The purpose of this simple and easy experiment is to determine the direction of winding plants.
Things Required:
Glass of growing beans from Experiment Growing Beans
4 pencils
Masking tape
Directions:
Tape the pencils to the outside of the glass in front of each plant. Have as much of the pencil as possible sticking above the glass. Allow the plant to stand for one week.
Be sure to keep the paper towelling in the glass moist with water. While the plant is growing, do a bit of field research if you have the opportunity. Observe any growing vine. In which direction does the vine grow around its support object?
This Is What Happens:
The bean stems should start winding around the pencils. Allow more time if needed. Did you find that the vines you observed all wind in a counterclockwise direction around their support?
Science Behind It:
The winding occurs because the part of the stem that is being touched does not grow so fast as the outside. As the outside of the stem increases in size, it forces the stem to wrap around whatever object it touches. It seems that the earth’s rotation may play a part in the direction of winding since vines wind clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
