Singapore Piaget Academy Solo Raya

Science Project Proposal Competition

Title of the investigation: “Effects of Artificial Light on Plant Growth in

Terraria.”

Team members’ names: Ayaka, Earllyn, Fael, and  Kenneth

Class : Y5

I. Background research
1) Introducing the Problem;
Plants use light to make food through a process called photosynthesis.
During photosynthesis, plants use the green chlorophyll, a pigment, to help
convert carbon dioxide, water, and light into carbohydrates and oxygen.
As the weather nowadays unpredictable, so the plants will have
difficulty to get sun light. In this proposal I am going to use artificial light to
help plants to grow.
Moreover there are so many types and colour of artificial light then for
my experiment I am going to use red and blue coloured lamp and observe to
see the difference growth of the each plant.

2) The impact is if plants do not receive enough light, they will not grow at their
maximum rate or reach their maximum potential, regardless of how much of
any other variable – water, growth medium or fertilizer – they receive. Light is
the driving force for photosynthesis, a plant process that changes sunlight into
chemical energy.
II. Objective
To determine what kind of light will produce the greatest plant growth,
red light bulb or blue light bulb?
1) The visible spectrum of light contains many different colors. These
colors are visible in a rainbow. Plants use different types and colors of
light in different ways. Plants use blue light to help grow their leaves.
When it is combined with blue light, red light helps a plant flower. The
lights that we consider to be warm household lights have a lot of red
light. Green light is not particularly helpful to plants. It is reflected off the
plant’s green surfaces.
2) Sunlight or full spectrum light gives the full menu of light to a plant. An
artificial full spectrum light bulb gives plants all of the light that they
would have outdoors, so they can use it like they would use the
sunlight. Sometimes a bulb can be better than sunlight, since much of
the sunlight a plant gets inside the house is indirect light that is not very
intense.
3) Plants grow toward the light, because this is their source of food. In
nature, light generally shines downward. A seed begins growing in the
soil, and it grows up toward the sun. The competition for this light is
fierce. When a plant gets larger, it receives more light and may
shade other plants below.
4) Why do plants grow toward the light? In part, this is due to gravity.
Gravity gives plants a sense of “down” and “up,” and it means that plant
roots grow down and plant shoots grow up even in the dark. However,
plants also need light, so they will grow in the direction of the light. If the
light is to the side, this means that the plant first grows up, then grows
over. It needs to grow so that its leaves are angled to the light, and this
is harder to do than if the plant were growing up, when its leaves would
naturally point upwards towards the sky.

III. Hypothesis
 1) If a terrarium receives light from red light bulb, then it will grow
faster.
2) If a terrarium receives light from blue light bulb, then it will grow
faster.

 IV. Variables
● What is the variable that you will change?
  Light bulb: blue light bulb and red-light bulb.
● What is the variable that you will measure or observe?
   The growth of the plant in each terrarium
● What variables will you keep the same (write as many as you can)?
● Type of container
● Type of plants
● Amount of soil
● Volume of water

V. Materials & equipment**

1) Materials and equipment:
● Glass Jars
● Media or soil
● Plants (green bean seed)
● Shovel
● Water and Sprayer
2) Estimated cost of each material/equipment?

No. Material Quantity  Cost Total

1. Glass Jar 2 Rp 48,000 Rp 96,000

2. Media or soil 1 Rp 30,000 Rp 30,000

3. Plant 1 Rp 5,000 Rp 10,000

4. Shovel 1 Rp 27,500 Rp 27,500

5. Sprayer 1 Rp 5,500 Rp 5,500

6 Red -light bulb 1 Rp 5,000 Rp 5,000

7 Blue-light bulb 1 Rp 5,000 Rp 5,000

Total Rp 179,000

VI. Method
1) How will you change the variable?
● Place 2 terrariums next to each other in an area where they will receive
equal light from light bulb.
● Let Terrarium A receives the light from red-light bulb each day,
Terrarium B receives the light from blue-light bulb each day.

2) How will you measure the variable?

