Lab Activity: Observation of 3 Mung Beans in Different Situations

Plants are important lifeforms. It being lifeforms, naturally it needs food to grow and
continue developing. Plants gets its energy through a process called photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is the process where plants convert different types of substances into oxygen
and sugar. Photosynthesis, for the most part, requires light, carbon dioxide, and water to
produce oxygen. This is one of two different cycles that is present in photosynthesis, the
Light Reaction. The second is the Calvin Cycle, this reaction, however, does not depend on
light to produce sugar for its self-sustenance.

This observation aims to see the difference between 3 mung beans in the span of 5
days. Cup A is placed outside with the exposure to sunlight and is watered every day. Cup B
is also placed outside exposed to sunlight, this cup however is not watered like Cup A. Cup C
on the other hand is placed on the inside of the shelf, not exposed to sunlight, but watered
every day.

Our hypothesis is that Cup A will start growing and sprout. While Cup B will
completely die with the absence of water. And Cup C will also be fine even without light
present. This hypothesis is backed with the 2 different stages of photosynthesis. The Light
Reaction and the Calvin Cycle. With also the prerequisite for the 2 different stages to occur.

We started the activity with soaking the mung beans overnight. The mung bean is
supposed to open, like a popcorn, but our specimen did not. The mung beans instead went
semi-opened. This leads me to believe that our specimen is harder than typical mung bean.
As with overnight of soak, it still did not open. Regardless, we still continued the activity the
next day.

With the day of the activity, we prepared each cup. We layered each of the cup with
cotton and placed 10 mung beans in each cup. Just like the procedure, we placed Cup A
outside and watered it. We placed Cup B outside but did not water it. And lastly, we placed
Cup C inside a shelf and watered it. This concludes the first day of the observation.

With the second day, we observed that the mung beans started to darken. We assumed
that the mung beans were starting to die. Of all the cups however, Cup B was the darkest. We
think this is because it is not watered and is in fact starting to die.
Table 1. Color of the Mung Beans for the 2nd Day

Color of the Mung Beans

Cup A Light Brown
Cup B Dark Brown
Cup C Light brown

For the third day, nothing much really occurred. However, there was a major change
for Cup C. As the other cups’ mung bean’s colors were pretty much unchanged, Cup C’s
mung beans started to lighten and shed its skin. This is very interesting as it begs the
question, why did it only happen to Cup C and not Cup A.

Table 2. Color of the Mung Beans for the 3rd Day

Color of the Mung Beans

Cup A Light Brown
Cup B Dark Brown
Cup C Dark Green

For the fourth day, many changes occurred for cups A and C. Cup A also started to
shed its skin, just like Cup C on the second day. Cup C made the most changes. With most of
Cup C’s mung beans completely change the color into white, shedding their skin. It also
appears to have sprouted. Nothing really changed for Cup B.

Table 3. Color and Length of the Sprouts of the Mung Beans for the 4th Day

Color of the Mung Beans Length of the Sprout

Cup A Dark Green None
Cup B Dark Brown None
Cup C Light White Approximately ½ inch

For the fifth and final day, Cup B never evolved and changed. Cup A, much like Cup
C in the fourth day, started to have sprouts too. The sprouts were of color green and the mung
beans also started to shed, revealing a lighter color. Cup C made the most change with the
colors of the mung beans also appear to be of lighter color. Its sprout also elongated and
developed a sort of bean of its own.

Table 4. Color and Length of the Sprouts of the Mung Beans for the 5th Day
 Color of the Mung Beans Length of the Sprout

Cup A Light Green Approximately 3/8 inch

Cup B Dark Brown None

Cup C Beige 1 inch

Conclusion:

This leads us to believe that the Calvin Cycle is a much more efficient and faster
mode of photosynthesis. As we observed, Cup A with the exposure to sunlight, developed
sprouts at a later stage compared to Cup C which is not exposed to sunlight. This observation
made us conclude that the most important requirement for photosynthesis is Carbon Dioxide
and Water. Of course, light is much important as well, but as seen in the observation, Cup C
without the aid of light developed faster.

Picture 1. The Cups in the First Day

Picture 2. The Cups in the Second Day

Picture 3. The Cups in the Third Day

Picture 4. The Cups in the Fourth Day

Picture 5. The Cups in the Fifth Day