The Effects of

Wavelengths of Light
on Plants
[Type the document subtitle]
Cody Jessup

Abstract:
The purpose of this experiment was to see if different wavelengths of light have any
effect on the rate of photosynthesis on plants. The leaves that were used in this experiment came
from an Maple tree. This experiment is based on a photosynthesis lab from AP Biology.
Photosynthesis is the conversion of the energy of sunlight into chemical energy by living
organisms. Photosynthesis originates in plants and bacteria. The process of photosynthesis occurs
in a series of enzyme-mediated steps that capture light energy to build energy-rich carbohydrates.
The discoverer of photosynthesis was Jan Ingenhousz. Jan Ingenhousz was a Dutch biologist, he
was the first person to show that light is essential to photosynthesis and he also discovered that
plants also use cellular respiration when they are in complete darkness. The data supports the
hypothesis because its clearly seen that the leaf disks under the green light takes the longest
amount of time, which is 126 minutes and 14 seconds. The leaf disks under the white light,
which is the controlled test, took the least amount of time, which is 8 minutes and 28 seconds. If
this experiment was replicated, there must be a more efficient way of counting leaf disks because
its easy to make a mistake and count the same disk twice. There must be better light bulbs
because the ones used in the experiment generated too much heat and absorb most of the energy.
Also, there should be a more efficient way of measuring the water, and the sodium bicarbonate
because it was hard to measure the baking soda and the water with the measuring cups used in
this experiment.

Introduction:
The purpose of this experiment was to see if different wavelengths of light have any
effect on the rate of photosynthesis on plants. This experiment is based on a photosynthesis lab
from AP Biology. The leaves that were used in this experiment came from an Maple tree.
Photosynthesis is the conversion of the energy of sunlight into chemical energy by living
organisms. Photosynthesis originates in plants and bacteria. The process of photosynthesis occurs
in a series of enzyme-mediated steps that capture light energy to build energy-rich carbohydrates.
The discoverer of photosynthesis was Jan Ingenhousz. Jan Ingenhousz was a Dutch biologist he
was the first person to show that light is essential to photosynthesis and he also discovered that
plants also use cellular respiration when they are in complete darkness. Because the spongy
mesophyll layer of leaves is normally infused with gases (O2 and CO2), leaves or disks cut from
leaves normally float in water. As photosynthesis proceeds, oxygen accumulates in the air spaces
of the spongy mesophyll, and the leaf disk will once again become buoyant and rise in a column
of water. Therefore, in this experiment, the rate of photosynthesis is indirectly measured by the
rate of rise of the leaf disks. The hypothesis of this experiment is: If plants reflect green light,
then plants under a green light should have the lowest rate of photosynthesis.

The general summary equation for photosynthesis is

2 H2O + CO2 + light carbohydrate (CH2O) + O2 + H2O

Results:
Disk 1
Disk 2
Disk 3
Disk 4
Disk 5
Disk 6
Disk 7
Disk 8
Disk 9
Disk 10
Total Time

White/
Control

Red

Green

Blue

6 min
6 min 30 sec
6 min 36 sec
6 min 41 sec
6 min 47 sec
7 min 2 sec
7 min 31 sec
7 min 32 sec
7 min 59 sec
8 min 28 sec
8 min 28 sec

1 min 34 sec
9 min 44 sec
10 min 30 sec
11 min
12 min 10 sec
12 min 55 sec
12 min 56 sec
12 min 27 sec
12 min 28 sec
12 min 33 sec
12 min 33 sec

55 min 4 sec
63 min 28 sec
76 min 43 sec
83 min 10 sec
106 min 14 sec
115 min 18 sec
118 min 52 sec
123 min 14 sec
124 min 18 sec
126 min 14 sec
126 min 14 sec

42 min 1 sec
45 min 47 sec
45 min 57 sec
49 min 11 sec
49 min 20 sec
63 min
63 min 1 sec
68 min 39 sec
76 min 26 sec
77 min 40 sec
77 min 40 sec

Time of the Leaf Disks in Minutes

140
120
100
Time of the Leaf Disks in
Minutes

80
60
40
20
0
White/ Control

Red

Green

Blue

In the data, the leaf disks under the green light had the slowest time, which was 126
minutes and 14 seconds. Its surprising that the leaf disks under the blue light took so long with a
time of 77 minutes and 40 seconds. The leaf disks under the white light which is the control had
the fastest time, which was 8 minutes and 28 seconds. Also, the leaf disks under the red light had
the second fastest, which is 12 minutes and 33 seconds.

Discussion:
The data supports the hypothesis because its clearly seen that the leaf disks under the
green light takes the longest amount of time, which is 126 minutes and 14 seconds. The leaf
disks under the white light, which is the controlled test, took the least amount of time, which is 8
minutes and 28 seconds. Many factors played out during this experiment one of which is the
lamp itself because it generated a lot of heat, which acts as a catalyst and increases the rate of
photosynthesis. Another factor is the oxygen in the leaf disks, it could be possible that the leaf
disks still had small amounts oxygen in them and cause them to rise to surface faster. Also, the
amount of baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate and is where the carbon dioxide comes from
in this experiment, carbon dioxide is used in the Calvin cycle for carbon fixation, which means
the more sodium bicarbonate there is, the higher rate of photosynthesis. Also another factor was
the light bulbs, the light bulbs were made out of colored glass and the light itself was a white
light, which means that the colored glass was absorbing most of the heat and energy, which
makes the rate of photosynthesis to be a lot slower. If this experiment was replicated, there must
be a more efficient way of counting leaf disks because its easy to make a mistake and count the
same disk twice. There must be better light bulbs because the ones used in the experiment
generated to much heat and absorb most of the energy. Also, there should be a more efficient way
of measuring the water, and the sodium bicarbonate because it was hard to measure the baking
soda and the water with the measuring cups used in this experiment.

Materials and Methods:

1000 ml Measuring Cup

500 ml Measuring Cup
Water
Baking Soda
Syringe
Timer
Red, White Green, and Blue Light Bulbs.
Hole Punch
Maple Tree Leaves
Lamp
Measuring spoons
The first step of this experiment is to take the
1000 ml measuring cup and put 500 ml of water in
it. Then take the teaspoon out of the measuring spoons and measure 5 grams of baking
soda and pour it into the 1000 ml measuring cup, and stir it until the its completely
dissolved. Do the same process with the 500 ml measuring cup, but put 250 ml of water
with 2.5 grams of baking soda into it. Then collect one oak tree leaf, and take the hole
punch and cut 10 disks out of it while avoiding any major veins. Once the disks are cut
out, put them into the syringe and extract some of the solution in the 500 ml measuring
cup into the syringe. Make sure once the solution is extracted all the air bubbles are out
the syringe. Then take one finger and cover the tip of the syringe and then pull and push
down on the syringe. This gets the oxygen out of the disks and causes them to sink to
the bottom of the syringe. Keep on pulling and pushing on the syringe until all of the
disks have sunk. Once all of the disks have sunk to the bottom of the syringe, take the
handle off and pour them into the solution in the 1000 ml measuring cup. Then take the
lamp and screw in the white light bulb, and turn it on with the measuring cup that is
holding the leave disks under it. Use the timer to time how long it takes for each disk to
rise to the top of the solution, and then record the data. This process is repeated with
every light bulb.

Works Cited:
http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/biomanual/CB_Bio_Lab_05_WEB_1_24_12.pdf
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Photosynthesis
http://www.macroevolution.net/jan-ingenhousz.html#.Uaf1Q4zDM8