Erich.science fair

[Ellen Sutter]

Barbara Sherwood (barbara at forum.swarthmore.edu) wrote:
: My name is Erich.  I am working on a six grade Science Fair project.  My
: problem is: What lights help plants grow healthier.  In my experiment I
: used eight plants.  I divided the plants in groups of two.  I put two
: plants under a growth  light, two plants under a flourescent light, two
: plants under an incandescent light, and two plants under direct sunlight. 
: I water these plants twice a week.  Is there anyone who would give me
: advice or help?  Please respond.  Thank you very much.
You will want to decide what you are going to measure to determine which 
lamps produce the best plant growth.  Right away, you should measure the 
plant height and perhaps the total number of leaves.  Then measure these 
same things again at the end of the experiment.  Also, make sure that the 
light from one treatment is not straying onto the light of another.  If 
it does, then it becomes very difficult to analyze the results.  What 
else can you think of that would be helpful for you to measure?  
Ellen Sutter
Univ. of California
Davis