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Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy,
water and carbon dioxide into energy for the organism. These reactants are essential for the
overall reaction; the hydrogen from the water oxidizes the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
phosphate, the carbon from the carbon dioxide forms carbon chains in the stroma during the
Calvin Cycle, and the light energy from the sun initiates and propels the entire reaction.
However, with the increase of carbon dioxide on Earth, due to the rise of population, oil
refineries and the overall pollution of green house gases, it becomes increasingly necessary to
gauge the effect of the carbon dioxide on the process of photosynthesis in-depth. In this
experiment, the concentration of the solution sodium bicarbonate is varied to observe the results
oleracea (spinach leaves) were obtained. Five conditions were organized, each having different
grams of sodium bicarbonate in the same amount of tap water (100 mL), hence creating variation
among the concentrations; the first beaker, which was the control, contained 0.75g of NaHCO3,
the second contained 1.25g, the third contained 1.75g, in the fourth there was 2.25g, and in the
fifth, there was 2.75g. Ten disks were cut out from the spinach leaves to place in each beaker,
and then these beakers were placed 25cm from a light source. The results reflected the
hypothesis; as the concentration of carbon increased in the solution, the amount of floating leaf
disks increased.
Introduction:
All the oxygen that is utilized by all living creatures today originated from
photoautotrophs; the air that dolphins breathe when they jump across the horizon, that babies
puff once they enter this world for the first time, and that dogs huff after long walks, all comes
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from organisms that carry out photosynthesis (1). It is no debate that the process of
photosynthesis has been a major part of the survival of living organisms on the planet Earth and
will continue to facilitate the existence of life in the future. However, in recent decades, the level
of carbon emissions of the planet has increased steadily (2). Therefore, the photoautotrophs,
which life on Earth has depended on for centuries at the least, may be affected, because carbon is
That being said, the majority of research being done with photoautotrophs is more
concerned with the effects of temperature and sunlight rather than the effects of carbon. Jing and
his team researched the physiological, morphological and yield-related responses to night
temperature changes in plants across different species and types. They determined that
high-night temperature and low-night temperature facilitated changes in the physiology and
morphology of plants over time. Soleh and his team took a similar approach. Interested in how
the speed of the induction response of photosynthesis in high light affects the cumulative carbon
gain if the plant as well as its impact on the growth and yield. However, they only tracked the
chemical reactions that were motivated by an increase in light, thus failing to categorize the
direct effects of carbon on photosynthesis. Chen and his team observed that the photosynthetic
pathway of plants might play an important role in regulating soil respiration. Thus, particular
It seems that although carbon has a vital role in photosynthesis, its direct effects in the
reaction has been neglected from recent research proposals. Perhaps this is due to the fact that
carbon does not have the morphological or physiological impact on plants or the yield in general.
Therefore, it is less imperative to delve into the direct role that carbon has on photoautotrophs.
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However, one could argue with the global epidemic that is global warming, the rise of carbon
emissions on an international scale is clear, which means that carbon has a greater impact on
photosynthesis, thereby the process by which we all breathe and, indirectly, consume energy. In
this way, this experiment is of upmost relevance because of its geopolitical and environmental
Methodology:
In order to observe the effects of carbon on the process of photosynthesis, five beakers,
each containing varying concentrations of sodium bicarbonate, were set up and observed under a
light source. Fifty disks were punched out from spinach leaves, and an equal number was placed
into each beaker. In order to remove the oxygen from the leaf disks, a syringe plunger was used
to create a vacuum, allowing the air to flow out of the spaces in the lead disks (Figure 1).
The first beaker was the control. It contained 0.75g of sodium bicarbonate in 100mL of
tap water, so the concentration of sodium bicarbonate in this beaker was 0.75%. The second
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1.25%. The third beaker contained 1.75g of sodium bicarbonate in 100mL of tap water, which
means it had a concentration of 1.75%. In the fourth beaker, there was 2.25g of sodium
bicarbonate along with 100mL of tap water. The concentration of sodium bicarbonate in this
beaker was 2.25%. In the fifth and final beaker, there was 2.75g of sodium bicarbonate coupled
with 100mL of tap water, which yielded a concentration of sodium bicarbonate that was 2.75%.
The beakers were observed every minute for eighteen minutes (Figure 2).
