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ABSTRACT
Light has a profound impact on the growth of plants. In this investigation the effects that thecolours of light have on plant growth and photosynthesis were explored. It was hypothesised thatred and purple-blue light allow for the most growth in plants, whereas green light does not allow photosynthesis and plants don’t grow well in it. In the experiment, 15 mint plants were used with3 trials being conducted for each colour of red, blue, purple, green and clear. The growth of these plants was monitored over a period of 3-4 weeks. After 3 weeks, it was observed that the plantsunder red
did 
grow better and taller than the rest. Plants under blue light also grew fairly well, but as a profound contradiction to the hypothesis, the plants under purple light grew the least,even less than the plants under green light. By completing the experimental investigation, thehypothesis is supported in part, with more and further research and experimenting needed to prove these results.
 
R ATIONALE FOR INVESTIGATION
Plants and trees are the most important resources on our earth. Not only do they provide the oxygen needed byaerobic organisms such as ourselves, they also providefor the food requirement of heterotrophs which consumeother organisms for food. However, these resources willnot last forever unless we take certain measures toreplace them as we use them. We need to sustain outcurrent resources so that the needs of the presentgeneration are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainabledevelopment depends on environmental protection,economic development and social progress andstrategies include recycling, reduced consumerism andwater and energy usage, growing our own fruit andvegetables and sustainable practices in agriculture. Inthis report we are investigating the most successful ways of growing high quality plants in the backyard rather than waste energy in farms where food must be packaged and transported.There are many factors that affect the growth of plants including light, temperature, type of soil,availability of water, supply of minerals and pH. In this experiment we will investigate how thecolour of light affects the growth of a plant.Light has a large affect on the ability of a plant to grow and photosynthesise. Plants usually tendto grow better in certain colours of light than other colours. This experiment will investigatewhich colours of light allow for the most growth in plants.
RESEARCH PROPOSALResearch questions:
what factors effect the growth of plants and what are the best conditionsunder which a plant can grow? Why and how does light affect the growth of a plant?
Aim:
to investigate the relationships between the colour of light and the growth of plants.
Hypothesis:
green plants forced to grow in green light do not experience rapid and plentiful/proficient grow, whereas, these plants in red and blue–purple light grow better with moreleaves and are taller. White light (clear) which is a mixture of all colours of light would allow for medium growth of the plant (not too little and too much). Red plants such as red algae grow morein green-blue light, whereas, they do not experience profuse growth in red and orange light.Figure 1: plants and trees are our mostimportant resources (Wikipedia, 2008).
 
HYPOTHESIS JUSTIFICATION
Light can have a dramatic effect on the growth of a plant. Light is used by plants during photosynthesis with the help of water (H
2
O) and carbon dioxide (CO
2
) under the influence of chlorophyll to produce glucose (C
6
H
12
O
6
), oxygen (O
2
) and residual water. The equation for  photosynthesis can be written as:
Chlorophyll
6 CO
2
+ 12 H
2
O + light energy -----------
à
6 O
2
+ C
6
H
12
O
6
+ 6 H
2
OPhotosynthesis occurs in the thylakoid membrane of a chloroplast specifically using chlorophylland is the process by which light energy is converted into chemical energy which is then storedin the bonds of the glucose produced (J. Stein Carter, 2004). Photosynthesis occurs in 2 stages:the light dependant stage and the light independent stage. The light dependant reactions occur inthe first stage. In this phase chlorophyll traps light energy and uses it to produce ATP (adenosinetri-phosphate) molecules and split water into hydrogen ions and oxygen gas. Chlorophyll has amolecular structure that, when excited by photons of light energy, initiates a series of steps thatresult in the production of ATP molecules (Heinemann Education, 2004). The equation for thesereactions could be written as:
Chlorophyll
Water ------------
à
hydrogen ions + oxygen gas + ATP
Light energy
The second stage of photosynthesis is independent of light. ATP made during the first stage provides the energy needed to combine CO
2
with the hydrogen ions which are also from the lightdependant reactions. These reactions form glucose, a molecule rich in energy and some water isreproduced. The equation for the light independent reactions can be writer as:ATP + H
+
ions + CO
2
à
glucose + water + ADP (adenosine di-phosphate)(Heinemann Education, 2004).For photosynthesis to occur, this light energy
must 
 be provided to provide the energy needed for all the reactions to occur. Not all wavelengths of light can support photosynthesis however. The spectrum range that photosynthesis works in depends on the accessory pigments present in the plant. For example, in green plants the absorption spectrums for chlorophyll andcarotenoids (these also play a part in photosynthesis)which peak for purple-blue and red light resemble theaction spectrum, which shows which wavelengths of light are most effective in a specific chemicalreaction. (Wikipedia, 2008). Chlorophyll which isabundant in green plants appears green because itreflects green light. This green light can not beabsorbed and thus it cannot be used in photosynthesisin green plants. However, red and blue light areabsorbed by chlorophyll and it is the energy fromthese colours that is used during photosynthesis (J.Stein Carter, 2004). The non-absorbed part of thelight spectrum is what gives photosynthetic organismstheir colour and
Figure 2.
The light spectrum and the rateof photosynthesis (Wikipedia 2008).
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