The Effect of Black

Light Rays On
Radish Plant
Growth
by: Amanda Zerquera and Roberto Perez
Abstract:
● The effect of black light rays on radish plant growth was an experiment that we decided to do
because we were inspired by a science fair project that Roberto Perez did during the eighth grade
which was the effect of artificial light on plant growth. We thought a little deeper into that project
by thinking of a specific type of artificial light, and blacklight was the first that came to mind.
Plants that only receive blacklight usually don’t grow very much, or aren’t very successful, but we
really wanted to test it out ourselves. We wanted to see what would happen to a plant if its only
source of light was blacklight. In the experiment, we planted two pots of radish seed plants, each
would be under different circumstances. One receiving only blacklight, and the other receiving
only sunlight; everything else in the experiment was the same, the amount of water, the type of
soil, the amount of soil, the environment, the seeds, amount of light energy, etc. Our hypothesis
was that the black light plant would grow much slower than the plant that received regular
sunlight. However we found that we were wrong in the end of the experiment. The black light
plant has grown about 0.5 in. more than the regular plant.
Introduction (Background):
After Roberto Perez did an experiment on the effects of artificial light on plant growth during his
8th Grade Science Fair Project, we discovered that artificial light could be used as a substitute for natural
light if needed. With this evidence in mind we began to think about the effects on different types of lights
waves on plant growth. We wanted to answer the question “Does black light affect plant growth. Our
hypothesis is that we ​think that the plants will grow slower and shorter if we use black light as their only
source of light than the plants that grow in natural sunlight. We predict that if we plant two plants and use
blacklight for one and the other with natural light. Then the plant grown in natural light will grow taller
and faster than the plant grown in black light.
Materials:
● packet of radish seeds
● A black light bulb
● 2 pots
● A lamp
● a small bag potting soil
● water
● camera
● ruler
● measuring cup
● money to buy the materials
Procedure (Method):
1. Go to the store and buy materials
2. Unpackage all materials
3. Put 1 cup of soil in each pot
4. Place ten of the beet seeds in each
5. Place one potted plant in an area with access to natural sunlight
6. Place another in a dark area with its only source of light being the Black Light
7. Water plants with ½ cup of water twice a day
8. Take pictures of each potted plant everyday
9. Record height of stem and any difference in color for each plant, at the end of experiment
10. Compare the plants.
Results (Data):
Pictures(Left Side Natural Right Side Black Light)-
Blacklight Plant-
Stem one- 2.76 in.
Stem two- 2.26 in.
Stem three- 3.2 in.
Stem four- 3 in.
Stem five- 2.5 in.
Stem six- 3 in.
Stem seven- 2.5 in.
Stem eight- 3.5 in.
Stem nine- 3.75 in.
Stem ten- 2.25 in.
Final average- 2.872 in.

Natural Plant-
Stem one- 1 in.
Stem two- 3.5 in.
Stem three- 2.75 in.
Stem four- 2 in.
Stem five- 3 in.
Stem six- 3 in.
Stem seven- 3 in.
Stem eight - 1.75 in.
Stem nine- 2.5 in.
Stem ten- 2.25 in.
Final average- 2.475 in.

Graphs of mean average height of plant stem

Conclusion (Discussion):
It is clear from the results of our experiment that our original hypothesis was wrong. The average
height of the stem of the black light plants grown was more than the average height of the stem of the
naturally grown plants. These results occurred because naturally, UV lights such as black lights are needed
for plants to grow. According to the website, uvhero.com, “​The reason is that UV light falls within the
electromagnetic spectrum which is outside the visible or photosynthetic active radiation band.” Plants use
UV lights to grow in their natural habitats which explains why that when black light was used the plants
grew much faster than the regular sunlight plants. ​In the future another experiment could be to see the
effects of different types of light waves and see how the plants react. This is will lead to finding out the
optimal types of light waves that will help these plants grow.
References:

https://uvhero.com/do-plants-need-uv-light/
http://abacus.bates.edu/acad/depts/bi obook/FP-Black.pdf​ ]

GRADE: -4 out of 25 = 84