Results:
In the control beaker (0.75g/mL), leaf disks failed to even begin to float until the tenth
minute; by the eighteenth minute, five leaf disks had floated to the surface of the solution. In the
beaker with 1.25% concentration, the first leaf disk floated at the fifth minute. By the end of the
eighteenth minute, almost all of the leaf disks were floating at the surface. In beaker that had a
sodium bicarbonate concentration of 1.75%, a leaf disk was already floating upon entering the
solution. By minute eighteen, all but one leaf disk were floating at the top of the solution. In the
beaker with a concentration of 2.25%, the first leaf disk was started to float in the eighth minute,
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which was later than the beakers with lower concentrations. By the end of the trial, eight leaves
were floating at the top of the solution. In the beaker with a concentration of 2.75%, eight leaves
were floating in the solution even before the trial was started. By the end, all the leaves were
[NaHCO3] vs. Amount of Disks that Rise to the Surface over time
Time min 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 1 1 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4
[NaHCO3
]
0.75g/mL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 5
5
1.25g/mL 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 7 9. 9. 9. 9.
5 5 5 5
1.75g/mL 1 1 1 1 1 1 4. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 9 9 9
5
2.25g/mL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 1 1 1 2 5 6 6 7 7 8
5
2.75g/mL 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 1 10 1 1 1 1 10 10 10 10
0 0 0 0 0
Figure 3: Table of Values
Depiction of how the varying concentrations of sodium bicarbonate affect the number of leaves
that rise to the surface of the solution over time. Half values refer to the leaves that were nestled
in between the top of the solution and the bottom.
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Figure 4: [NaHCO3] affects the number of floating disks in the solution over time
Line graph analysis of the number of leaves that float in each beaker and at which times.
In the first beaker, which had a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 0.75%, the first leaf
started floating at the tenth minute (Figure 5). By the eighteenth minute, five leaves were floating
at the surface of the solution. The slope of the line, which represents the amount of leaves that
floated in relation to time, or the rate of the reaction, was ~0.38 disks per minute. So, in a
solution with a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 0.75%, approximately 0.38 leaf disks
Figure 5: 0.75% [NaHCO3] affects the number of floating disks in the solution over time
In the beaker with a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 1.25% the first leaf disk floated
at the fifth minute. By the eighteenth minute, all leaf disks in the solution were floating; one was
submerged in the middle of the solution. The rate of the disk floatation was larger than the first
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Figure 6: 1.25% [NaHCO3] affects the number of floating disks in the solution over time
The third beaker, which had a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 1.75%, had a leaf disk
floating at the surface before the trial was even started. By the end, all but one of the leaves had
reached the top of the solution. However, for every minute, approximately 0.48 leaf disks
floated, a rate that is lower than the rate of leaves in the second beaker, which had a lower
Figure 7: 1.75% [NaHCO3] affects the number of floating disks in the solution over time
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In the fourth beaker, which had a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 2.25%, the first
leaf started to float at the eighth minute. By the end of the trial, eight leaves were floating at the
surface of the solution. The rate of floatation of the fourth beaker was approximately 0.51 disks
per minute; though it is higher than the rate of flotation of the third beaker, it is still significantly
Figure 8: 2.25% [NaHCO3] affects the number of floating disks in the solution over time
The fifth and final beaker, which had a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 2.75%, had
eight leaf disks floating at the top of the solution before the trial begun. At the eighteenth minute,
all leaves had reached the top of the solution. The rate of floatation of this beaker was the lowest
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Figure 9: 2.75 [NaHCO3] affects the number of floating disks in the solution over time
Discussion:
The purpose of our experiment was to investigate the effects of the concentration of
sodium bicarbonate on the process of photosynthesis by observing the number of spinach leaf
disks that were floating in the solution over time. It was hypothesized that the solutions with
higher concentrations of sodium bicarbonate would also have the largest number of leaf disks
floating in the shortest amount of time. The data trends suggest that as the concentration of
sodium bicarbonate has a positive relationship with the number of spinach leaf disks that float in
the solution; the beakers with higher concentrations had a greater number of disks floating
Although the major trend of the data suggests that an increase in the concentration of
sodium bicarbonate directly leads to an increase in the number of leaf disks that float in the
solution, there is a minor exception worth noting. The second beaker, which has a sodium
bicarbonate concentration of 1.25%, had more leaves float faster than the fourth beaker, which
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had a significantly higher sodium bicarbonate concentration. It also had a higher rate of flotation
than the third beaker. Perhaps, this suggests that there is an ideal level of sodium bicarbonate
concentration that yields the highest rate of photosynthesis. That being said, this circumstance
does not break the trend because the second beaker still has a higher rate of floatation than the
control, so it still coincides with the conclusion that higher concentrations of sodium bicarbonate
The data also suggests that the concentration of sodium bicarbonate had an impact on
how fast the leaf disks began to float in the solution, or the speed of the photosynthesis reaction.
Although, the final beaker, which had the highest concentration of sodium bicarbonate of all the
beakers, had the lowest rate of floatation, but the initial number of leaf disks was eight. The same
trend is replicated in the third beaker, but it only had one leaf disk floating prior to the start of the
trial. Furthermore, all experimental conditions had their first leaf disks floating sooner than they
started floating in the control. Perhaps, the increase of sodium bicarbonate also increases the
speed of the photosynthesis reaction, as well as the rate and the magnitude.