● The two Terrariums, A and B will have the same amounts of soil, the
same height of plants at the beginning.
● Take the measurement for the control as well
● Continue this for 10 days.

3) How will you make sure that the other variables are kept the same?
● The two Terrarium, A and B will be placed in the same area.
● The two Terrarium, A and B, will be watered once in the morning.
 3) Present the procedures using a flow chart.

 To conduct this experiment, you’ll need a room that can be quite dark for ten
days. Put potting soil into the plant pots, and bury a bean seed under half an
inch of soil in each pot.
 Mist the soil gently so that the beans have water.
 Place each plant in a box.
 Put the red light bulb in terrarium A and blue light bulb in terrarium B.
 Place the lamp over the box so that the light does not escape from the box.
Make sure that it is not touching any paper!
 Turn the lights on every morning and turn them off every evening.
 After a week, you will likely see a sprout coming out of the soil. Wait for
another week or more, then turn on the light in the room and take a photo of
each bean plant. Label the photos with the type of light the plant
received. Which one grew the fastest? Does one look healthier than the
others?

Put soil inside

Plant the seed.
the terrarium.

Place the terrariums

Spray the seed.
under the artificial
light.

5) How will you present the results of the experiment? Are you going to
present the results using a graph like a line graph or bar graph?
I will use bar graph to present the results of the experiment.
6) How will you test your hypothesis?
The test will be done by measuring the height of fern from day 1 to day 10.

7) What safety precautions will be taken during the experiment?

Gloves and plastic ruler.

8) How will your team members work together at all stages of the
investigation?
All the member will do the same experiment

VII. Timeline of execution***

Task How many days to Deadline of
complete? submission?

Make the initial 7 days 10 December 2022

individual
draft of the proposal
Observation 10 days 10 February 2023

Discussion with 10 days 10 February 2023

members

Discuss for the result 2 days 12 February 2023

with members

VIII.References:
1. https://slideplayer.com/slide/3873039/
 2. https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/effect-position-artificial-light-plant/
3. https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/plant-growth-
photosynthesis/

 Chart of Daily Observations

Terrarium A – red light bulb
Day Height of Plants Number of Leaves
1    
2    
3    
4    
5    
6    
7    
8    
9
10
  
Terrarium A – blue light bulb
Day Height of Plants Number of Leaves
1    
2    
3    
4    
5    
6    
7    
8    
9
10

                        Summary Chart 

Average Plant Average # of Other
Kind of Light
Height Leaves Observations
Plants exposed to red
     
Light bulb
 Plants exposed to blue
     
Light

DAY 1

\
 DAY 5

DAY 10

The Growth of the Fern

DAY 4 HOURS LIGHT 8 HOURS LIGHT

1 4.3 4.3

2 4.3 4.6
 3 4.8 5.1

4 5.3 6.4

5 5.6 6.4

6 5.9 6.8

7 6.1 7.4

8 6.3 7.9

9 6.4 8.1

10 6.5 8.2

*NOTE: The time of measuring the plant was not the same each day

Result:

There were slightly difference between the length of the terrarium that
received 4 hours light and the terrarium that received 8 hours light.
Day 1 all the fern are in the same length 4.3 cm.
Day 2- 9 Both terrariums received the same treatment water daily and
placed in the same place just the amount of sunlight received were
different.
Over all the plants; the stem and leaf grew well and reached their
maximum length on day 10. I used ruler and measured them daily and
recorded them on a piece of paper.
(I recorded the length in different time as my activities sometimes
unpredictable).
The difference can be seen clearly on the bar graph.
Day 10 the 4 hours light terrarium reached the length of 6.5 cm whereas
the 8 hours light terrarium reached the length of 8.2 cm which is growing
taller.

In Conclusion

The length of the fern in 8 hours light terrarium was taller

than the 4 hours light terrarium.
The 8 hours light terrarium was 1.7 cm taller than the 4
hours light terrarium as it received more sunlight and air.

This experiment proof the hypothesis If a terrarium receives more

sunlight, then it will be warmer than a terrarium that receives less, and its
plant will grow taller.