"The Story of the Seed": The Story of the Seed

What Source of Light will kohlrabi grow best in?

Christian came up with the idea for the experiment. We wondered if plants that grew in artificial light grew faster and healthier than plants that grew in sunlight. Artificial lights are designed with a timer that turns off the light at a specific time. They are designed just like how sunlight doesn't shine all day. The plants we are using are kohlrabi ( German turnip). They are very similar to radish.

The purpose of the lab was to figure out which kind of light plants grew best in: artificial light or sunlight?

If we grow plants in sunlight and artificial light, then the plants in sunlight will grow faster and healthier.

Wet paper towels with water. Place one paper towel in each ziplock bag.
Place 5 kohlrabi seeds on the wet paper towels, evenly spaced. Close ziplock bag.
Label the bags sunlight, incandescent, and fluorescent.
For the sunlight bag, cover the back part of the bag with tin foil.
Place the bag labeled incandescent under the incandescent light, the fluorescent under the fluorescent light, and tape the sunlight bag to a window, tinfoil side not facing towards the window.
Everyday, record differences between the three bags of seeds. measure height with the ruler.
When the plants reach the top of the ziplock bag, fill the pots 3/4 with soil. Replant the seeds into the pots.
Label the pots with their correct group. Create a barrier of tin foil going over and around the sunlight seeds.
Repeat step 6.
Redo the experiment.

Sunlight: leaves and roots were little. Growing fastest and tallest.
average height after two weeks: 36.1 mm
Luminescent: grew with medium seeds and medium roots. Grew second fastest.
average height after two weeks: 28.2 mm
Fluorescent: longer roots and big, lighter colored leaves. Same color roots as luminescent. Slowest to grow
average height after two weeks: 25.3 mm

By the data we gathered, we concluded that sunlight was the best light to grow plants with. The sunlight plants were growing fast and tall, but with small leaves and roots. The luminescent plants grew second fastest. They grew with medium roots, leaves, and with a light brown stem. The fluorescent light was the worst light to grow plants with. They grew with longer roots and bigger leaves. Their stems were the same color as the luminescent plants.

In conclusion, if plants grew in both artificial light and sunlight, the plants in sunlight will grow faster and healthier than the plants in artificial light. Our hypothesis was correct. The kohlrabi plants were growing well and plentiful. The sunlight plants were growing with little roots and little leaves, but were growing the tallest. The luminescent plants grew with medium leaves and medium roots. They had a darker stem. The fluorescent plants had longer roots and lighter colored leaves, and they had the same color stem as the luminescent plants.
Over the two week course, the sunlight plants were a lot smaller than the fluorescent and luminescent plants in the first three days. They caught up to the growth of the artificial plants after a couple of days, though.
Some variables that could have effected the experiment was the amount of light each plant was receiving. The amount of light each plant got could have been uneven, which could effect growth. Another variable that could have effected the experiment was the power of the light. If the light bulb was weak, then the plants could have been effected. Another variable could have been the amount of sunlight there was during the day. Clouds could have covered sunlight, and the plants could have not received any light. One last variable is the amount of water each plant received. The water could have been unevenly distributed.