Ellie Story and Madeline Lloyd were also concerned with how the concentration of
carbon affected the rate of the photosynthesis, represented by the number of leaves that floated in
the solution. Similar to this experiment, they cut out disks from spinach leaves, and placed an
even amount into beakers with varying levels of sodium bicarbonate concentration. The two
experiments differed here: the concentration of sodium bicarbonate in their first beaker was
0.25%, the second had a sodium bicarbonate concentration of 0.75%, the third had a
concentration of 1.25%, and their final beaker had a concentration of 1.75%. The trend that was
observed in this experiment was also noticed in the experiment of Story and Lloyd. They noted
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that the beakers that had higher concentrations of sodium bicarbonate had an increased number
of leaf disks float in the solution. They also observed that the beaker with a 0.25% concentration,
even lower than the control, had less leaf disks float throughout the trial. Therefore, they
photosynthesis.
reaction, hence blurring the some aspects of the relationship between the concentration of
sodium bicarbonate and number of floating lead disks. First, the room in which the experiment
took place was too bright at the time. Therefore, the source of light was uncontrolled and the
results were most likely skewed, especially because this is a photosynthesis reaction, and light
energy propels the reaction. The spherical shape of the light source also limited the experiment to
an extent. Because the light was emitted at an angle, it was not directly focused on the beaker, so
the results of the photosynthesis reaction may have been skewed to some degree.
Some errors in the design stifled the potential of the experiment and probably skewed the
results. The method of removing the oxygen from the leaf disks was difficult and problematic. It
is difficult to be certain of how many pumps of the syringe are needed to fully remove the
oxygen from the leaves. Also, an excess of pumps could damage the results of the experiment, so
the syringe mechanism promoted several logistical issues and altered the results. In addition to
the syringe, the cutting of the spinach leaves into circular disks may have also caused some error.
Some stomata, holes under leaves, may have been cut off, leading to inefficiencies in the leafs
ability to respire. The palisade layer, which was a square shape, could have also been split due to
the circle cut that was recommended, and because, the palisade layer contains the chloroplasts,
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this could have directly interfered with the photosynthesis reaction. The xylem and the phloem
could have also been victimized by the circular cut of the leaves. Although the veins that contain
the xylem and the phloem, the structures responsible for carrying water and food throughout the
leaf respectively, has a cylindrical shape, the circular cut could have still cut off the continuity of
the structures, unnecessarily damaging the leaf and skewing the results.
The experiment could benefit from several improvements. The first would be the number
of the trials. Although certain trends could be observed, more trends would create a greater sense
of certainty in the data as well as an increased statistical relevance. More trials would also
increase the certainty of the data. Though unlikely, there is a possibility that our results are due
to chance because only one trial was done for each experimental condition. A greater number of
trials would denounce that speculation. The experiment also could have benefitted from being in
a darker room. The multiple light sources in the room where the experiment was conducted
probably interfered with the rate of photosynthesis because light energy plays such a huge role in
the reaction. A dimmer laboratory setting would allow the focus to be solely on an individual,
adequately replicated and the effects of the concentration of sodium bicarbonate on the number
of leaf disks that floated in the solution was observed and analyzed. Ultimately, the results
suggest that an increase of the concentration of sodium bicarbonate yields an increase in the
speed, rate and magnitude of photosynthesis. Our results do make rational sense. Carbon is one
of the reactants in the photosynthesis reaction, so it makes sense that when the concentration of
carbon is increased, the speed, rate and magnitude of the reaction increases as well. This is good
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news for a planet that continues to increase its carbon emissions year after year. Perhaps trees,
our sole source of oxygen, will be positively affected by climate change. That being said, it is
imperative that more research on the effects that increased concentrations of carbon have on the
process of photosynthesis, so that the world can be sure that its environmental negligence will
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to all those who assisted in the experimental design, experimental setup,
data acquisition and data organization and presentation: Devyn Prieto, Saira Chowdhry and the C
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References
1. Eversole and Wolken. Photochemical activity of digitonin extracts of chlorplasts. Science
(1958).
2. Crowther et al. Quantifying global soil carbon losses in response to warming. Nature (2016).
3. Bugbee and Monje. The limits of crop productivity: validating theoretical estimates and
determining the factors that limit crop yields in optimal environments. Bioscience (1992).
5. Soleh et al. Identification of large variation in the photosynthetic induction response among 37
soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] genotypes that is not correlated with steady-state
photosynthetic capacity. Photosynthesis Research (2016).
6. Chen et al. Does the different photosynthetic pathway of plants affect soil respiration in a
subtropical wetland? Ecology and Evolution (2016).
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