Do your results imply that the uptake of water by radish seeds is mainly a physical process or a chemical (metabolic) process?

physical process

Explanation:

Assuming that there are no latency mechanisms that prevent germination, several factors are required for the embryo contained in the seed to restart its development.

Water Absorption

Embibition: It is a special case of a physical phenomenon called diffusion, and as such, there is a diffusion gradient. It is characterized by an increase in volume of the substance or body that embeds and is closely related to the properties of colloidal materials. The colloidal particles in the seed form a moderately rigid miscelar network, in which electric charges of opposite signs are oriented in a defined manner. When water penetrates the seed, one fraction occupies the free spaces and another chemically joins the substances of which the seeds are composed. The volume of the seeds increases with the embibition, but the final volume of the system (seed + water) is smaller than the sum of the initial individual volumes of seeds and water; This contraction of the system is proof of the occupation of the free spaces within the seed and the absorption of water in the colloidal matrix.

The embibition rate is affected by several factors that can determine the germination response of the seeds.