Photosynthesis lab

14 May 2023 22:34

Testing a leaf for starch is the simplest photosynthesis lab. A positive test for starch in a leaf provides evidence
that photosynthesis has occurred. The test for starch is a leaf is an is an extension of the Iodine Test
for Starch.

• The leaf was flaccid (soft) after being boiled in water

• The ethanol changed from colorless to green
• The leaf was brittle after being boiled in ethanol
A chemical process that occurs in plants, algae, and some
• The leaf become flaccid once more after being rinsed in cold water
• After iodine solution was added...
types of bacteria, when they are exposed to sunlight . During
photosynthesis, water and carbon dioxide combine to form carbohydrates (sugars)
and give off oxygen. Photosynthesis is needed for animal and plant life.
Starch test:
1. Starch is a carbohydrate that consists of many glucose units attached to
glycosidic bonds.
2. When a leaf is boiled in alcohol like ethanol, it helps to extract chlorophyll
and help remove the green color of the leaves.
3. After the removal of chlorophyll, the color of the leaf changes to white, and it
is easy to observe the change in the color of iodine as starch gives a blue
color to iodine.

Ans. (i) to kill the cells

Concept Explanation:- Boiling the leaf in water will kill the cells present in leaf.
(ii) remove chlorophyll
Concept Explanation:- Boiling the dead leaf in methylated spirit will remove the
chlorophyll.
(iii) iodine
Concept Explanation:- Iodine solution is added in order to test presence of starch in
leaf.
(iv) blue-black
Concept Explanation:- In leaf, wherever starch is present, that area will turn blue-
black in colour and hence, it will prove the presence of starch. The reason behind this is
that iodine reacts with starch to form blue-black colour.
(v) brown
Concept Explanation:- The area of the leaf which has no starch won't react with the
leaf and therefore, there will no blue-black colour and that part of the leaf will turn brown
in colour.
Final answer: To test a leaf for starch, the leaf is boiled in water to to kill the cells. It is
then boiled in Methylated spirit to remove chlorophyll. The leaf is dipped in warm
water to soften it. It is places in a petri dish, and iodine solution is added. The region of
the leaf which contains starch, turns blue-black and the region which does not contain
starch turns brown.
Variegated leaves have green parts (where the cells contain chlorophyll) and white parts
(where there is no chlorophyll). Only the parts that were green become blue/black with iodine
solution, showing the importance of chlorophyll in photosynthesis. The parts without chlorophyll
do not photosynthesise, and so they do not make starch and the iodine does not change colour.

The leaf on the left is a variegated leaf. The green parts contain chlorophyll and
photosynthesise to make starch. The white part of the leaf does not contain chlorophyll, so does
not photosynthesise.

The leaf on the right shows a positive test for starch in the areas which contained chlorophyll,
and a negative test for starch in the areas which lack chlorophyll.

This is evidence that chlorophyll is required for photosynthesis.

A plant can be ‘de-starched’ by leaving it in the dark for a few hours. Parts of its leaves are
covered with dark paper, and the plant is left in the light for a few hours. Only the uncovered
parts become blue/black with iodine solution, showing the importance of light in photosynthesis.

Investigate the need for light and chlorophyll in photosynthesis by testing a leaf for starch. Chlorophyll is
the green pigment found in plants. It allows plants to absorb energy from the sunlight. Photosynthesis is
the process where a green leaf uses the energy from the sun to make glucose using water and carbon
dioxide. The glucose is stored as starch in the plant cells. De-starching means that the plant uses up all
the stored starch and does not make any more to replace it. This happens when the plant is placed in
the dark for 24 hours. No photosynthesis can occur so no starch is made but the plant uses all stored
starch to stay alive.

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Why do you have to boil the leaf in water the second time? To soften the leaf.

Observation Interpretation
No color change (Iodine Solution remains brown) Starch is not
present
Iodine/Potassium Iodide solution changed from brown to blue-
black Starch is present

Discussion Questions & Answers

Describe Photosynthesis. Use a symbol equation.

