THE PHOTOSYNTHESIS

LAB!
By Adam Ajabboune

Purpose
The purpose of this lab was to understand how the distance of the light
source affects the rate of photosynthesis.
Or, if you would prefer the question, it was as follows:

Does the distance of the light source affect the rate of

photosynthesis??

The Hypothesis (if,then,because)

If the plant is further away from the light source, then the rate of
photosynthesis will decrease because the plant will be getting less light

Procedures
1.

2 goggles

2.

360mL of distilled water

3.

4 test tubes

4.

4 9cm elodea stalk

5.

1 heating lamp

6.

1 250mL beaker

7.

1 test tube rack

8.

1 pole (with markings at 10cm, 20cm, and 30 cm)

9.

1 stopwatch

The materials List

Procedures
The independent variable is the distance from the light source
The dependent variable is the rate of photosynthesis

The Variables

Procedures
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.

Double check to make sure your goggles are on

Pour 125mL of distilled water into 3 of the test tubes
Label the test tubes A, B, and C
Place a 9cm elodea stalk in each of the test tubes. Resize if necessary
Connect the heating lamp to the pole with the lamp facing down. Slide
the lamp to the 10cm mark. Firmly place the lamp pole on a flat surface
Set A directly below the lamp and turn it on. Before you turn it on be
sure your hands are not touching anywhere on the heating lamp except
for the on/off switch.
Record the amount of bubbles for 3 minutes. Repeat steps 5-7 except
with the lamp at the 20cm mark. Afterwards do the same with the 30cm
mark
Repeat steps 5-8 with B. Afterwards use C
Safely put away all your equipment

THE DATA!!!
I couldn't get the graphs to work, so refer to my lab report instead (I'm
using online powerpoint)

THE ABSTRACT! (includes the

conclusion)
The purpose of this lab was to learn if the rate of photosynthesis was affected by the distance of the light source. The
hypothesis was that if the plant is further away from the light, then the rate of photosynthesis will decrease because the
plant will be getting less light.
The procedures we took in order to complete this lab was to first make sure all safety gear is on. Second was to pour 30
mL of distilled water into each of the 2 the test tubes (see materials list in lab report). Next was to label the test tubes
"A" & "B". After that you will place 1 9cm elodea stalk in each test tube, resize if necessary. Then you connect the
heating lamp to the pole with the lamp facing down and slide t to the 10cm marker. When that is finished you will
firmly plant it on a flat surface. When you do that you will set A directly below the lamp on a platform and turn the
lamp on, be sure your hands are not touching anywhere else on the lamp except for the on/off switch. Now record for 3
minutes. Repeat for 3 trials. Refill A with distilled water after each trial. Once all that is cleared up you will move the
lamp to 20cm and do the same thing for B that you did to A. Now you will grab the 3rd test tube, pour 30mL of
distilled water into it, label it C, place a 9cm elodea stalk in it, and finally do the exact same thing with B & A but with
30cm this time. When everything is completed you will safely put away all equipment.
The conclusion was as follows: Our purpose was to understand how distance of light
affects the rate of photosynthesis. The independent variable was the distance of the light, and it changed the amount of
light given to the dependent variable, the rat of photosynthesis. The hypothesis, if the plant is further from the light
source, then the rate of photosynthesis will decrease because the plant will get less light, was mostly unsupported
because the majority of the graph shows an increase over the higher distances. I got the results I did because ____.
Procedural errors and things we could've done differently was that we could have made sure that every stalk was
exactly alike & to specify the amount of water to pour into each test tube. The industry that will find this lab most
helpful will be the agricultural industry, since that industry deals with plants..

THANK YOU FOR BEING

WITH ME FOR THIS
PRESENTATION!