James Akashi

PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMATIVE PROJECT

PROBLEM: If you double the distance of light, will the rate of photosynthesis will decrease by half? HYPOTHESIS: If the distance of light is doubled from 5 cm to 10 cm, then the photosynthesis rate will decrease by half. THEORY Photosynthesis is the process that all plants do to convert energy into food. This is necessary for their survival. Chloroplasts absorb light energy by using the pigment chlorophyll. The plant also takes in carbon dioxide through the stomata and water through the roots in leaves in addition to the sunlight. The plant will then produce glucose, which is the plants food, and oxygen. Without photosynthesis, neither plants nor animals can survive. So in conclusion, if the light distance from the plant is doubled, the photosynthesis rate will cut by half because there will be half the normal amount of light for the chlorophyll to absorb. PROCEDURE: For Light Intensity 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Measure and cut at an angle elodea 7 to 9 cm. Remove a few leaves from end of stem and slightly crush end of stem. Measure mass in grams and record. Put elodea stem side up in a test tube. Fill test tube with water and baking soda solution (1 tsp to 100 mL of water). 6. Put tube in rack and adjust lamp 5 cm from top of test tube. 7. Turn on lamp and wait 1 minute. 8. After 1 minute, begin counting small, medium and large bubbles for 3 minutes. Record data. 9. Repeat at 10 cm with same size and mass elodea 10. Repeat for Trial 2 DATA/OBSERVATIONS: Trial 1 ___grams Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 36 Oxygen produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm Medium x 2 Large x 3 Total 1 0 38

10 cm

24

14

74

Trial 2 ___grams Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 10 cm 9 29

Oxygen produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm Medium x 2 4 0 Large x 3 5 0 Total 32 29

5 cm
Trial 1 Trial 2 Total Average
5cm CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE 35 29 16.3 17 52.3 40.8 190.4/6 31.7 51.5 10 12.3 7.5 29.5 45 155.8 26

10 cm
74 29 103 51.5

38 32 70 35
10cm

% Oxygen Decrease/Increase

32.0% increase 65.5% decrease 24.5% decrease 55.9% decrease 43.6% decrease 9.8% increase 17.9% decrease

Average Rate Of Photosynthesis In 3 Minutes

Number Of Bubbles 100 80 60 40 20 0 Group avg. Grade avg. 35 51.5 31.7 26 5 cm 10 cm

CONCLUSION In this lab my group asked, does doubling the distance of light cut the rate of photosynthesis in half? I predicted that it did cut the rate of photosynthesis in half if the distance of light was doubled from 5 cm to 10 cm. The percent decrease was actually an increase so my hypothesis was way off. We had a 32% increase so my hypothesis was somewhat close if there had been a decrease. Compared to 7th grade, our group was a lot different considering data. Period 7 was the closest to ours because their data had an increase of 9.8%. The 7th grades average was a 17.9% decrease. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct 0% of the time. ANALYSIS In the lab light intensity, only two classes had a percent increase from 5 cm to 10 cm instead of a percent decrease. Period 1 had an increase of 32% and Period 7 had an increase of 9.8%. Also there was a somewhat wide range of numbers, going from 16.3 to 52.3. That is a range of exactly 36 for the 5 cm. Also for the 10 cm, there was a wide range of exactly 44. BIBLIOGRAPHY Coolidge-Stolz M.D., Elizabeth, et al. Focus On Life Science. Boston, Mass: Prentice Hall, 2008. Washington State Department of Ecology. American Waterweed- A Common Native Plant. February 24, 2003. November 2013. <http://www.ecy.wa.gov/Programs/wq/plants/native/elodea.html> Young, Paul. The Botany Coloring Book. Cambridge, New York: Harper and Row, 1982. Carter, J. Stein. Photosynthesis. November 2, 2004. http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/photosyn.htm