Activity 2

WINTER
IMBIBITION
PRESSURE
Template

Rationale
The process of dry seeds absorbing water and swelling is
called imbibitions or hydration (Hershey, 1998). The water
uptake causes the grain to swell up as the cellular
constituents of the seed are being hydrated and activating the
biochemistry of the dormant seed in the process.
Imbibition of water increases the volume of the imbibant
which results in imbibitional pressure. It represents the
pressure that an imbibant develops when submerged in
water. This pressure can be of tremendous magnitude. This
fact can be demonstrated by the splitting of rocks by inserting
dry wooden stalks in the crevices of rocks and soaking them
in water, a technique used by early Egyptians to cleave stone
blocks.

Objectives
To be able to define imbibition pressure.
To gain an idea on how strong imbibition pressure is.
To know which among the 5 cans will open first.

Methodology
Five film cans (35mm) labeled as 0,1,2,3,4, were filled with
tap water and closed tightly. Water filled cans were stalked on
each of the seed filled cans except the zero film can. The seed
filled cans were checked every hour to see if the seed swelling
forced the cap of any of the seed cans open. Data on the time it
took for the caps to force open were recorded. With the aid of
the platform balance, the weights of each water filled cans were
measured. How much mass was pressed on each of the seed
filled can was determined against the total mass of the water
filled cans which were stacked on each of the seed filled cans.

Results
Table 1 Time it took for the seed-filled can (with 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4)
to open or swell.

Number of Stacked
Film Cans
0
1
2
3
4

Hours
5
5
5
4
5

hours,
hours,
hours,
hours,
hours,

17
38
42
08
55

minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes

Results
Graph 1 The Time it Took for the Cans to open
Time it took for the cans to open
7:12

6:00

4:48

Time in hours

Hours

3:36

2:24

1:12

0:00
0

Number of Stacked Film Cans

Results
Table 2 Mass of the Water filled Cans Stacked on the Set ups
Film Cans

Mass (g)

35

69.5

111.1

143

Questions
1. What happened to the film cans as the imbibing seeds
swelled? Why?
The film can make a tick sound a sign that the pressure
increases inside until it cant hold and film can open due to the
pressure generated by the imbibing seeds.
2. What is imbibitions pressure? How does it occur?
Imbibitions are a physical process mainly concerned with
adsorption of water. If a living (e.g. seed) or a dead plant (e.g.
dry wood) material is kept in water, it absorbs water and swells,
up considerably leading to increase in volume. The increase in
volume while confined in an increasingly smaller area causes
the pressure.
3. Will fully imbibed seeds, which are then air dried, imbibed as
much as water and at the same rate as they did the first time?
Why?
No because a fully imbibed seed will already changes that goes

Conclusion
In conclusion, imbibition pressure is the force that results from
the swelling of the seeds in a confined area. The pressure that
results from imbibition is strong enough to lift 143 g of water filmed
cans. It is proof on how tremendous the pressure that is
generated from the imbibing seeds. The first can to open is can 3
and followed by 0, 1, 2 and lastly 4.

References
Hershey, David R. (1998). Science Activities: Classroom Projects
and Curriculum Ideas. Bean Seed Imbibition. Vol. 35, Iss. 2.