Lab: claim a pot with pea plants in it. If your pot has more than 3 plants, cut if back to three by cutting the extra plants off at ground level. Leave one plant fully intact. With a toothpick flag, label it "C" for control.

Cut the apex of the main shoot off of the other two plants just below the uppermost leaf.

On the cut surface of one of the plants, put a rice-grain-sized lump of lanolin. Lavel the plant "L" for detipped+lanolin.

On the other plant place a rice-grained-sized lump of lanolin that has 10^-4M Napthalene acetic acid mixed in it. Label the 3rd plant "A" for detipped +Lanolin with auxin.

Our hypotheses are that cutting the apex will stimulate growth by lateral buds and that auxin will suppress that growth.

Why do we have 2 treatments other than the control? What is the purpose of each?

In this experiment, the purpose of the two treatments other than the control is to test the effects of cutting the apex (main shoot) and the application of auxin on the growth of the pea plants. Let's break down the purpose of each treatment:

1. Treatment "L" (detipped + lanolin):
The purpose of this treatment is to test the effect of removing the apex of the plant and applying only lanolin (a inert substance) on the growth of the pea plant. By cutting the apex, the main shoot will not grow further upwards, which may stimulate the growth of lateral buds. Applying lanolin to the cut surface can help seal the wound. This treatment acts as a control for testing the effects of cutting without introducing any additional substances like auxin.

2. Treatment "A" (detipped + lanolin with auxin):
This treatment is designed to investigate the role of auxin, specifically naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), after cutting the apex of the plant. By applying lanolin with auxin to the cut surface, it introduces a growth-promoting substance to see if it affects the growth response of the plant. The hypothesis is that auxin will suppress the growth stimulated by cutting the apex and prevent or inhibit the growth of lateral buds.

By having these two treatments in addition to the control, the experiment aims to compare and analyze the growth patterns and responses of the pea plants under different conditions. It helps to determine if cutting the apex and/or applying auxin have any significant effects on the growth of the plants, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence plant growth and development.