NUEVA ECIJA HIGH SCHOOL

The effect of color and wavelength of light on the chlorophyll content of Ivy leaves

A Research Proposal
Presented to the
Nueva Ecija High School Scientific Review Committee

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Chemistry

John Claude Santos

Christian Romero
Neil Gideon Ruidera
Gerome Vener Madarcos
Proponents

January 2017

The effect of color and wavelength of light on the chlorophyll

content of Ivy leaves
Title: The effect of color and wavelength of light on the chlorophyll content of Ivy leaves
Proponents: John Claude Santos
Neil Gideon Ruidera
Gerome Vener Madarcos
Christian Ray Romero
School: Nueva Ecija High School, Cabanatuan City, Philippines
RATIONALE
Plants make food in their leaves in the process of photosynthesis.How do they do this?
They use a molecule called chlorophyll. This substance makes the leaves look green in color. It
absorbs light that travel in waves. This is how they capture energy from the sun.
Light traveling in a wave has their own wavelengths,the measure of the cycles of their
wave.With different wavelengths,light appears with different colors that which look like the
colors of the rainbow. The reason we see the rainbows different colors is because each light
wavelength is separated from each one when they travel through droplets of water,revealing its
different colors.
The reason why plants absorb different waves of light is because of chlorophyll A and
chlorophyll B,the two types of chlorophyll.They work together and each absorbs different
wavelengths of light to produce food and give energy to the plant.
Plants need to continuously form the chlorophyll in their leaves as response for the
light.Thus,the light acts as a signal to produce more chlorophyll.

Problem:
How can different wavelengths and colors of light affect the chlorophyll content of a Ivy leaves?
Objectives:
This study specifically aims to:
1) To determine the effects of wavelength and colors of light to the chlorophyll content of
Ivy leaves,
2) Infer if plants use all the colors of sunlight to produce food,
3) To determine what will happen to the leaves if one color of sunlight is missing,
4) To determine what will happen to the leaves if all colors of sunlight is missing;
5) To determine how are light and color related.

Hypotheses:
Null Hypothesis
There is no significant effectbetween the different wavelength and color of light to the leaves.
Alternative Hypothesis
There is a significant effectbetween the different wavelength and color of light to the leaves.

Review of Related Literature

Plants make their food with the process of photosynthesis,a process which plants capture
and use the sunlight to make its food and by-products such as glucose from oxygen and carbon
dioxide(Bornman,1989).
Photosynthesis happens with the help of chlorophyll, it absorbs energy from the light,
these proteins are held inside organelles called chloroplasts, the most abundant leaf cells.(Reece
et.al, 2005)
Chlorophyll, related to the green pigments found in cyanobacteria and the chloroplast of
algae and plants. (May,2008)
Electromagnetic radiation within a certain part of the electromagnetic spectrum is easily
known as light.This is visible to the naked eye. The human eye can respond to all wavelengths of
light ranging from 400-700 nm. This is what we call the visible part of the spectrum.
(Pravati,2001)
Color,or colour,is the human visual perception drawn through some classification of
hues.Color specifications are connected through wavelengths of light of different objects.
(Morrison, 2014)

Methodology
PREPARATION OF MATERIALS
Prepare colored permanent markers (red,green,blue,yellow),black construction paper,scotch tape,
and a clear transparency film. A leafy ivy plant will be bought from Lumings Flower Shop,
Burgos Av Cabanatuan City Nueva Ecija, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.The plant must be
healthy.
COLORING OF TRANSPARENCY FILM SHEET
Using permanent markers, color one sheet of transparency film completely with each color.This
will result to one red,one yellow,one blue and one green sheet. Also prepare a clear sheet as a
control group.
CONSTRUCTION OF SLEEVES
Cut each of the sheets into six squares. Then place two squares of the same color together and
use scotch tape to tape the squares and form a sleeve. It will form three sleeves of each color.
APPLYING THE SLEEVES TO THE PLANTS
On the Ivy plant, place the sleeves over the leaves one at a time. Space the different color sleeves
out upon the plant.Then secure the sleeve to the stem using scotch tape to side shut it.
POSITIONING THE PLANTS
Put the Ivy plant in a sunny window and rotate it everyday for a week.
RECORDING OF DATA
After one week, carefully remove the sleeves from each leaves one at a time and record the
appearance of the sleeves and the appearance of the leaves.
COLOR
Blue
Grean
Red
Yellow
Black

Leaf 1

Leaf 2

Leaf 3

Clear

ANALYSIS OF DATA
Using the recorded data, compare the results of the plants grown under different colors of light
and observe the results.

Bibliography
http://study .com/academy/lesson/chlorophyll-in-plants-benefits-function-definition.html
https://sceince-edu.larc.nasa.gov/EDDOCS/Wavelengths for Colors.html
http://www.webexhibits.org/causeofcolor/7A.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/chlorophyll/chlorophyll_h.htm