Investigating the Effect of Light Intensity on the Rate of

Photosynthesis in Pondweed (Eloedea canadensis)

Introduction:
Photosynthesis is an essential reaction which occurs in all plants,
providing a source of energy for other life-giving processes (Karp 2008)
such as respiration. It takes place in the chloroplasts of the leaves of a
plant (Nelson and Cox 2008) and is activated when enough light is
absorbed by the chlorophyll pigment inside the chloroplasts (light
provides activation energy of photosynthesis – Nelson and Cox 2008).
Enzymes are subsequently activated, culminating in the chemical
reaction for photosynthesis:
6 CO 2+ 6 H 2 O+light =C 6 H 12 O6 + 6O 2

Carbon dioxide, water and light are the reactants, with products of
glucose and oxygen. Oxygen is exchanged out of the plant for more
carbon dioxide to carry out photosynthesis, and glucose is stored in the
plant’s cells to be used in respiration (S. Krömer 1995).
Photosynthesis has many limiting factors (Jones 1973), including (but
not up to), carbon dioxide levels in surrounding atmosphere,
temperature, and light intensity. For this investigation, we chose to
investigate the effects of varying light intensity upon the photosynthesis
rates of pondweed (Elodea canadensis). The plant was chosen due to
its ability to photosynthesise underwater, so allowed us to observe
bubbles as an arbitrary measure of the rate of photosynthesis. We
expect that, as the light intensity if reduced, fewer chloroplasts will
receive the light (and therefore the energy) needed to activate
photosynthesis, causing a plateau in photosynthesis rates. A similar
experiment was done previously (Rodrigues and Thomaz 2010), with a
similar plant, Egeria densa, supporting the claim that light intensity
increased photosynthesis rates – however, at higher light intensities, this
trend began to plateau – this could be due to a change in a another
limiting factor, such as temperature and carbon dioxide concentration
(Ku et al. 1977).
By counting the number of bubbles produced per minute as a measure
of photosynthesis, we will determine the effect of light intensity of
photosynthesis rates.
Elodea canadensis is a freshwater aquatic plant native to North America.
The plant grows as a single stalk, with bright green translucent leaves,
circling in groups of three. It is best known for its use in aquaria.
(Bowmer, Jacobs and Senty 1995)
Experiment:
Aim: To investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of
photosynthesis in pondweed (Elodea canadensis)
Independent Variable: Distance away from a light source (a lamp)
Dependent Variable: Number of bubbles produced in a certain frame of
time
Control Variable(s): Frame of time in which bubbles produced were
counted, amount of pondweed, time taken between each measurement,
position of metre rule relative to the light source, light source used was
kept the same throughout, power to light source was kept same
throughout
Equipment:
- 10cm piece of pondweed (Elodea canadensis)
- Paper clip (to weigh down the pondweed)
- Boiling tube (to place the pondweed in)
- Metre rule (to measure the distance between the pondweed and
light source)
- Stopwatch (used for timing)
- Test tube rack (to hold the boiling tube)
- Lamp (or any other light source)
- 0.2% solution of sodium hydrogen carbonate
Risk assessment:
Risk Precaution
Lamp near water – can cause Make sure water does not spill
electric shock onto electrical components of
lamp – if someone seriously hurt,
inform someone, and call an
ambulance immediately.
Glassware can break – resulting Make sure to handle all glassware
in cuts carefully – if someone seriously
hurt, compress the wound, inform
someone, and call an ambulance

Lamp can get very hot – can
cause burns
immediately.
Make sure not to touch lamp and
any metallic/conducting objects
around it – if someone seriously
hurt, run affected body part under
cold water for 10 mins, inform
someone and call an ambulance
immediately.

