All Colors of the Visible Spectrum Grow Salvia Splendens More Efficiently than Red or Green
Light on Its Own By: Diego Prado, Morgan Miller, Cody Holland, and Jonathan Ruppel
Introduction
The hypothesis for lab 5 was that plants that do not receive red light will perform photosynthesis less efficiently than those exposed to light of all wavelengths. The findings for that lab were that the plant that received all colors grew the most. The experiment was done again, but this time the algae was changed to a flower. In this experiment, the new hypothesis is that red is better than green on its own for growing salvia splendens, but all of the colors on the spectrum will work more efficiently together. The equipment and reagents used were six …show more content…
Miracle-Gro Sphagnum Peat Moss fertilizer was added to eat pot. Labelling the pots was important so that the plants did not get mixed up when recording data. The pots were labeled Negative Control 1 (NC1), Negative Control 2 (NC2), Green Light 1 (G1), Green Light 2 (G2), Red Light 1 (R1), and Red Light 2 (R2). Using a control in this experiment was important so that a baseline could be seen when comparing it to the other plants. Using duplicates of each pot reduced sampling error. Then, the recordings from day 0 were taken by measuring the height of the plants with a ruler using centimeters. These recordings were taken every two days for six days total. The plants were watered twice within this six day period. First, the plants were watered on day 3 with 150 mL of water. The plants were watered again on day 5 with another 150 mL. The first plants, labeled G1 and G2, followed a daily schedule in this order: green light for six hours, sunlight for nine hours, and darkness for nine hours. Two more of the plants, labeled R1 and R2, followed a daily schedule in this order: red light for six hours, sunlight for nine hours and darkness for nine hours. The remaining two plants, labeled NC1 and NC2, followed a daily schedule in this order: white light for six hours, sunlight for nine hours, and darkness for nine …show more content…
However, white light is better than all three options since it contains all colors of the visible light spectrum. This is true because when white light hits Salvia splendens every visible color of the spectrum is absorbed except for green light. The green light was reflected and is visible to the human eye. When only green light hits Salvia splendens, the green light is reflected from the plant and no light is absorbed to start the photosynthesis process. With this information in mind, the hypothesis from the beginning of the experiment holds true. Red light is better than green light on its own for growing salvia splendens, but all of the colors on the spectrum will work more efficiently together. This experiment’s shortcoming is that it does not include all colors of the visible light spectrum individually. For future experiments, it is suggested that orange, yellow, blue, and violet lights are tested individually along with red and
Light on Its Own By: Diego Prado, Morgan Miller, Cody Holland, and Jonathan Ruppel
Introduction
The hypothesis for lab 5 was that plants that do not receive red light will perform photosynthesis less efficiently than those exposed to light of all wavelengths. The findings for that lab were that the plant that received all colors grew the most. The experiment was done again, but this time the algae was changed to a flower. In this experiment, the new hypothesis is that red is better than green on its own for growing salvia splendens, but all of the colors on the spectrum will work more efficiently together. The equipment and reagents used were six …show more content…
Miracle-Gro Sphagnum Peat Moss fertilizer was added to eat pot. Labelling the pots was important so that the plants did not get mixed up when recording data. The pots were labeled Negative Control 1 (NC1), Negative Control 2 (NC2), Green Light 1 (G1), Green Light 2 (G2), Red Light 1 (R1), and Red Light 2 (R2). Using a control in this experiment was important so that a baseline could be seen when comparing it to the other plants. Using duplicates of each pot reduced sampling error. Then, the recordings from day 0 were taken by measuring the height of the plants with a ruler using centimeters. These recordings were taken every two days for six days total. The plants were watered twice within this six day period. First, the plants were watered on day 3 with 150 mL of water. The plants were watered again on day 5 with another 150 mL. The first plants, labeled G1 and G2, followed a daily schedule in this order: green light for six hours, sunlight for nine hours, and darkness for nine hours. Two more of the plants, labeled R1 and R2, followed a daily schedule in this order: red light for six hours, sunlight for nine hours and darkness for nine hours. The remaining two plants, labeled NC1 and NC2, followed a daily schedule in this order: white light for six hours, sunlight for nine hours, and darkness for nine …show more content…
However, white light is better than all three options since it contains all colors of the visible light spectrum. This is true because when white light hits Salvia splendens every visible color of the spectrum is absorbed except for green light. The green light was reflected and is visible to the human eye. When only green light hits Salvia splendens, the green light is reflected from the plant and no light is absorbed to start the photosynthesis process. With this information in mind, the hypothesis from the beginning of the experiment holds true. Red light is better than green light on its own for growing salvia splendens, but all of the colors on the spectrum will work more efficiently together. This experiment’s shortcoming is that it does not include all colors of the visible light spectrum individually. For future experiments, it is suggested that orange, yellow, blue, and violet lights are tested individually along with red and