Photosynthesis Summative Report

By: Joshua Peavey

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 changed from blue to red the rate of photosynthesis would decrease under red light. Theory Photosynthesis is when a plant absorbs sunlight, takes in CO2 and water and breaks it down to produce sugar and oxygen. The plant makes food to be used in cellular respiration, which means it is an autotroph. There are two steps in photosynthesis the first is getting the sunlight. The second step is breaking down even more the CO2 and water. The plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the bottom of the leaf from the stomata and releases oxygen that produces through the stomata. Food is stored in the plant. This is when light energy is transferred into chemical energy. Explanation for Hypothesis Why I think the rate of photosynthesis will increase because the plant would absorb more because of the waves being shorter.

PROCEDURE FOR COLOR OF LIGHT 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 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 11. Repeat every step accept for 10 to prepare the elodea. Put one elodea test tube in rack, under red a light and turn on light for 1 minute and wait and record data, then switch to blue, do the opposite and start with a blue then to a red the put elodea under the lamp, turn on the lamp and wait 1 minute, then record data for trial 4. DATA/OBSERVATIONS: Trial 1 1.5 grams Color Blue Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes with blue and red light Medium x 2 12*2=24 Large x 3 4*3=12 Total 109

Small x 1 72*1=72

Red Notes:

20*1=20

3*2=6

0*3=0

26

Trial 2 1.1 grams Color Blue to red Red to blue

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes with blue and red light Medium x 2 12*2=24 8*2=16 Large x 3 3*3=9 3*1=3 Total 71 75

Small x 1 38*1=38 56*1=56

Trials 1 2 Total 1/2 Average

Blue 108 85 193 96.5

Red 26 75 101 50.5

BLUE CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE

RED

% Oxygen Decrease/Increase

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

16.4% increase 70% decrease 21.8% decrease

120

Color Of Light Lab Results

102

Rate of Photosynthesis

100

80

73.9

60 45 40 49.2 Blue Red

20

0 Group Groups 7th Grade

Conclusion: In this lab we studied how color can affect the rate of photosynthesis. I hypothesized that the rate of photosynthesis would increase if the color of light

changed from red to blue, my hypothesis was correct. In our group we did 3 trials one elodea under blue light and one under a red light, on the third trial we put one under red and another one under blue and switched after 3 minutes. After we discovered that when blue light switched to red decreased 55.9%. The other trial when the light was switched from red to blue the rate of photosynthesis increased by 5.9%.

Analysis

Examining the 2013 data there are some discrepancies. I examined the data and saw that the period four and six had higher results than the other periods. Another discrepancy was that period one had a higher amount of oxygen for the color red. A major discrepancy is that last years data showed that red light increased the rate of photosynthesis, but this year the color blue increased the rate of photosynthesis. There are many way that the data could have discrepancies in it. One way is the value and size of the bubbles could have been count wrong or miscalculated. Another way is that an overall miscalculated results. 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., 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. w