biology
January 31, 2014
Mr. Robinson
IB Biology I 2ND Period
The Effects of Light on Plant Growth
Introduction:
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use light energy, water, and carbon dioxide to produce food. Plants use the food they make for the growth and for the carrying out other life processes. Sunlight is the natural energy source for photosynthesis. White light form the sun is a mixture of all the colors of the light spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Light can be either absorbed or reflected by substances called pigments. Most plants are green because the pigment chlorophyll reflects green and yellow light and absorbs the other colors of the spectrum.
Problem:
• Which colors of the light spectrum are most important for plant growth?
Hypothesis:
• I believe that if we use the colors red and blue that then the growth of the plants will be greater than if I were to use any other color of the light spectrum.
Materials of the Virtual Lab:
• Colors of the Light spectrum: red, blue, orange, green. Violet, and yellow
• Three types of plants (radish, lettuce, and spinach)
• Ruler
• 6 plant pots with soil
• Calculator to calculate the average height of each of the plants
Procedure:
• My classmates and I clicked the video button to watch the video animation and learn about how light affects photosynthesis.
• Made my hypothesis about which color or colors would affect the plant growth most
• Tested my hypothesis by choosing the different seeds and observing how the plants grow under different light colors
• Choose the type of seed we wanted and clicked the seed packet
• Choose the light color we want to test plan growth
• Started the experiment by clicking the light switch
• Observed the plant growth
• Clicked the ruler to measure the plant growth. Then used a calculator to average the height of the three plants under each color filter and recorded the results in the table.
• Clicked the reset button and
Mr. Robinson
IB Biology I 2ND Period
The Effects of Light on Plant Growth
Introduction:
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use light energy, water, and carbon dioxide to produce food. Plants use the food they make for the growth and for the carrying out other life processes. Sunlight is the natural energy source for photosynthesis. White light form the sun is a mixture of all the colors of the light spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Light can be either absorbed or reflected by substances called pigments. Most plants are green because the pigment chlorophyll reflects green and yellow light and absorbs the other colors of the spectrum.
Problem:
• Which colors of the light spectrum are most important for plant growth?
Hypothesis:
• I believe that if we use the colors red and blue that then the growth of the plants will be greater than if I were to use any other color of the light spectrum.
Materials of the Virtual Lab:
• Colors of the Light spectrum: red, blue, orange, green. Violet, and yellow
• Three types of plants (radish, lettuce, and spinach)
• Ruler
• 6 plant pots with soil
• Calculator to calculate the average height of each of the plants
Procedure:
• My classmates and I clicked the video button to watch the video animation and learn about how light affects photosynthesis.
• Made my hypothesis about which color or colors would affect the plant growth most
• Tested my hypothesis by choosing the different seeds and observing how the plants grow under different light colors
• Choose the type of seed we wanted and clicked the seed packet
• Choose the light color we want to test plan growth
• Started the experiment by clicking the light switch
• Observed the plant growth
• Clicked the ruler to measure the plant growth. Then used a calculator to average the height of the three plants under each color filter and recorded the results in the table.
• Clicked the reset button and