Phototropism 

Plants In Motion  
A study observing the biological phenomenon of plants responding to an 
external stimuli 

 
31.01.2018 
Grade 11 Biology 

 
 

PURPOSE 
The purpose of this experiment is to identify which type of plant can grow towards the light
through a constructed maze and analyze how it will grow depending on the obstacles
surrounding the plant which will indicate if it can reach the light or not.  

HYPOTHESIS 
Due to the process of tropism (a growth in response to a stimulus and an auxin is a plant
hormone produced in the stem tips and roots, which controls the direction of growth) find
whether or not the plant can grow towards the light source provided. See if the plants are able to
maneuver their way around a constructed cardboard maze and find their way to the light source.
So our believe is that the plants that have been planted in the constructed maze will grow
towards the lights, carefully guiding its way through the confines of the maze. 

MATERIALS
1. Cardboard
2. Scissors/knife
3. 15 Pots
4. 30 pole beans
5. Soil
6. Light source
7. Glue
8. Tape
9. Hot glue gun

PROCEDURE 

1. Gather all required equipment  

2. Build three mazes made of cardboard, some consisting of cardboard shelves. As 
each box is made the difficulty of the maze increases. The first maze box consists 
of 0 shelves, the second maze consists of 2 shelves and the third box consists of 3 
shelves. 
3. Hot glue gun and tape the shelves to the cardboard box created to ensure it is 
stable. 
4. Create a hole on the top of the maze so the plants have a target to grow towards. 

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5. Once mazes are completed start germinating the seeds. Place seeds in a spot plate 
and leave for a day or so. 
6. Then place around 6 inches of soil into all 15 of the pots. 
7. Place two germinated Pole beans in each of the pots, two inches under soil, and 
cover. 
8. Water all 15 pots with the beans already in them. 
9. Gather 6 pots of your choice with two pole beans inside of them and place two 
pots in each of the three mazes. 
10. Close of all three of the mazes and place under a light source. 
11. Place the remaining 9 pots under another light source. 
12. Water every several days. 
13. Allow plants to grow and record observations of their length, colour and number 
of leafs. 
14. For the plants inside the mazes record whether or not they were able to grow 
towards the light. 
15. Take pictures of length of plants every once in a while. 
16. After theory is completed gather all plants and take pictures of length of roots, etc. 
17. Compile information gathered hand complete a report. 

Observations  

Box A Box B Box C 

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18, January 2018 

Plant  Growth  Growth  Number  Number  Colour  Colour  Comments 

#  in cm  in cm  of Leaf’s  of Leaf’s 
(Seed  (seed 
(seed  (seed  #1  #2  #1)  #2) 
#1)  #2) 

1  0.2cm  2cm  /  /  pale  pale    

green  green 

2  1.25cm /  /  /  pale  /    
,  green 

3  /  /  /  /  /  /    

4  4.5,  5  /  1  light  light  Thin stems 

green  green 

5  /  /  /  /  /  /    

6  4,  2  2  1  light  pale    

green  green 

7  1.5,  1.75  /  /  light  light    

green  green 

8  /  /  /  /  /  /    

9  5.5,  5.25  1  1  light  pale    

green  green 

10  3.25  /  1  1  light  /    

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green 

11  /  /  /  /  /  /    

12  4.9  /  2  2  light  /    

green 

13  /  /  /  /  /  /    

14  2.2  0.4  1  /  pale  light    

green  green 

15  1.3  /  /  /  pale  /    

green 

​22, January 2018 

Plant  Growth  Growth  Number  Number  Colour  Colour  Comments 

#  in cm  in cm  of Leaf’s  of Leaf’s 
(Seed  (seed 
(seed  (seed  #1  #2  #1)  #2) 
#1)  #2) 

1  9.5  4  2  /  Light  Pale    

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green  green 

2  15  /  2  /  Light  /    
green 

3  7  /  2  /  Pale  /    
green 

4  23  20  2  2  Dark  Dark    

green  green 

5  /  /  /  /  /  /    

6  21  10.5  2  1  Light  Light    

green  green 

7  12  8.1  2  1  Light  Light    

green  green 

8  /  /  /  /  /  /    

9  21  22  2  2  Light  Dark    

green  green 

10  20  11  2  2  Light  Pale    

green  green 

11  3  3  /  /  Pale  Pale    

green  green 

12  22.5  /  2  /  Light  /    

green 

13  1.5  /  /  /  Light  /    

green 

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14  5.5  13  /  1  Pale  Light    

