Melissa Block Science 4 11-14-13 PHOTOSYNTHESIS 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 doubled, then the rate of photosynthesis will decrease by at least 50%. THEORY: Photosynthesis is when light energy is captured from the sun and then produces energy. Photosynthesis produces glucose and oxygen. This cycle then involves cellular respiration, this is an opposite process from photosynthesis as it uses the glucose made from photosynthesis and it breaks it down and creates carbon dioxide and food. Photosynthesis needs to happen in all plants in order to survive. My research and background information lead me to my hypothesis as it helped me understand the main concept of photosynthesis and how it affects light intensity. The data from the practice lab lead me to my correct hypothesis because when looking at the percent increase and decrease when the distanced was doubled most of the numbers decreased. With the last years data all of the numbers decreased when the light was farther away similar to what happened on the practice lab. I stated that it would decrease by over 50% because when calculating the difference between the two numbers on the practice lab, all of the answers were above 50%. This means that the amount of the oxygen bubbles decreased when the light was farther away, so the plant photosynthesized less as it got farther away. This proves that plants will photosynthesize less when the light intensity is farther away from the plant and more when it is closer.

PROCEDURE: For Light Intensity 1. Measure and cut at an angle elodea 7 to 9 cm. 2. Remove a few leaves from end of stem and slightly crush end of stem. 3. Measure mass in grams and record. 4. Put elodea stem side up in a test tube. 5. 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 10x1=10

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 3x2=6 Large x 3 1x3=3 Total 19

10 cm

5x1=5

1x2=2

0x3=0

Notes: Trial 2 _____grams

Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 10 cm 11x=11 6x1=6

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 2x2=4 1x2=2 Large x 3 0x3=0 0x3=0 Total 15 8

Average Oxygen for Two Trials

Trials 1 2 Total/2 Average 5 cm 19 15 34 17 10 cm 7 8 15 7.5

Comparism of Light Intensity

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Amount of Oxygen in 3min

31.7 26 17 7.5 GROUP 7th GRADE

5 cm Distance From Light

10cm

2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 6 DIFFERENT CLASSES 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 32.4% increase 65.5% decrease 24.6%decrease 56%decrease 43.6%decrease 9.4%increase 18%decrease 10cm % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

Conclusion: In this lab my group studied the distance of light and how it affects the rate of photosynthesis. I hypothesized that the rate

of photosynthesis would decrease by at least 50% when the light source was farther away. The average oxygen bubbles produced for my group was 17 bubbles when the light source was 5cm away and 7.5 bubbles when the light was 10cm away. The 7th grade got similar results towards our group as their bubbles decreased as well. The 7th grade calculated 31.7 bubbles produced at 5cm and 26 bubbles produced at 10cm. In conclusion my hypothesis was correct as the bubbles decreased when the light source was farther away. I also estimated the correct percent of the bubbles for my group too. However for the 7th grade my percentage was incorrect. Analysis: When calculating the distance of light there was inconsistencies in the data. Four out of the six classes (67%) calculated more bubbles when the light source was closer. Although, period one got an increase in the bubbles by 32.4% and period seven got an increase in the bubbles by 9.4% when the light source was 10cm away. I removed the two outliers (period 1+7) and found the average of the data betweeqn the other four classes. The average of the 7th grade data without the two outliers was 48% decrease, whereas before it was an 18% decrease. This helps understand that the outliers caused the average be a lot lower. The number without the outliers is really close to my hypothesis, as I said that it would be about 50% of a decrease. Many different groups tested the same experiment, however they may have all made a few changes, which is why some of the data is inconsistent. To make this lab more reliable I would make sure the light source is exactly 5 or 10cm away, and to have the same measurer for it. This is important, as the measurer will use the same technique for both distances. If they did not do this perhaps the light could have been lower or higher than it was supposed to be, allowing a different answer. Another important thing to make the lab more reliable is to turn the light on at the same time. This is important, as someone could have turned their light on before another group and caused them to have different data. Lastly a good change to make to the lab is to make sure the elodea is in the same spot in the beaker as the other group. For an example, one groups elodea could have been higher in the beaker than another, which could speed up the rate of photosynthesis. These ideas all will help increase the reliability of this lab.

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. "Elodea." - Genus Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "Elodea." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.

"Weed Info - Elodea (Canadian Water Weed)." Elodea; Benefits, Management and Control Aquatic Biologists. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.