Zach Wood Science 2 12/6/13 PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMATIVE PROJECT PROBLEM: If you double the distance of light, will the

rate of photosynthesis will decrease by half? HYPOTHESIS: If the distance of light is doubled, then the rate of photosynthesis will decrease because photosynthesis needs light to make oxygen and carbohydrates. The rate of photosynthesis will decrease by possibly more than half like last years data. THEORY: Photosynthesis is the process by which converts carbon dioxide from respiration into oxygen and energy for its plant. It gets the CO2 it needs by absorbing it with a pigment called chlorophyll. The carbon dioxide then gets turned into carbohydrates for the plant and oxygen for the air. The reason I believe that the amount of oxygen from photosynthesis will decrease is because we will be taking away half of its light and the elodea need light to produce oxygen and carbohydrates. Last years data was even less than half. The photosynthesis decreased by 55.5% after doubling the distance of light from 5 cm to 10cm.

PROCEDURE: For Light Intensity 1. Measure and cut elodea at an angle 7 to 9 cm long. 2. Remove a few leaves from end of stem and slightly crush end of stem. 3. Measure mass in grams and record. 4. Put each stem side up in a test tube. 5. Fill test tube with water and baking soda solution (1 tsp. to 100 mL of water). 6. Put tube in rack and adjust lamp 5 cm from top of test tube. 7. Turn on lamp and wait 1 minute. 8. After 1 minute, begin counting small, medium and large bubbles for 3 minutes. Record data. 9. Repeat at 10 cm with same size and mass elodea 10. Repeat for Trial 2

DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Trial 1 _1.1__grams
Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 10 x 1=10

Oxygen produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 5 x 2= 10 Large x 3 9 x 3= 27 Total 47

10 cm

2 x 1=2

0 x 2= 0

2 x 3= 6

Notes: Trial 2 __1.2___grams

Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 3 x 1=3

Oxygen produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 1 x 2=2 Large x 3 2 x 3=6 Total 11

10 cm

5 x 1=5

2 x 2=4

1 x 3=3

12

Averages
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial/2 Average 5 cm 47 11 58/2 29 10 cm 8 12 20/2 10

Notes: In trial 1 there was much more than a 50% decrease from 5 cm to 10. In trial two there were less bubbles on 5 cm than 10 cm. It switched around but our average was still more than a 50% decrease from 5 cm to 10 cm. We messed up in trial one because we were accidentally counting from the leaves, this might have messed up our data because we used the elodea three times compared to two for the other ones. 2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 6 DIFFERENT CLASSES Light Intensity
5cm CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 35 51.5 32% 10cm % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE

29 16.3 17 52.3 40.8 190.4/6 31.7

10 12.3 7.5 29.5 45 155.8/6 26

65.5% 24.5% 55.9% 43.6% 9.3% 18% Decrease

Oxygen Produced In Three Minets

Comparison Of Light Intensity

40 30 20 10 0 2nd period Grade 7 10 29 31.7 26 5 cm 10 cm

Conclusion: In this lab we tested is you double the distance of light will the amount of photosynthesis decrease by half. I hypothesized that is we doubled the distance of light the photosynthesis would decrease by half. The whole grades average was an 18% decrease, which isnt the 50% we were expecting. Our groups data was different from the grades because our decrease was 47.5% more. The grades data it is hard to be sure for this question since there is a range of a 32% increase to a 65.5% decrease. In our trials we had an average of 29 bubbles from 5 cm and 10 from 10 cm. That means that our groups elodea had even more than a 50% when the light intensity doubled. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct for only our group because our groups photosynthesis decreased by more than half, but our whole grades average did not. Analysis: During this lab, most of the periods photosynthesis decreased when the distance of light doubled. Periods 2 and 4 were the only ones that had up to a 50% decrease in photosynthesis. Periods 1 and 7 had increases of 32% and 9.3%, which affected the grades data by bringing it all down. Some of the data was inconsistent because 2 out of the 6 classes had an increase instead of a decrease when we were supposed to have a 50% decrease. Without those two classes the average decrease would be a 48.3% decrease, which is basically half. These were the reasons that made this data inconsistent. Other than those two classes you could say that if you double the distance of light, the rate of photosynthesis will decrease by half.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Coolidge-Stolz M.D., Elizabeth, et al. Focus On Life Science. Boston, Mass: Prentice Hall, 2008. Washington State Department of Ecology. American Waterweed- A Common Native Plant. February 24, 2003. November 2013. <http://www.ecy.wa.gov/Programs/wq/plants/native/elodea.html> Young, Paul. The Botany Coloring Book. Cambridge, New York: Harper and Row, 1982.