Photosynthesis Experiment

Participants: Dimitrios Rashid, Samuel Lars Pedersen, Sofie Nørgaard Fenger, Sebastian Christian
Waedeled Nyborg.
Instructor: Marie-Louise Søndberg
2.1, ESS SL

Effects of wavelengths on the rate of photosynthesis on Elodea Canadensis

Materiel’s:

 Coloured sheets of plastic (Green, yellow, red, blue)

 1 Elodea Canadensis
 Lux meter (Multimeter)
 Stopwatch (Mobile)
 test tube
 Tube stand
 Sparkling water
 Dark room (Daylight, room covered in curtains)
 Lamp

Method:
1. Place the Elodea Canadensis in a test tube.
2. Fill the centrifuge tube with water, till the water level is above the stem of the Elodea
Canadensis. The water should be room-temperature tap water and the temperature should
remain consistent, as to ensure that no major temperature switches occur during the
experiment.
3. The experiment is conducted during daytime in a room covered by curtains.
4. The test tube with the plant should be placed on a tube stand. Next to the tube stand, the
multimeter is placed to calculate the lux levels at 10x times lux.
5. Before the experiment, warm up the test tube for 5 minutes by holding the lamp right next
to it.
6. Then, the lamp is kept at a distance measured by a lux level of 580, the lamp is pushed closer
or further depending on the color filter to reach lux level of 580.
7. Measure the number of bubbles each time by 1 one minute, then write it down. Afterwards,
continue for another round for 3 times, write the number of bubbles down each time.

Data:

Rounds
 

Average
 Number of bubbles
10
9
8
Number of Bubbles

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Yellow No Filter Red Blue Green
Light Colors

Average:

Yellow: 10 + 8 + 8 = 26 / 3 = 8,6666666666666666666666666666667 = 9
No Filter: 9 + 9 + 7 = 25 / 3 = 8,3333333333333333333333333333333 = 8

Red: 7 + 7 + 7 = 21 / 3 = 7
Blue: 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 / 3 = 4

Green: 5 + 5 + 3 = 13 / 3 = 4,3333333333333333333333333333333 = 4
Include 2 decimals, not more

Analysis:
-Lack of time

-Human error (miscounting bubbles, being too fast, inaccurate positioning of light and color filter)
-Light colors cause varying levels of photosynthesis (warmer colors vs cooler colors)

-Using the same plant and water that could change in temperature and cutting the plant
The data of our experiment proves our hypothesis that states that different colours of
light affect photosynthesis in different ways. Different wavelengths of colour provide different levels
of energy based upon their respective length. Our experiment depicts that colours such as red,
orange, and yellow seem to provide more energy allowing for faster photosynthesis from the
independent variable, the plant. Shorter wavelengths such as blue, green, and purple seemingly,
have reduced rates of photosynthesis with the same variable.
The room that the experiment was conducted in was as dark as possible, but the
underside of door to the hallway was brightly lit and may have possibly had an affect upon the
experiment. Equally the light intensity of the Lux-meter was not always precisely consistent in-
between separate trials, our margin of error being ten meaning that the light intensity could range
from 570 Lux to 590 Lux.

Another important aspect to consider for this experiment is human error. It is easy to
miscount bubbles by looking away, the bubbles might not have reached the top, or people might
have disagreed over the number of bubbles. Also, inaccurate placing of the light source/color filter
or tampering with the experiment in the middle of the time trial could greatly affect the outcome.
Throughout the experiment we kept the same plant in the same water, so the temperature of the
water might rise or fall, and the rate of photosynthesis of the plant might change naturally over time
regardless of light color. Fine work

Conclusion:
Based on data gathered during the course of the experiment we can conclude that
different colour wavelengths do, indeed, have an effect on the rate of photosynthesis in Elodea
Canadensis. Four samples were taken by shining a light with different colours from the visible light
spectrum, specifically yellow, red, green & blue with each colour leading to a number of different
results. The experiment showed that yellow was the most effective colour with an average number
of eight point six bubbles per minute, followed by the plain light with an average of eight bubbles,
then seven bubbles for the colour red, four point three with for green and lastly 4 bubbles for the
colour blue; thus, proving our hypothesis of two different ends of the spectrum of visual light, (blue
representing one extreme and red being on the opposite side of the spectrum) will provide
drastically different results due to the wavelength differentiation.

Well done
Grade:5