PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMARTIVE PROJECT

Caroline Soja Science 2 11/14/13

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 color of light is changed from red to blue, then the rate of photosynthesis will have a 60.7% increase. Theory: Photosynthesis is the process where cells generate food for plants. It takes place in the chloroplast and produces sugar needed for cellar respiration. In order for photosynthesis to take place, it must have water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. When studying the color of light, scientist uses different lights because they want to see the difference of increase. Red light both reflects and absorbs the color by 50%. Blue light absorbs 90% and reflects 10%. Blue light absorbs 40% more light then red which means it will have a greater impact on the rate of photosynthesis. The red wavelength traveling into the plant has a higher frequency with short wavelengths at 800nm. Blue light has long wavelengths at 400nm, which makes the plant produce more because its absorbing long and more wavelengths of the light. Therefore the possibility of the plant with the blue light will be healthier and stronger because it produces more photosynthesis. 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. Measure 5cm from the top of the test tube to the ring stand of the lamp. 8. Turn on lamp and wait 1 minute. 9. After 1 minute, begin counting small, medium and large bubbles for 3 minutes. Record data. 10. Repeat with red light. 11. Repeat for Trial 2 with the elodea used in the blue light experiment, and use the same elodea tested in the red light experiment. DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Small x 1 Color Blue 44x1=44 Medium x 2 22x2=44 Large x 3 3x1=3 Total 91

Red

6x1=6

0x2=0

6x3=18

24

Notes: Trial 2 _____grams

Small x 1 Color Blue Red 2x1=2 3x1=3 5x2=10 1x2=2 8x3=24 3x3=9 36 14

Oxygen produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 Large x 3 Total

blue
Trail 1 Trail 2 Total/2

red 24 14 38/2 19

91 36 127/2 63.5

average

2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 6 DIFFERENT CLASSES COLOR OF LIGHT

BLUE CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE 58.5 63.5 39 112 102 68.5 443.5/6 73.9 70 19 24.3 85.8 45 50.8 294.9/6 49.2 16% Increase 70% Decrease 37.6% Decrease 23.3% Decrease 55.8%Decrease 25.8% Decrease Decrease Decrease RED % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

Rate of Photosynthesis For Color of Light

100 90

Average oxygen of 3 minutes

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 perio 2 49.2

73.9 63.5

Blue Red

19

7th grade

Conclusion: In this lab, my group tested which color of light (red or blue) would affect the rate of photosynthesis in the elodea at a distance of 5m from the plant. I hypothesized that the rate of photosynthesis would increase under blue light by 60.7%. According to 6 other classes our hypothesis was correct with the same data as theirs. Periods 3,4,5,6, and 7 all had a decrease of photosynthesis from blue to red. For example period 6 got 102 oxygen bubbles from the blue light and 45 oxygen bubbles came out of the red light. There was a 55.8% decrease in period 6, so clearly you can tell that blue had more photosynthesis. Only period 1 had an increase of bubbles on the red light. The red light photosynthesized only 16%. This means that 84% of the time photosynthesis occurred in the blue light. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct that photosynthesis was greater under the blue light. Analysis: Looking at the data in this lab, there where many discrepancies. For example, every class had to put their data in a chart, and all classes got similar averages expect for one. This class was period 1, and their data was an outlier compared to all the other classes. When looking at each class average, periods 2,3,4,6, and 7 all decreased from blue to red. The reason why period 1 stood out was because theirs increased from 58.8 blue bubbles to 70 red bubbles. 1 out of 6 classes or 16% of the results showed an increase, while the remaining 5 out of 6 or 84% showed a decrease. Since 5 out of 6 classes decrease from blue to red and only 1 class increased, I believe that period 1 must have had a lot of discrepancies. My assumption is that they didnt follow exact instructions or the lab environment was not correct. For this whole lab to be correct, you have to be precise with all the calculations. Period 1 clearly had many mistakes. For example, they may have measured the wrong distance from the lamp to the plant. To get the right data you have to measure the lamp exactly 5cm away for it to photosynthesize correctly. Period 1 probably measured incorrectly which set their whole lab off. Another mistake they could have done is not properly count the bubbles. Since the red light photosynthesized more than blue for period 1, the people responsible for the red lamp could have mistaken by counting bubbles from the leaves and not the stem. When counting the leaves, there were a higher number of bubbles because leaves produce more than the stem.

If I were in period 1, some things that I would do in the experiment to make it better would be to double-check all work and measurements. I would also concentrate harder in counting all the bubbles. In conclusion, the graph showed that only one class has an increase. My understanding is that period 1 made errors and have no reliable data.
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 AQUAPLANT." Elodea AQUAPLANT. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.