Method:
1) Measure 20 cm3 of sodium hydrogen carbonate, and pour it into a
boiling tube, filled with some water and gently stir with a spatula.
2) Collect a 10 cm piece of pondweed and gently attach a paper clip to
one end. Place in the boiling tube containing water with sodium
hydrogen carbonate.
3) Place the boiling tube in a test tube rack, ensuring that light is
reaching most of the test tube contents.
4) Place a beaker of water in front of the boiling tube, but behind the
light source, to stop the pondweed getting too hot (temperature is
a limiting factor of photosynthesis (enzymes which activate the
reaction denature if is too hot) – Jones 1973)
5) Place a metre rule next to the light source, aligning the start of it to
where the light source begins. (We used a lamp as the light
source.)
6) Place the boiling tube 10 cm away from the lamp (we were limited by
space, as we could not place the test tube rack any closer)
7) Using the stopwatch, time two minutes, allowing the pondweed
time to settle at a constant rate of photosynthesis.
8) Once the two minutes are over, time one minute, and within this
period, count the bubbles produced by the pondweed.
9) Note this down, along with the distance and repeat steps 6-8,
moving the lamp 10cm further from the light source, until you have
ten different distances.

Diagram:
Table of results:
Distance (cm ) Number of bubbles Class average
10 17 22
20 6 8
30 6 8
40 5 4
50 4 3
60 3 2
70 1 2
80 2
90 1
100 1

Graph:

Chart Title
25

20

15

10

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Number of bubbles Class average

Conclusion: From the table of results and graph above, we can see that
distance from a light source and photosynthesis rate have an inversely
proportional relationship (i.e., the larger the distance away from the light
source, the lower the rate of photosynthesis. This can lead us to draw
the conclusion that light intensity does effect photosynthesis. This
relationship is observed due to light providing the energy for
photosynthesis. If light intensity is lower (as seen in the last results in the
table and graph), then the rate of photosynthesis is lower, as the light
does not provide enough energy to the enzymes that trigger
photosynthesis. Collision theory states that particles can only react if
they collide with each other at a certain ‘activation energy’ (Joachain
1975). Light provides kinetic energy for the enzymes that trigger
photosynthesis, and when the light source is too far away from the plant,
the energy from the light is dissipated to the surroundings (light is an
electromagnetic wave and spreads equally in all directions), so the
enzymes to not have enough energy to collide with the reactants and
trigger photosynthesis.

Evaluation: During the experiment, we used the number of bubbles

produced in a certain frame of time (60 seconds) as an arbitrary
measure of the rate of photosynthesis. However, random human errors
can easily occur while counting bubbles, and can cause the results to be
skewed/subjective. What would have been a better measure of rate of
photosynthesis is oxygen (O2) concentration, as it is not observer
dependent. Also we used distance away from the light source as a
measure of light intensity, rather than the light intensity in lux , which
would have been a better measure of light intensity, and rather than
changing the position of the plant (which could have caused a change in
limiting factors), we could have kept the plant in the same position and
instead varied the light intensity from the source, which would have been
a better measure of light intensity. It would also eliminate the problem of
distance from the light source being too little, allowing us to test a higher
light intensity than we did in this investigation. We also could have done
the experiment using different colours of light (i.e., different frequencies
of light), because that could have also shown interesting conclusions
(Would plants photosynthesise better under blue light, as it has more
energy than red light?). We could have also done more repeat readings
to obtain an average closer to the real value (although the class average
accounted for this lack – but the conditions under which each piece of
pondweed was kept would have varied slightly). We could have also
controlled other limiting factors better, like having a higher concentration
of carbon dioxide(so that it is not a limiting factor), and maintaining a
constant temperature. We could have also made sure that the room was
completely dark, so that the results were not affected by external light
sources (e.g., light from the Sun, light coming in from other rooms).

References:
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-
8137.1973.tb02086.x - L
imiting factors in photosynthesis
file:///C:/Users/nirav/Downloads/mayui,+cpAnacharis+T+final+paper.pdf
- Effect of light intensity on photosynthesis
https://www.apms.org/wp-content/uploads/japm-33-01-013.pdf - Study
of Elodea canadensis
https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:7276123 -
Quantum Collision Theory
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/
S096085240300333X - Enzyme Stability