Reza Nadaf Science 2 11/14/13 PHOTOSYNTHYSIS SUMMATIVE PROJECT PROBLEM: If you double the distance of light, will the

rate of photosynthesis decrease by half? HYPOTHESIS: If the distance of light is decreased by half, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 50%. THEORY: Photosynthesis is the process in which plants create food for themselves. Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts, which are most commonly found in the leaves of the plant. It takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using stomata and water from the ground using roots. It then uses sunlight to create a chemical reaction, which creates glucose and oxygen. The glucose is used to create energy for the plant. I believe that if the distance of light is decreased by half, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 50%. I believe this because the light intensity will increase by 50% as the light becomes closer, concentrating the light onto the plant allowing more energy to be absorbed thus increasing the rate of photosynthesis. According to passmyexams, rain forests, which are located at the equator, have the highest rate of photosynthesis, the light intensity is greater in that location than any other on earth. Also as the light comes closer to the plant the heat will increase, causing the rate of photosynthetic reactions to increase by about 50%. 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: Distance 5 cm Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm Small x 1 10x1=10 Medium x 2 5x2=10 Large x 3 9x3=27 Total 47

10 cm Notes: Trial 2: Distance 5 cm 10 cm

2x1=2

0x2=0

2x3=6

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm Small x 1 3x1=3 5x1=5 Medium x 2 1x2=2 2x2=4 Large x 3 2x3=6 1x3=3 Total 11 12

Trial 1 Trial 2 Total/2 Avarage

5 cm 47 11 58/2=29 29

10cm 8 12 20/2=10 10

Notes: We ruined one of the trials and we did not make a new solution so elodea may have used a lot of the baking soda (carbon dioxide) during the ruined trial this may have lead to incorrect data

Light Intensity
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 32% Decrease 65.5% Increase 24.5% Increase 55.9% Increase 43.6% Increase 10.3% Decrease 18% Increase 10cm % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

Light Intensity
Avarage Oxygen In Three Minutes 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 7th grade P.2 10 5cm 10cm 31.7 26 29

CONCLUSION: In this lab my group tested whether the distance of light affected the rate of photosynthesis in a plant. My hypothesis was that if the distance of light is decreased by half then the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 50%. While the rate of photosynthesis did increase as the light became closer, in most of the groups, the rate of photosynthesis did not increase by 50%. The data between groups were inconsistent, 2/6 of the groups had a decrease in oxygen from 10cm to 5cm while

the rest of the groups had an increase. The amount of bubbles/oxygen counted varied a lot from group to group therefore causing discrepancy in the data. Due to the inconsistency of the data I believe that we should repeat the experiment. ANAYLYSIS: Looking at these lab results I noticed that there were many flaws and inconsistencies in the data. 33% of the groups had an increase in oxygen bubbles at 10cm. Both of these groups counted many oxygen bubbles that led me to believe that they may have counted incorrectly. Another factor that led me to believe they counted wrong because the percent that they decreased was small. I also noticed that there is a big range of numbers, at 10cm there is a range of 44, at 5cm there was a smaller range of 36. This may be due to how the groups counted the sizes of the bubbles or if they counted the amount of bubbles incorrectly. If the decreases are eliminated then the average is 39.9% Increase closer to my hypothesis (50% Increase). To fix these problems groups should be able to collaborate more and we should make the directions clear and standardize the criteria for counting bubbles. For instance, we should also have one person that shows everyone what a small, medium and large oxygen bubble look like so we all count the same and then our test would be completely valid. 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. "Pass My Exams: Easy Exam Revision Notes for GSCE Physics and Biology." Pass My Exams: Easy Exam Revision Notes for GSCE Physics and Biology. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://www.passmyexams.co.uk> "UF - IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants | Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants." UF - IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants | Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. <http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu>