Rocket grows two bean plants. One sits by the window. One sits in a dim corner.
After two weeks, the corner plant is tall and skinny. Its leaves look faded.
"Did I grow a different kind of bean?" Rocket wonders.
Raven compares them. "What do you notice? They came from the same bag of seeds."
Nova blinks. "Look at where each plant lived," she says.
Plants need light to grow well.
A plant with too little light can grow tall and spindly. It stretches to reach for light.
Its leaves can lose some color too.
The same plant in brighter light grows more compact, with leaves of normal size.
So the environment changed the plant's traits, even with the same kind of seed.
This practice table uses made-up numbers. It shows the pattern gardeners see.
| Practice table (made-up numbers) | Height after 2 weeks | Leaf color |
|---|---|---|
| Bean by the window | 12 cm | deep green |
| Bean in a dim corner | 20 cm | pale green |
Rocket's two beans came from the same bag of seeds.
So the difference did not come from different kinds of seeds.
The only big change was where each plant lived.
That tells us the environment, light, changed how they grew.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| A plant in dim light can grow tall and spindly. | ? |
| A plant in dim light can have faded leaves. | ? |
| Light has nothing to do with how a plant grows. | ? |
| The practice table numbers came from a real test. | ? |
Great data reading! Tomorrow you set up your own light test.