UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
I am doing my science fair project and I am getting very different results. I am doing an experiment on how different color lights affect plant growth. According to lots of research, the plants under the red and blue lights should be growing the tallest, but my results are turning out that the plant under the green light is growing the tallest (I have done it twice). Can I please get some help in this?
Question Date: 2013-12-15
Answer 1:

That's a good question. You're absolutely right - plants do grow more under red/blue wavelengths than green, because plants refelect green and absorb less of the light energy than red and blue. Red light tends to encourage flowering and blue light tends to encourage leaf growth. To understand what is happening in your experiment, I need a little more information:

1) How are you producing the different light colors?
2) What soil are the plants growing in?
3) What kind of plant(s) are you growing? Did you plant them at the same time?
4) Where are the plants being grown?



Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use