Title: Planning and Designing

Topic: Nutrition

Problem Statement: A farmer planted a garden of peas, after a few days the farmer noticed that

a few of the plants appeared to be tall and thin. He was unsure of what the reason for this could

be, however he realized that a tall tree that was growing close to the edge of his garden was

shading a few of the plants and wondered if this could be the reason.

Hypothesis: The seedlings grown in the dark will be very tall and thin, while the seedlings

grown in light, will grow upright and strong due to the even distribution of Auxins.

Aim: To investigate the growth and appearance of plants in dim and bright light.

Materials and Apparatus: Soil (clay or loam or sand), 6 seedlings (Corn/Peas), a measuring

cylinder, water, (2) plastic Cups.

Method:

1. Obtain 6 seeds of the same type of plant.

2. Obtain a sample of soil of the same type and location and place in 2 different

plastic cups.

3. Label one of the plastic cups, A and the other B

4. With the use of a measuring cylinder, measure equal amounts of soil and

place the amount in plastic cup A and B.

5. Place 3 of the seeds in the plastic cup labelled A and the other 3 in the plastic cup labelled B.
6. Place the cup labelled A in an area with access to sunlight.

7. Place the cup labelled B in an area with access to sunlight.

8. To facilitate growth of both samples in terms of moisture and humidity,

control the time at which the seedlings are watered, preferably every 24

hours and always at the same time.

9. Repeat this process for 7 days until noticeable changes in appearance of

both scenarios have occurred.

10.Record the height, width and appearance of both samples and tabulate results.

Variables:

Manipulative/Independent Variable: The location where both Samples A and B

were placed.

Dependent/Responding Variable: The appearance of the seedlings, The overall

growth of the seedlings

Controlled Variable: The amount of soil, the amount of water, the times that observation are

done

Expected Results:

Plants need four things to grow: soil nutrients, light, carbon dioxide and water.

The plant's green chlorophyll absorbs red light more readily than any other color in the spectrum,

allowing it to contribute energy to help the plant grow taller and possibly healthier. The survival

of a plant is entirely dependent on the source of light. In the case of all outdoor plants, the sun is

the only source of light.

When the first leaves appear on the plant, it will try to grow towards the light source, to ensure

that maximum light is received by the leaves for photosynthesis.

The rest of the plants are called phototropic, which means that they respond to light. The stems

of these plants try to grow towards the direction of the source of the light.

Consider a garden plant which is partially in the shade. When light shines on a part, it stimulates

the secretion of growth hormones called auxins in that area of the stem.

These auxins cause that part of the stem cells to elongate, forcing the stem to grow

towards the sunlight. These are changes that occur continuously through the life cycle

of a plant.

In Scenario A, there is dim light. Etiolation is a process in flowering plants grown in

complete absence of light. Etiolation increases the likelihood that a plant will reach

a light source, often from under the soil, leaf litter, or shade from competing plants.

Seedlings grown in these conditions have long, weak stems, short leaves and are

unable to photosynthesize. Chlorosis would occur as leaves would have produced

insufficient chlorophyll due to the inability to receive sunlight. Chlorotic leaves are

pale, yellow or yellow white. Seedlings have little or no ability to manufacture

carbohydrates to sustain life and may die as a result of this.

Scenario B on the other hand has the maximum potential to grow. Stems are strong

and long at the same time as well as receiving equal amounts of sunlight on the

lateral sides of the shoot. They usually possess long leaves which have a large
surface area to ascertain maximum sunlight to increase productivity and the

manufacturing of food in the plant.

Treatment of Results:

1. Height of Seedlings: Tabular and Graphical

Table for both the Dark and Lit Conditions:

Day Heigh Width Day Heigh Width

Number t (Cm) (Cm) Number t (Cm) (Cm)

1 1

2 2

3 3
Seedling In Seedling In
4 4
the Light the Dark

5 5

6 6

7 7

Graph

Plot a graph of Height (y-axis) against the Day Number (x-axis)

2. Appearance of Seedlings, Leaves, Stem and Root Structure:

Table showing Observations for seedlings in the Light

Appearance of Leaves Appearance of Stem

Table showing Observations for seedlings in the Dark

Appearance of Leaves Appearance of Stem

Source of Error
Human Error - If more than one person is measuring the heights and volumes, the

measurement may vary from person to person as they have different eye levels. To

correct this, measurements should be taken perpendicularly at eye level to ensure

maximum accuracy.

Limitations:

Temperature - The sample present in light would have a higher temperature to

those in the shade and would possibly affect the rate of photosynthesis.

Conclusion:

Light is a factor in the overall functionality of a plant both in nutrition and health

and without light, plants would be unable to sustain life.