green  green 

15  6.6  /  /  /  Light  /    

green 

24, January 2018 

Plant #  Growth  Growth  Number  Number  Colour  Colour  Comments 
in cm  In cm  of Leaf’s  of Leaf’s  (Seed #1)  (seed #2) 
(seed #1)  (seeds  #1  #2 
#2) 

1  26.5  0.5  2  /  dark  dark    

green  green 

2  20.4  /  2  /  pale  pale  Both plants 

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green  green  have 

surpassed 
the hole 

3  23  /  2  /  pale     Thin stems 

green 

4  27.6  20.4  2  2  dark  dark    

green  green 

5  /  /  /  /  /  /    

6  25.1  18.6  2  2  light  light  Plants have 

green  green  a thin stem 
and have 
yellow 
leaves 

7  25.4  10.9  2  1  light  light  Thin stems 

green  green 

8  /  /  /  /  /  /    

9  23.4  24.3  2  2  dark  dark    

green  green 

10  23.6  15.3  2  2  dark  light  Plants have 

green  green  thick stems 
in 
comparison 
to the other 
plants 

11  16.1  15.2  2  2  pale  pale    

green  green 

12  27.5  /  2  /  dark  /    

green 

13  19.2  1.4  2  /  light  pale    

green  green 

14  22.3  23.2  2  2  light  dark  Both plants 

green  green  have 
surpassed 

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the hole at 

the top of 
the box. 

15  19.7  /  2  /  dark  /  Surpassed 

green  2 shelves 
and leaves 
are a light 
yellow 

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26, January 2018 

Plant #  Growth  Growth  Number  Number  Colour  Colour  Commen
in cm  cm  of Leaf’s  of Leaf’s  (Seed #1)  (seed #2)  ts 
(seed #1)  (seeds  #1  #2 
#2) 

1  27.9  .9  2  /  Dark  Dark    

green  green 

2  26.8  /  2  /  Light  /    
green 

3  24.8  /  2  /  Light  /  Surpasse

green  d all 3 
shelves 

4  28.5  21.6  2  2  Dark  Dark  Very 

green  green  large 
leaves 

5  /  /  /  /  /  /    

6  26.1  22.3  2  2  Light  Pale    

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green  green 

7  27.6  12  2  /  Pale  Very  Plants 

green  pale  surpasse
green  d hole 

8  /  /  /  /  /  /    

9  24  25  2  2  Dark  Dark    

green  green 

10  24.7  18.9  2  2  Pale  Dark    

green  green 

11  20.2  20.1  2  2  Pale  Pale  Passed 

green  green  both 
shelves 

12  28.6  /  2  /  Pale  /    

green 

13  23.5  4.4  2  2  Light  Light  Thin 

green  green  stems 

14  24.4  25.6  2  2  Pale  Pale  Surpasse

green  green  d the 
hole 

15  22.9  /  2  /  Very  /  Pale 

pale  green 
green  leaves 

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30, January 2018 

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1, February 2018 
Plant #  Growth  Growth  Number  Number  Colour  Colour  Comments 
in cm  cm  of Leaf’s  of Leaf’s  (Seed #1)  (seed #2) 
(seed #1)  (seeds  #1  #2 
#2) 

