Biology HL Internal Assessment Candidate Code: kdh034

Biology Higher Level Internal Assessment

Research Question: To what extent do the colours of light - red, blue, violet & green affect

the growth of the Chlorophytum comosum over the course of four weeks.

Candidate Code: kdh034

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Biology HL Internal Assessment Candidate Code: kdh034

Research Question [RQ]: To what extent do the colours of light - red, blue, violet & green affect the growth

of the Chlorophytum comosum over the course of four weeks.

Aim: To observe the effect of colours of light on the growth of a plant.

Background Information:

Plant Growth is affected by the following factors- light, temperature, water, humidity & nutrition. This

experiment will depict how different colours of light affect the growth of Chlorophytum comosum. The

plant Chlorophytum comosum or commonly known as the spider plant was chosen for this experiment for

two reasons: firstly, the plant grows as fast as 15 to 20 inches a year under optimum conditions and

secondly, the plant has features like long leaves which make it easier to annotate a physical change in the

plant. A period of four weeks was given for the plant to grow under optimum conditions because around a

month’s time is enough for the spider plant to show visible changes.

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Light's spectral content (wavelengths), intensity, duration, and direction can all have an impact on plant

growth and development. Light has a range of wavelengths that are as follows:

1. Violet- 400 nm

2. Blue- 500 nm

3. Green- 510 nm

4. Red- 700 nm

Violet has the shortest wavelength, whereas Red has

the longest wavelength. These light colours have been

chosen for the experiment because they are a part of

the action spectrum. The action spectrum is a graph that shows the rate of photosynthesis at each

wavelength of light, this will help to know the growth of the plant. An absorption spectrum is another graph

that shows the percentage of light absorbed at each wavelength by pigment or a group of pigments. The

pigments that are included in the absorption spectrum are Carotene, Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b,

Phaeophytin, Xanthophyll 1 & Xanthophyll 2.2

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The growth of a plant is hugely dependent on its photosynthetic properties; thus, both the spectrums give

basic knowledge about the light colours and wavelengths that play a role in the growth of a plant, plant

food production, stem length, leaf colour, and flowering are all influenced by light wavelengths (intensity).

Plants cultivated in low light are typically spindly and have pale green leaves. Similar plants cultivated in

bright light have shorter, stronger branches and larger, dark green leaves. Plants can be divided into three

categories based on their light requirements: high, medium, and low.

The Chlorophytum comosum is an indoor plant, another reason why this plant was chosen

is that being an indoor plant in commonly used in work spaces, as indoor plants are said

to increase productivity and improve air quality, the experiment aims to find out the

optimum wavelength (colour) of light that will promote the growth of an indoor plant.

However, there are some basic differences and similarities between an indoor and

outdoor plant which are as follows:

Table 1.1: Differences and Similarities between Indoor & Outdoor Plants

Differences Similarities

Indoor Plants Outdoor Plants Indoor & Outdoor Plants

Cannot withstand environmental Can withstand environmental Require adequate amount of

change changes and are better at water

adapting

Can grow in the presence of only Need more natural light to Require a particular type of soil,

artificial lights grow, growth may not be and some require fertilisers.

optimum under artificial lights

Hypothesis:

a. Alternate Hypothesis H1: The lesser the wavelength of the light the more the growth of the plant,

400 nm promoting plant growth the most and 700 nm promoting plant growth the least.

b. Null Hypothesis H0: The wavelength of the light had no significant effect on plant growth.

Variables:

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Independent Variable: The independent variable for this experiment was the colour of light. Different

colours of light have been used to determine how the growth of plants is affected due to the different

wavelengths of light, one trial was also conducted with plants in the natural light to provide a realistic

comparison.

Table 2.1: Independent Variables and the Specifications

LED Light Number Colour of Light Wavelength / nm

1 Violet 400

2 Blue 500

3 Green 510

4 Red 700

Dependent Variables: The final length of the leaf and final number of leaves were measured to find out the

effect of wavelengths on plant growth. The length was measured with the help of a ruler and the number

of leaves were counted naturally.

Control Variables: Any variables that may affect the relationship between the independent and dependent

variable were controlled.

Table 2.2: Control Variables and the Specifications

Control Variable Reason for Controlling Specifications

Equal Volume of water to each Amount of water given to a 3 litres

plant. plant can affect the growth of

the plant.

Concentration of soil Soil can affect the pH of the 1 kg

plant and thus, the growth and

quality of the plant.

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Temperature at which the Temperature can affect the rate Room temperature (25°C)
plants are kept is the same
of photosynthesis and

transpiration.

Time for which the plants were The incubation time affects the 4 weeks

kept under incubation effect of the independent

variable on the dependent

variable.

Uncontrollable Variables: Factors that are beyond the control of the experimenter, that may have a minute

effect on the relationship between the independent and dependent variable. The uncontrollable variables

for this experiment were: initial length of the leaves; initial number of leaves; maturity of the plants; age

of the plants.

