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Photon Reaction

I. INTRODUCTION
Tropism is a plant movement that is determined by the direction of an
environmental stimulus. Movement toward an environmental stimulus is
called a positive tropism, and movement away from a stimulus is called a
negative tropism.
Phototropism refers to plant growth response to light shoots bend
toward light - positive phototropism roots sometimes bend away from light
- negative phototropism allows shoots to capture more light mediated by
the plant hormone auxin.
The auxin causes the cells on the shaded side to elongate more than
the cells on the illuminated side. As a result, the shoot bends toward the
light and exhibits positive phototropism. In some plant stems, phototropism
is not caused by auxin presence or movement. In these instances, light
causes the production of a growth inhibitor on the illuminated side of the
shoot. Negative phototropism is sometimes seen in vines that climb on flat
walls where coiling tendrils have nothing to coil around (Plant Systems,
n.d.)
Nastic movements are plant movements that occur in response to
environmental stimuli but unlike tropic movements, the direction of the
response is not dependent on the direction of the stimulus. The movement
can be due to changes in turgor or changes in growth.
Photonastic Movements are induced by fluctuations in the intensity of
light Such movements are exhibited by flowers of several plants. Many
flowers open with the increasing illumination of the day and close up with
the decrease in light intensity.
Similarly, nyctinastic movements, commonly called ‘sleeping
movements’. Some authors have classified such movements under the
category of photonastic or thermonastic movements. These movements
are induced by alternation of day and night. The leaves of some plants like
Enterobium, clover and oxalis, growing approximately horizontal during the
day, begin to droop and close toward evening and do not rise again until
the next morning.

II. OBJECTIVES
The activity generally aims to observe the response of Vietnam Rose plant
at varying intensity of light. Moreover, at the end of the activity, learners
should be able to differentiate phototropism from nyctinastic movements

III. MATERIALS
• Vietnam Rose plants
• Light and dark environments (as variables for the experiment)
IV. PROCEDURE
1. Prepare the plants by placing them in two different pots.
2. Place one setup in a shaded area with little exposure to sunlight. On
the other hand, expose the other one in an open area where light is
visible during the day.
3. Observe what happens to the blooming of flowers in three consecutive
days and three consecutive nights.
4. Observe what happens to the growth of the plant in three consecutive
days and three consecutive nights.
5. Record your observation.

V. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION

Time of Blooming of Time of Closing of
Flowers Flowers
Exposed Shaded Exposed Shaded
Outdoor Area Outdoor Area
(A) (B) (A) (B)
Day 1 9:24 AM 9:30 AM 8:54 PM 9:00 PM
Day 2 9:33 AM 9:48 AM 8:55 PM 9:10 PM
Day 3 8:27 AM 10:05 AM 8:54 PM 9:08 PM
Table 1.

Table 1 shows the exact time when the flowers bloomed. For Plant A,
the time of blooming of flowers were 9:24 AM, 9:33 AM and 8:27 AM from
day one to three, respectively. On the other hand, Plant B’s flower
bloomed at 9:30 AM on the first day, 9:48 AM on the second day and
10:05 AM on the third day.
Meanwhile, Plant A closed its flowers by 8:54 PM, 8:55 PM, and 8:54
PM for days one to three respectively. Plant B is a bit late as its flowers
closed at 9:00 PM on day one, 9:10 PM on day two, and 9:08 PM on day
three.
The results imply that the exposure to sunlight does not affect the
opening and closing of the flowers of the plants. The opening of flowers
during the day and closing of the flowers at night describe the nastic
movement of a plant known as nyctinastic movement. Therefore, the
exposure of the plant to sunlight does not affect the nastic movements of
the plant.
 Plant A Plant B
From the pictures above, it is evident that Plant A grows upward which
is towards the sunlight and Plant B grows towards the source of light. In
that sense, the hormone auxin takes place and causes the cells on the
shaded ide to elongate. As a result, the shoot bends toward the light and
exhibits phototropism.
As a whole, phototropism and nyctinastic movement describe the
motion of plants whereas phototropism involves the direction of growth
with respect to the light source, and nyctinastic movement covers the
response of plant parts to darkness. Therefore, the movements of plants
are the result of the presence and absence of light.

VI. STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Is there any significant difference on the time of opening and closing of
flowers between the plants exposed outdoor and the plants in the
shaded room?
2. Is there any significant difference on the growth between the plants
exposed outdoor and the plants in the shaded room?
3. Do the nastic movements affect the growth of the plants?

VII. REFERENCES
Kumar, S. (n.d.). Nastic movements in plants: 4 types with diagram).
Retrieved
October 7, 2018 from http://www.biologydiscussion.com/plants/nastic-
movements/nastic-movements-in-plants-4-types-with-diagram/15825
Plant Systems (n.d.) Explain I –Stations 1-6. Retrieved February 9, 2018
from
http://studylib.net/doc/8210176/station-1--phototropism-a-tropism-is-a-
plant-movement-tha...

VIII. DOCUMENTATION

Plant A (Day)
Plant B (Day)

Plant A (Night)

Plant B (Night)