1  33.1  /  3  /  Dark  /  Seed #2 died 

green 

2  33.4  /  3  /  Light  /    
green 

3  31.2  /  2  /  Very  /    
pale 
green 

4  29.1  22.4  2  2  Light  Light    

green  green 

5  /  /  /  /  /  /    

6  32.1  28.7  3  3  Pale  Light    

green  green 

7  47.9  9.6  3  /  Pale  Very  Seed #2 died 

green  pale  due to the 
green  shelve acting 
as a barrier 

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8  /  /  /  /  /  /    

9  26.4  24.3  2  2  Dark  Dark    

green  green 

10  33  24.1  3  1  Light  Dark    

green  green 

11  32.7  29.3  3  3  Very  Very    

pale  pale 
green  green 

12  31.3  16.4  3  2  Pale  Light  Seed #2 has a 

green  green  very thin 
stem and 
light 
coloured 
leaves 

13  35.2  35.3  3  3  Pale  Pale    

green  green 

14  25.4  31.2  3  3  Light  Light    

green  green 

15  28.9  /  3  /  Very  /  Light green 

pale  leaves 
green 

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Plant Root Picture (1-9) 

1 2 3 4 4 6 6 7 7 9 9 

Plant Root Picture (10-15) 

10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 

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Plant Root Picture (plants inside the boxes) 

2(A) 3(C) 6(B) 6(B) 7(C) 7(C) 11(B) 11(B) 14(A) 14(A) 15(C) 

CONCLUSION 

The conclusion that was perceived after completing this procedure is that the plants can 
grow towards light, all plants in the three different mazes were able to maneuver their 
way around the constructed cardboard maze. All of which were successful in surpassing 
the hole created for the light source to be shown through. The hormone that is found in 
the stem tips and roots which is the stimulus and Axim allowed the plant to grow 
towards the light source, even though the plant was not in direct contact with the light 
itself. A difference found in the plants in the maze from the plants just growing regularly 
is that the stems of the maze plants were substantially more pale and we believe this is 
due to the fact that it had a lack of a light source. Some possible sources of error could 
have been that two pots with seeds were planted with the wrong amount of seeds inside 
of them, so we had to take out two seeds from one pot and put it in another and those 
seeds already had planted its roots in the soil, so we could have possibly killed or harmed 
the plants growth when moving it from one pot to another. Another possible source of 

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error could have been killing the plants with watering them too much, possibly killing 
them by giving them more water then they possibly could've needed. 

DISCUSSION 

1. Independent variable: the mazes constructed for the subjects to navigate through. 

Dependent variable: the plants placed within the walls of the constructed mazes. 

2. With our knowledge of phototropism, and with reference to our chosen journals 

we expected our plants (dependent variable) to bend and grow towards the hole 

fixed at the top of each maze (independent variable) where light is not obstructed, 

navigating their way out of the maze. 

3. During our experiment and while combing through our data, we found that a 

good amount of plants that we grew outside of the maze were significantly darker 

in colour compared to the ones grown inside the walls of the maze. From our 

previous knowledge of growing living things, we assume that the reason why the 

plants (grown inside the maze) were significantly paler in comparison to the ones 

outside the maze is that due to the lack of light within the maze, the subjects 

showed signs of nutrient deficiency. 

4. Our experimental design compared surprisingly well with the two other similar 

designs used by our chosen sources. Our layout produced the same result that the 

two other designs yielded. 

5. In the span of less than three weeks, we experimented with a plants innate ability 

to grow towards a source of light. We placed several plants within three separate 

mazes, each one containing different obstacles, from least to most difficult. We 

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noticed that the plants grew towards the source of light no matter the obstacle 

presented in their path. With respect to the environment, we conclude that all 

living things have the capacity to seek out the thing that keeps them alive, in this 

case the plants needed light for photosynthesis. With respect to society, plant 

owners should be informed and be aware of a plants need for light. With respect 

to technology, someone or a particular company should devise a way to exploit 

phototropism for future advancement. 

REFERENCES 

Investigating Phototropism: The Response of Seedlings to Light. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04,
2018, from ​https://www.stem.org.uk/elibrary/resource/28209

This is how plants "see" the light. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from
http://www.untamedscience.com/biology/plants/phototropism/

Government of Canada. National Research Council Canada. (n.d.). Learning by Association in

Plants. Retrieved February 04, 2018, from
http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC5133544/

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