The case involves a disagreement between Horatio and Ashley. Horatio says that yellow leaves have colored pigments and the green leaves do not while Ashley states that the green leaves have colored pigments.
The disagreement between Horatio and Ashley lies in the pigment that is present in the leaves. Horatio holds that leaves acquire pigments during the fall when they change their color from green to yellow. In essence, Horatio argues that green leaves have no colored pigments, while yellow leaves have colored pigments. However, Ashley disputes the argument of Horatio by asserting that both green and yellow leaves have colored pigments.
To determine who is right between Horatio and Ashley, an experiment that examines the absorbance of brown and green pigments in leaves at various wavelengths was used. Since different colors have different absorption peaks, the assessment of brown and green pigments in leaves provides an accurate determination of the existence of colored pigments in leaves. The absorption spectrum of between 410nm and 710nm is appropriate in the assessment of colored pigments because the absorption peaks of green and brown colors, which are evident in leaves, fall within the stated spectrum.
Hence, if the absorption peaks of brown and green pigments in leaves coincide with that of brown and green colors, it would imply that both leaves contain pigments as per the argument of Ashely. However, if only the brown leaves produce a peak that coincides with that of brown color, but the green leaves do not produce any peak absorbance, it would imply that only brown leaves have colored pigment while green leaves have no colored pigments according to the assertion of Horatio.
Examination and analysis of the results show that green leaves and brown leaves have different absorption peaks. At the absorbance spectrum of 410nm to 710nm, it is evident that brown leaves have absorption peaks of 1.59 at 440nm and an absorption peak of 0.74 at 660nm. Comparatively, green leaves have an absorption peak of 2.5 at the absorption spectrum of 410nm to 440nm and an absorption peak of 1.07 at 670nm.
In this view, it is apparent that brown leaves and green leaves have unique peak values of absorbance, which are specific to their colored pigments. From the literature, absorption peaks of chlorophyll, which confers the leaves with green color, ranging from 410nm to 450nm and 650nm to 680nm. The results indicate that green leaves have absorption trends and peaks that resemble that of the green color.
Hence, the results confirm that green leaves have colored pigments, and thus, support the argument of Ashley and dispute the assertion of Horatio. Comparatively, literature shows that the brown color, which leaves acquire during the fall emanate from the carotenoids, has absorption peaks at 440nm and 660nm. For that reason, it suffices to assert that brown leaves have colored pigment as per the assertions of both Horatio and Ashley. Therefore, Ashley was right when she argued that both green and brown leaves have colored pigments, and thus, Horatio needs to buy dinner for Ashley according to their bet.