Materials (for one trial):

Table 3.1: Materials

Apparatus/Materials Quantity & Specifications

Chlorophytum comosum plants 5

Ruler 1 (15 cm)

LED Strip 4 different colours (12 volts, 5 m)

Tap Water 3 litres

Measuring Cylinder 1 (250 ml)

Soil 1 kg

Coco Peat 1 packet ( ½ kg)

Thread 1 long piece of thread

Planting pots 5

Planting dishes 5

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Procedure:

The procedure was divided into three parts:

• Procedure Part A:

1. Coco Peat and Soil was combined in the ratio of 3:1 (3 parts soil : 1 part coco peat).

2. A stock solution was combined using Coco Peat and Soil this also helped to give the same kind of soil

and same volume of soil to all the plants equally.

• Procedure Part B:

1. In this part of the procedure the plants were potted with equal volume for each plant.

2. One leaf from each plant was labelled; that leaf’s initial and final length was measured.

• Procedure Part C:

1. In this part the plant were incubated for four weeks under the respective light colours.

2. The dependent variables were measured every weekend to be able to be able to determine a trend.

3. Results were recorded using the ruler.

Safety Measures taken:

• During the potting of the plants, it was made sure their roots were not harmed.

• Since the plants were indoor their leaves were sprayed with water to avoid contamination.

• Prior to the experiment it was made sure none of the plants were infested.

• While dealing with the plants gloves were worn.

• The plant was not damaged in any way throughout the experiment.

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Raw Data:

a. Initial and Final Data Measurements

Table 4.1: Initial & Final length of leaves

Table 4.2 : Initial & Final number of leaves

Processed Data and Data Processing:

Data Processing:

Formula for Average Values:

𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠

Sample Calculation: final length of leaves (red)

6.5 + 6 + 6.1 + 6.2 + 6

= 6.16
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Table 5.1: Average values

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Data Presentation:

Graph 1.1: Average final length of leaves

Statistical Analysis:

T-test: (Appendix 2)

Population Mean: 2.608

Significance Level: 0.05

Hypothesis: One – tailed

P-value: 0.5

The result of the t-test is not significant at p<0.5. Thus, leading to the rejection the null hypothesis because

the p-value is less than the specified significance level.

Qualitative Data / Analysis:3

Colour of light4 Before Incubation After Incubation

Red The length of the leaves was The length of the leaves increased

particularly small and the a bit, the width stayed the same

thickness / width was 0.5 cm, and the colour remained green.

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Blue the colour of the leaves was The length of the leaves increased

green. a bit, the width stayed the same

and the colour remained green.

Violet The length of the leaves increased

a significant amount, the width

increased and the colour changed

to a bright green.

Green The length of the leaves did not

increase a noticeable amount, the

width stayed the same and the

leaves’ colour changed to yellow

towards the tip of the leaves.

Natural 5 The length of the leaves increased

a bit, the width stayed the same

and the colour remained green.

Evaluation:

Strengths:

• The plants were kept under one colour of light individually.

• The soil prepared for the plants was prepared in bulk this kept the pH of the soil the same for all

the trials.

• Five trials were conducted to get accurate results.

• Same volume of water was added to all the plants at same time intervals.

• The voltage of the LED Strip was the same.

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Bayat, Leyla, et al.

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Limitation:

Source of Error Possible Improvements

The plant maturity could not be determined Plants with similar maturity could be chosen

The original pH of the soil could not be controlled The soil was prepared together for all the plants

The number of initial leaves could not be One leaf was labelled and measured for initial and

controlled final values

The initial length of the leaves was different for Only the leaves that had the same initial length

most leaves could be used

Further Extension:

The use of indoor plants is growing more due the growth of workspaces and with the promotion of clean

indoor air quality is an important requirement for people no matter the job they are doing. Thus the use

of plants is increasing day by day, for this further research to know which wavelength and thus, which light

colour promotes plant growth is important to make plant growth easier. Further investigation for this topic

can be done through the method of HPTLC Chromatography6. It is a form of chromatography that helps to

know the absorption rates of chlorophyll pigments, this can further help to know what is the most effective

wavelength for plant growth, through the analysis of pigments’ Rf values.

Conclusions:

The methodology used successfully produced evidence to support the alternate hypothesis by

demonstrating that different wavelengths have an effect on the growth of a plant through the

measurements taken. The results obtained established that the shortest wavelength of approximately 400

nm was most effective in promoting plant growth and qualities of the plant, as compared to 700 nm

wavelength that did not promote plant growth and degraded the quality of the plant as seen in the

qualitative data analysis, this can be attributed to the various pigments that plants contain like chlorophyll,

xanthophyll, etc. Since, the investigation establishes a relationship between the wavelength of light and

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Inter Research

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plant growth it allows scope for real life application in indoor plant growth for the use of domestic and

corporate uses.

