PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMATIVE PROJECT PROBLEM: How does the color of light (blue, red) affect the rate of photosynthesis

in Elodea at a distance of 5cm from the plant? HYPOTHESIS: If the elodea is put at a distance of 5 cm under red and blue light, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 25%. THEORY: Photosynthesis is the chemical reaction that occurs when a plant captures the suns energy, and converts it into chemical energy. The plant captures the light in the chemical pigment, chlorophyll and the part where the sunlight is converted into chemical energy occurs in the chloroplasts. If the elodea is put at a distance of 5 cm under red and blue light, then the rate of photosynthesis will be higher under the blue light. The rate of photosynthesis will increase when the plant is put under blue light because during photosynthesis. A green leaf absorbs 95% of the blue light, compared to 60%, so the rate of photosynthesis will increase under the blue light. Also, the wavelength for the blue light is 175 nanometers smaller than the wavelength of red, so the blue light contains more energy. This proves that because a green leaf absorbs more blue light and the blue light contains more energy, the rate of photosynthesis will higher with blue light.

PROCEDURE FOR COLOR OF LIGHT 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 spring water and baking soda solution (1 tsp. to 100 mL of water). 6. Put tube in rack and adjust lamp with blue light 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 with red light. 10. Repeat for Trial 2 DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Trial 1 ___grams
Small x 1

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 Large x 3 Total

Carlin, Victoria

Friday, December 6, 2013 8:13:52 AM Pacic Standard Time

70:56:81:af:da:b3

Color Blue

21

22

49

Red

61

40

12

113

Notes: Trial 2 _____grams

Small x 1 Color Red Blue 11 23

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 8 24 Large x 3 6 21 Total 27 68

Trial 1 Trial 2 Total Average

Red 113 27 140 70

Blue 49 68 117 58.5

Notes: Red got a very different numbers for the different trials, so it might have not been reliable I thought it went well because everyone worked well together !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"#$#%!#&!$'()*!
! 5#677! 8%&4)'! 69%&6:%7! ;! D! E! B! A! ?! H)H6#3A! 69%&6:%! ! "#$%! ! <=><! AE><! EF! ;;D! ;@D! A=><! BBE><3A! ?E>F! ! &%'! ! ?@! ;F! DB>E! =<>=! B<! <@>=! DFB>F3A! BF>D! ! (!)*+,-.! '-/0-12-34./0-12-! ! ;A>B(!C./0-12-! AF>=(!G-/0-12-! E?>?(!G-/0-12-! DB>=(!G-/0-12-! <<>F(!G-/0-12-! D<>=(!G-/0-12-! EE><(!G-/0-12-! EE>B(!G-/0-12-! !

Carlin, Victoria

Friday, December 6, 2013 8:13:52 AM Pacic Standard Time

70:56:81:af:da:b3

Graph

"1410!12!$689:!!
;D@! +,-./0!12!3,..4/5! ;@@! =@! A@! B@! D@! @! H0C1I!;! H0C1I!D! 6J-01,-! ?KL!,01G-!! *06745! BF! D?! A=! ?@! <=><! ?E>F! BF>D! &-G!#C,LK! "IM-!IC,LK! ;;E!

Conclusion In this lab, we tested the rate of photosynthesis under red and blue light. I predicted that photosynthesis would increase by 25% under blue light. My hypothesis was correct 83% of the time. All periods but 1 support my hypothesis because these periods had an increase with blue light. But, my class period, period 1 had a decrease from blue to red light. However, I hypothesized that there would be a 25% increase compared to the seventh grade average of 33.4% increase. Compared to the 7th grade, our class was 49% off. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct. Analysis There were many discrepancies in the data for the color of light. For example period 1, or 1/6 of the classes had more bubbles with red than with blue. Also, Period 2 had an extreme decrease of 67.8%. If period 1s data were taken out, than the average would change from a 33.4% decrease to a 41.6% decrease. Additionally, there was a vast range of numbers in this data. For instance, for the blue light, there was a range of 73 bubbles and for the red light, there was a range of 66.5 bubbles. In conclusion, the group, the color of light had many discrepancies in the data. There are many reasons for the discrepancies in the data for the group, color of light. One of those reasons is that a group might have counted bubbles that emerge from the leaves, not just the stem. Correspondingly, the size of the bubbles might have been judged differently from group to group because the size isnt standardized and all the bubbles are pretty close in size. Also, the mass of the elodea plays a role in bubble counting because some groups may have measured the mass wrong. Additionally, the carbon dioxide from might have been used up if the elodea wasnt switched between experiments.

Carlin, Victoria

Friday, December 6, 2013 8:13:52 AM Pacic Standard Time

70:56:81:af:da:b3

There are quite a few ways to improve the reliability of this experiment. For example, I believe that because the size of the bubbles arent standardized and the person counting decides whether it is a small, medium or large bubble, this causes the reliability of the test to go down. To make the test more reliable, the size of the bubbles should be standardized. Also, the mass of the elodea needs to be measured more carefully. The elodea should be checked by a teacher to make sure it is correct. Correspondingly, the elodea should be switched between tests because if the carbon dioxide is used up in one test, the other will get drastically different results. In conclusion, the reliability of this experiment needs to be improved in several ways. 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. "What Wavelength Goes With a Color?" What Wavelength Goes With a Color? N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.

Carlin, Victoria

Friday, December 6, 2013 8:13:52 AM Pacic Standard Time

70:56:81:af:da:b3