What is germination?

Germination is defined as the process by which a seed develops into a new plant. This process begins when a seed absorbs water, swells, and breaks through its outer seed coat. As conditions become favorable—such as the right temperature, moisture, and sometimes light—the seed's metabolic processes are activated, and the embryonic plant begins to grow. This leads to the emergence of the radical, which develops into the root, and the shoot, which will eventually grow into the stem and leaves of the plant.

This option highlights the critical transition from a dormant seed state to active growth, emphasizing the importance of environmental conditions and the biological mechanisms involved in this life cycle stage. The other options, while related to plant biology, describe different processes that are not germination itself. Seed dormancy is about a seed remaining inactive; seed dispersal pertains to the spreading of seeds from the parent plant; and photosynthesis describes the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy.