| Explore | From our prior knowledge, we know that plants are adaptable, do photosynthesis, and do cellular respiration. Outside of school we have had experiences where a plant dies because it has too much light, or not enough. From this information we can conclude that a plant needs a very specific amount of light, and the same is true for water intake. In our background research we have found the desirable growing conditions for each plant as well as the best way to grow them. One question we have is are plants able to adapt to the color of light? Some helpful information that we may want to learn is how long it takes for a plant to adapt to such changes? Overall our group has a wide variety of plant knowledge that will aid us in this investigation. |
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| Research Question | How does changing the color of light ( blue, green, red or white) affect the amount of seeds that germinate and the seeds mass after sprouting? |
| Predictions | Our prediction is that white light will germinate the most seeds. We think this because white light is a combination of red, green, and blue light; only having one part of the light could cause problems with the plants' growth. Similar to how without predators, animal populations would skyrocket; so there has to be a balance. |
| Experimental Design | Our plan is to use different colors for light in this investigation. Red, blue, green, and white. 1. Place 5 alfalfa and 5 chive seeds under each light. * set folders and cardboard up to prevent light from going through* 2. Add .15 mL of water to each paper towel. 3. Record the germinated seeds daily and their mass. 4. Compare to the white light seeds. 5. Repeat this process daily. 6. Perform 10 total trials. We plan to observe the mass and germinated seeds. We are keeping the temperature, amount of water and light, seed type, time under lights, and amount of seeds the same. We will record our data in a table and represent it as a graph. |
| Conclusion | Claim: Green light germinates alfalfa and chives the quickest and creates a large mass. Evidence: In our experiment we collected data from four different light colors (red, blue, green, and white) acrost two different species (chives and alfalfa). After averaging our data, we found that the green light alfalfa seeds had 100% germination, and an average mass of 1.1 grams (eventhough this was not the highest, it was very dry accounting for the lower weight). The chive seeds as we later found out that they grow much slower than alfalfa seeds, had a mass of 1 gram, and a 75% germination rate. The lowest germination rate and mass came from the white light with a alfalfa germination percentage at 60 and a mass of 1 gram, and the chives with a 0 percent germination and .95 grams. There is a 40% germination difference in between the alfalfa and chives, as well as a .1 gram difference of green light to white light. Reasoning: A seeds germination depends on many variables, however according to our research the light it receives is one of the most important things. When researching I learned that green, blue, and red light allow for plants to grow best. But for seedlings, green is the most efficient. This is because the plants need both blue and red light once it has started photosynthesis, however these colors support the plant in photosynthesis not germination. The color that contains the perfect wavelength and spot in the light spectrum is green. This color has the right pigments and wavelength to support a seedling. In my research I also learned that not all seeds require light to germinate, and some seeds react to light differently. Originally, I thought that the white light would grow the best, however the green light grew the best, and created the strongest seedlings contrary to my original thoughts. Lastly, this was a fair test because everything was consistent and nothing was changed. We also did everything possible to keep things consistent. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Teacher Name | Evelyn Gray |
| School Name | DeWitt Middle School |
| Session | Spring 2023 |
| About this Project | This team was another all-around great team. They did a nice job planning their investigation. They were detailed and listened to their mentors feedback. Additionally, they did a nice job communicating updating their Planting Science site and communicating with their mentor (thank you Chris Oakley) for engaging this team. Finally, they took detailed observations daily, in addition to weighing the seeds/plants before and after the project. --Evelyn Gray, Teacher |