Citations:

“Light, Temperature and Humidity - Ornamental Production Ornamental Production.” Aggie

Horticulture®, www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamental/a-reference-guide-to-plant-care-
handling-and-merchandising/light-temperature-and-
humidity/#:~:text=Light%20intensity%20influences%20the%20manufacture,have%20larger%2C%2
0dark%20green%20leaves.

Bayat, Leyla, et al. “Effects of Growth under Different Light Spectra on the Subsequent High Light
Tolerance in Rose Plants.” AoB PLANTS, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 Sept. 2018,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6191502/#:~:text=Different%20characteristics%20of%20l
ight%20such,all%20aspects%20of%20lighting%20environments.

Support, Extension Web. “Environmental Factors Affecting Plant Growth.” OSU Extension Service, Oregon
State University Extension Service, 29 Nov. 2022,
www.extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/environmental-factors-affecting-
plantgrowth#:~:text=Environmental%20factors%20that%20affect%20plant,%2C%20water%2C%20humidi
ty%20and%20nutrition.

“The Visible Wavelength Range and Its Impact on Plant Growth.” Light Science Technologies, 9 Sept.
2021, www.lightsciencetech.com/visible-wavelength-range-plant-growth/.

MH, Saleem, et al. “Effect of Different Colors of Lights on Growth and Antioxidants
Capacity in Rapeseed (Brassica Napus L.) Seedlings.” Annals of Agricultural & Crop
Sciences, www.mail.austinpublishinggroup.com/agriculture-crop-sciences/fulltext/aacs-
v4-id1045.php .

“The Effects of Light Color on Seed Germination of Markhamia Stipulata (Wall.) Seem: Kne
Life Sciences.” KNE Publishing, knepublishing.com/index.php/KnE-
Life/article/view/710/2062#:~:text=The%20highest%20germination%20rate%20is,sho
wed%20highest%20number%20(0.755).

Author links open overlay panelWeiwei Huang a, et al. “The Growth and Mortality of
Pleioblastus Pygmaeus under Different Light Availability.” Global Ecology and
Conservation, Elsevier, 12 Sept. 2020,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420308039.

“Brent Cornell.” BioNinja, www.ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-2-molecular-

biology/29-photosynthesis/action-spectrum.html.

Allott, Andrew, and David Mindorff. Biology: IB Diploma Course Companion. Oxford University Press,
2010.

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Appendix:

Appendix 1: Data collected at every week end’s interval

Table 4.1
Length of Leaves / inches (week 1)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 4 4 4 4 4

Blue 4 4 4 4 4

Violet 4 4 4 4 4

Green 4 4 4 4 4

Natural 4 4 4 4 4
(control)

Table 4.2
Length of Leaves / inches (week 2)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 4.15 4 4 4.1 4

Blue 4 4.1 4.1 4.15 4.15

Violet 4.1 4.1 4.15 4 4.15

Green 4.1 4 4.1 4.15 4.1

Natural 4.1 4.1 4.1 4 4

(control)

Table 4.3
Length of Leaves / inches (week 3)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 6 5.9 5.5 5.6 5.9

Blue 5.8 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.5

Violet 6.2 6.4 6.8 6.8 6.9

Green 4.15 4.2 4.15 4.17 4.2

Natural 6.4 5.6 6.4 6.15 6.3

(control)

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Table 4.4
Length of Leaves / inches (week 4)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 6.5 6 6.1 6.2 6

Blue 6.2 6.3 6.7 6.8 6.9

Violet 8 8.1 8 7.9 8.3

Green 4.5 5 5.5 4.9 5

Natural 7 7.7 7.4 7.2 7

(control)

Table 4.5
Number of Leaves / inches (week 1)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 20 20 20 20 20

Blue 20 20 20 20 20

Violet 20 20 20 20 20

Green 20 20 20 20 20

Natural (control) 20 20 20 20 20

Table 4.6
Number of Leaves / inches (week 2)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 22 21 23 23 22

Blue 20 22 21 21 22

Violet 23 23 22 23 22

Green 20 22 20 21 20

Natural 22 23 23 20 23
(control)

Table 4.7

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Number of Leaves / inches (week 3)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 24 23 22 23 22

Blue 20 22 21 21 22

Violet 23 23 22 23 22

Green 22 22 21 21 21

Natural 22 23 23 20 23
(control)

Table 4.8
Number of Leaves / inches (week 4)

Colour of Light Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5

Red 25 24 25 23 23

Blue 24 25 23 22 25

Violet 25 26 25 25 26

Green 20 22 21 21 21

Natural 23 23 24 25 24
(control)

Appendix 2: T-test Calculation

Link: https://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/tsinglesample/default2.aspx

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Appendix 3: Experimental Setup

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