Answer
a) For our hypothesis we take seeds of known fatty acid composition from temperate and tropical plants. Subject these seeds to a range of temperature from below freezing and above freezing for a period of time.
b)The unsaturated fatty acids prevent freezing because they have double bond kink in its structure
Work Step by Step
The seeds of temperate plants tend to contain unsaturated fatty acids, while the seeds of tropical plants tend to have saturated fatty acids.
(a) In the tropical region, temperature is high and in the temperate region temperature is moderate. Temperate region is cold in winter and hot in summer. Seeds in temperate regions tend to have unsaturated fatty acids, so that in winter it prevents freezing. For our hypothesis we take seeds of known fatty acid composition from temperate and tropical plants. Subject these seeds to a range of temperature from below freezing and above freezing for a period of time. Then we plant these seeds and compare the survival of plants.
(b) Seeds from the plants from temperate region have high survival rate than seeds from tropical plants. The presence of unsaturated fatty acids in temperate plant seeds prevent them from being affected by cold temperature range, this may be an adaptation to the environment. The unsaturated fatty acids prevent freezing because they have double bond kink in its structure, which prevent tight packaging of molecules needed to become frozen or solid.
