Final answer:
Plants exhibit significant growth when exposed to blue light, which is highly effective in triggering photosynthesis and promoting phototropism. Plant A grown under blue light should exhibit the most growth, followed by Plant C under orange light, with Plant B under green light showing the least growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering the effects of colored light on plant growth, blue light plays a significant role. The presence of blue light is crucial for plants as it is a key wavelength of light that triggers photosynthesis. The specific pigments involved in this process, chlorophyll a and b, absorb light predominantly in the blue and red regions of the spectrum. Hence, we can deduce that Plant A, which is grown under blue light, should experience substantial growth.
Furthermore, blue light is also vital for phototropism, the directional growth of plants toward light, which supports the plant's ability to seek out light for photosynthesis effectively. As green light is typically less absorbed and used by plants, Plant B, grown under green light, would exhibit less growth compared to Plant A. Lastly, though orange light can stimulate some photosynthetic activity, it's not as effectively absorbed as blue light. Therefore, Plant C, which is grown under orange light, may also present lower growth rates than Plant A but potentially higher than Plant B.
In greenhouse management, lights high in blue wavelengths are favored for encouraging vegetative, leafy growth in young plants. These findings lead to the prediction of the order of growth from most to least as follows: Plant A (blue light), Plant C (orange light), and Plant B (green light).