1. The Effect of Sunlight on Sweet Potatoes By: Noel Rivera A4

2. Introduction & Hypothesis Sweet potatoes have been known to produce a vine when placed into water. It is unknown whether the amount of sunlight affects the length that the vine will grow. If a sweet potato is placed in a cup of water against a sunlit window sill and another placed in a dark room, then the one against the window will produce more of a plant.

3. Problem/Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to test the difference between a sweet potato exposed to light and darkness, and its vine growth over the course of a few weeks.

4. Procedure . Ten sweet potatoes were placed into each of their own cups filled with about 1 1/2 cups of water on top of a window sill, and another ten in a dark room. Everyday for about a month and a half, the potato vine's growth was measured in centimeters. The water was refilled when needed. When the time had ended, a final measure was made and a conclusion was devised to see which potato had more plant growth.

6. Data Analysis Right from the start, the sweet potatoes that were exposed to everyday sunlight began to not only sprout vines, but grow roots themselves. However, the sweet potatoes that were exposed to no light at all grew almost no root or vine. Also, it took a little bit longer to grow the sweet potatoes, the time of growth was estimated wrong and it takes from a month to two months to grow. The mean of the sunlight-exposed and darkness-only sweet potatoes were 5.7 and 1.05, respectively.

8. Conclusion There is clearly a significant difference with the vine growth. Therefore, this data supports that research hypothesis that If one sweet potato was exposed to constant sunlight and one in total darkness, then the potato exposed to sunlight will grow its vine longer and quicker than the potato exposed to darkness.

9. References Works Cited Anonymous. "POTATO LEAVES ARE POISONOUS BUT YOU CAN EAT SWEET POTATO LEAVES." Fidgety Fingers. Web. 06 Oct. 2010. <http://projectfidgetyfingers.blogspot.com/2010/07/potato-leaves-are-poisonous-but-you-can.html>. "Eating Healthy: Sweet Potato Leaves » iFitandHealthy.com." How to Lose Weight, How to Lose Weight Fast » iFitandHealthy.com. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. <http://ifitandhealthy.com/eating-healthy-sweet-potato-leaves/>. "Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Sweet Potato Leaves, Raw [Sweetpotato Leaves]." Nutrition Facts, Calories in Food, Labels, Nutritional Information and Analysis – NutritionData.com. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. <http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2664/2>. "Sweet Potato Facts and Recipes." Aggie Horticulture. Web. 07 Nov. 2010. <http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/vegetables/sweetpotato.html>.