Photosynthesis is the process by which light energy is harvested

by chlorophyll and used to convert inorganic raw materials - carbon dioxide and
water - to products - glucose and oxygen. Most photosynthesis takes places in
the green parts of plants and more specifically, in the leaves.

Photosynthesis involves 2 stages - the Light-dependent Stage and the Light-

independent stage. In the light-dependent stage, water is photolyzed by sunlight
into Hydrogen and oxgen. Hydrogen enters the second stage, oxgen is gaseous by-
product.

In the light - independent stage enzymes catalyse the reduction of carbon dioxide
by hydrogen. The carbohydrate, glucose is first formed. Glucose may be
immediately used, translocated in the form of fructose or sucrose or stored as
starch granules.

The overall equation for photosynthesis is:

Why is starch tested for and not glucose?

Glucose is the product of photosynthesis, and is rapidly converted to granules of

starch - a polymer of glucose - for storage. Starch granules have been visualized
in the stroma of the chloroplast as well as the cytoplasm.

It is advantageous to the plant to convert glucose to starch. Starch is insoluble in

water and therefore not a solute in the solution component of the
stroma. Glucose on the other hand is soluble in water and if it accumulated in the
stroma, the stroma would become more concentrated - hypertonic - relative to
the cytoplasm. Water would move from the cytoplasm ( higher water potential) via
osmosis into the stroma of the chloroplasts (lower water potential), causing them to
swell and burst.
.

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 .

What observations will you make if the test is positive?

The iodine solution will turn from brown to blue - black.

Explain the significance of boiling the leaf in water.

Boiling the leaf in water

• Removes the waxy cuticle which prevents entry of iodine/potassium iodide solution.
• Ruptures cell membranes to make starch granules in cytoplasm and chloroplasts
accessible to iodine/potassium iodide solution. Cell membranes are selectively
permeable and do not readily allow the penetration of iodine.
• Denatures enzymes, particularly those which convert starch to glucose e.g.
diastase. Boiling arrests all chemical reactions, since enzymes which catalyse the
reactions are denatured. Denatured enzymes have altered or destroyed active sites
due to heat, pH, ionic concentration

Account for the texture of the leaf after being boiled in water.

The leaf was flaccid (soft) as cell membranes were ruptured and turgor pressure
was lost.

Explain the significance of boiling the leaf in ethanol

Chlorophyll is a green pigment and so masks the colour change of the iodine test
for starch. Chlorophyll needs to be removed from the leaf i.e. the leaf needs to be '
decolourized' for changes to be observed. A decolourized leaf is pale yellow or
green. Ethanol is an organic solvent and so extracts chlorophyll from the leaf.

Account for the texture of the leaf after being boiled in ethanol.

The leaf was brittle as ethanol dehydrated (extracted water) from the leaf.

Explain the significance of rinsing the leaf in water.

The leaf was rinsed in water to rehydrate it. Iodine solution is an aqueous solution
of iodine/potassium iodie - potassium tri-iodide; water is needed inside the leaf to
enable penetration by diffusion.

State whether starch is present

Starch is present OR Starch is not present.

Which products of photosynthesis may be present but not revealed by the

iodine test?
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iodine test?

Glucose, fructose and sucrose are all carbohydrate products of photosynthesis not
revealed by the iodine test for starch.

Do your results indicate that starch is the first product of photosynthesis?

The results do not indicate whether starch is the initial, intermediate or final product
of photosynthesis.

How can this experiment be extended to demonstrate conclusively that

photosynthesis has taken place?

We do not know whether starch has accumulated in the leaf as a result of

photosynthesis or whether the starch is permanently present in the leaf. To improve
this experiment, the plant needs to be de-starched, and the leaves tested for the
presence of starch.

Once it is demonstrated that all starch has been utilized or removed,

photosynthesis is allowed to take place by exposing the plant to sunlight. The
leaves of the plant are now tested for the presence of starch.

If starch is present, then it has been synthesized by photosynthesis. We can then

conclude that the presence of starch indicates that photosynthesis has taken place.

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