marker the amount of time they were microwaved and taped them to the same window.

5.) Each day for two weeks, I measured how much each seed grew in centimeters and recorded the data.

6.) After a few days, the paper towels became discolored and moldy so I replaced them with an equal amount of damp cotton balls.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the microwaved seeds did not grow as much as the seeds that were not microwaved in a 14 day period. My hypothesis was incorrect because the microwaved seeds did not grow at the fastest rate. My results are accurate because I placed the all the lima bean seeds in the same window, therefore receiving the same amount of sunlight. Additionally, all the beans received the same amount of water through the paper towel. I used two seeds in each bag to make sure if one seed wasn’t good, the other one would grow. The one thing that would have helped my experiment would be by doing the experiment a different time of year when the sun is shining more often like in the spring. Overall, this experiment showed me that there is no need to microwave seeds to make them grow faster because it does not help the speed of the growing process. It also proved to me that microwave radiation can affect the life of a plant so they aren't always good for food.

Abstract

Is your microwave really safe to heat and cook your food? Does the electromagnetic radiation it produces affect its victim? I wanted to investigate whether microwave radiation affected the way objects grow. To do this I decided to microwave seeds and see if it affected their growth. I predicted that the seeds that were ‘zapped’ in the microwave for a certain amount of time will have a better growing rate. I believed this because the radiation and heat made the molecules in the seeds move to grow faster.

The first step in my experiment was to microwave the seeds. In total, I gathered 14 lima beans from my Grandfather’s garden to plant since they have a quick growing rate. I grew 2 seeds for each number of radiation just in case one didn’t grow. I was testing 6 different amounts of radiation. The first 2 seeds were my control so they weren’t microwaved at all. Then, I placed the two beans on a damp paper towel and microwaved them in 30 second intervals. For example, the first two beans will have 30 seconds in the microwave, then the second set of beans will be microwaved for 1 minute; so on and so forth up to 180 seconds. When I microwaved the seeds, they started to puff up and being larger in size. Once all the lima beans were microwaved, I had to plant them. Instead of planting them in soil, I decided to plant the beans in plastic bags with wet paper towels so I could measure the root. I labeled the bag with the amount of time the beans were microwaved and then placed a damp paper towel with the beans inside. I taped the plastic bags to the same window so they all received the same amount of light to grow. For the next 2 weeks, I measured how much the seed grew in centimeters. After a few days I switched all the paper towels to damp cotton balls because the paper towels were starting to discolor. It was hard to see the plant growth with paper towels also so the cotton balls made it easier to see the seeds.

The data showed that the lima bean seeds that were not microwaved grew the most after a 14 day period. The total growth for the lima beans that weren’t microwaved was 3.5 centimeters. The next greatest growth of seeds was the ones that were microwaved for 60 seconds which had a growth of 1.5 centimeters. At 30 seconds of microwaving the seeds grew 1 centimeter after 14 days. Even at 120 seconds the seeds had some growth of .75 centimeters after the 14 day duration. All of the other times I tried had no seed growth. The seeds that were microwave started to become moldy after a few days. Additionally, some of those microwaved grew to a certain point and then stopped growing completely. All of the beans also changed colors after being microwaved and then planted.

As you can see from my data, the microwaved seeds did not grow as much as the seeds that were not microwaved. My hypothesis was not correct because the microwaved seeds did not grow at the fastest rate. My results are accurate because I placed the lima bean seeds in the same window with the same amount of sunlight. I used two seeds in each bag to make sure if one seed wasn’t good, the other one would grow. The one thing that would have helped my experiment would be doing the experiment a different time of year when the sun is shining more often. Overall, this experiment showed me that there is no need to microwave seeds to make them grow faster because it does not help the speed of the growing process.

Lima Bean Growth During a Two Week Period Data Table