Max Burrous Science 7 Period 3 3/12/ 13

Photosynthesis Summative Project

Problem:
If you double the distance of light, will the rate of photosynthesis will decrease by half?

Hypothesis:

If you multiply the distance of light by 2 then the rate of photosynthesis would decrease by 50%.

Theory: Photosynthesis is the process when a plant absorbs light and

transforms it into energy. The plant can turn the light into energy because in the chlorophyll, light is absorbed and the CO2, which is captured through the stomata on the under side of the leaf, and water, which is brought up by the roots, reacts together and creates glucose. When the light distance is increased by 2 times the distance (which is from 5cm to 10cm) the rate of photosynthesis will go down by 50%. This will happen because light that was getting absorbed by the plant will be decreased because the light is less strong and is getting absorbed slower. I chose this theory because it was the most logical answer and it was a theory were the procedure almost answers the problem.

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

Max Burrous Science 7 Period 3 3/12/ 13

DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Trial 1 0.6 grams
Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 9x1=9

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 0x2=0 Large x 3 0x3=0 Total 9

10 cm

11x1=11

0x2=0

0x3=0

11

Notes: Trial 2 1.1 grams

Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 23x1=23

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 1x2=2 Large x 3 0x3=0 Total 25

10 cm

10x1=10

2x2=4

0x3=0

14

Notes: AVERAGES

Trial 1 Trial 2 Total Average

5 cm 9 25 34/2 17

10cm 11 14 25/2 12.5

Max Burrous Science 7 Period 3 3/12/ 13 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 45 155.8/6 26 Increase 32% Decrease 65.51% Decrease 24.5% Decrease 55.9% Decrease 43.6% Increase 9.4% Decrease 18.7% Decrease 17.98% 10cm % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

Ammount of Bubbles in 3 Minutes

Average Data for the Distance of Light

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 GROUP PERIOD 3 7TH GRADE 17 12.5 16 12.3 5 cm 10 cm 31.7 26

Conclusion:
During the lab we were testing the rate of photosynthesis when the light distance was doubled. I hypothesized that if you multiply the distance of light by 2 then the rate of photosynthesis would decrease by 50%. In my group the rate of photosynthesis decreased by 24.5% when we doubled the distance of light. In the whole 7th grade the average was a 17.98% decrease, I was wrong in hypothesis in not just the class average but also in group average, however I think if I took out the

Max Burrous Science 7 Period 3 3/12/ 13 outliers like 7.5 I could get an answer closer to mine. So I will take the original 155.8 and subtract 7.5(148.3) then divided by 5 and I got 29.66, which is around 30 and was significantly closer to my answer but still not it. My hypothesis was that if the light were doubled then the rate of photosynthesis would go down 50%. My hypothesis was wrong in my group and my class but off by only 20% for the class averages.

Analysis:

Looking at the data, there were some inconsistencies. First was period 2 and 7 the percentages were way off from a 9.4% to a 65.51%, if these were taken out it might have made a significant effect on the percentage. There was also in the first period and the fourth period the averages were of by quite a lot at 10cm, which was a 7.5 average to a 51.5 average. But one of the biggest discrepancies was from period 1 and 7 where there was an increase going from 5cm to 10cm, what happened was that in period 1 the average of 35 from 5cm to a whole 51.5 in 10cm which is unlikely because if the light intensity was moved 2 times farther away the rate of photosynthesis should go down and not increase. This also happened in period 7 as well which went from a 40.8 to a 45 going from 5cm to 10cm. During the lab some of the data was incorrect. These results were inconsistent because when counting the bubbles some groups could have categorized the bubbles differently. What happens is some classes categorize some small bubbles as medium while others categorize them as small. Thats why some classes always have a higher number or lower number, while it also shows in the data where period 3 and 4 had lowers number being below 20 to period 1 and 7 had higher number with the lowest being 35 and having number higher then 50. This is why most classes have higher or lower numbers and this is why this lab is inconsistent. In this lab, there were some inconsistencies, but these can be fixed. First would be to have a measurement system so when the bubbles came up from the stem, there would be pictures with a representation of the small, medium, and large bubbles. This would help enormously because it would have made the data not so inconsistent from numbers like 7.5 to numbers above 50. This

Max Burrous Science 7 Period 3 3/12/ 13

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. http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/elodea/ http://www.aquaticbiologists.com/algae--weed-id-guide/submergedweeds/elodea-(canadian-water-weed) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elodea