PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMATIVE PROJECT PROBLEM: How does the color of light (blue, red) affect the rate of

photosynthesis in Elodea at a distance of 5cm from the plant?

HYPOTHESIS: If we measure the amount of oxygen produced by one sprig of elodea then when the elodea is bellow the blue light, the elodea will produce 45% more oxygen. THEORY: Photosynthesis is when a plant takes in energy from the sun, water and carbon dioxide to create food for itself to use in cellular respiration. Photosynthesis happens when chlorophyll, a pigment in chloroplasts, absorbs visible lights, like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo. Photosynthesiss reactants are H2O, CO2 and the suns energy, and these reactants produce basic essentials that we need like, oxygen and glucose, a type of simple sugar. Photosynthesis is not only important to plants, but to life itself, because thanks to autotrophs (plants), heterotrophs (organisms that do not make their own food), wouldnt have had a chance of survival. My hypothesis is based on my research in this area from the web. The information I found led to me realizing that blue light creates more photosynthesis than red light because; plants absorb blue light more. Blue light is 95% absorbed by the chlorophyll in a plant, so this type of light is used mostly for photosynthesis. On the other hand, red light is absorbed only 50%, and reflected 50%. Also, Chlorophyll B is mostly found in leaves and absorbs only blue, violet and indigo visible light. This means that it will absorb blue light and use it more than red. Red light, since it has only a wave length of 650nm, and is only absorbed by Chlorophyll B and Chlorophyll B is found more in leaves than Chlorophyll A which only absorbs colors with wavelengths no more than 600nm. In addition to that, the reason I think that blue light will be absorbed by 45% more is because 95% subtracted by 50% is 45% and it is only logical to assume that based on my math. In conclusion, blue light is the better option because it is absorbed more than red light.

PROCEDURE FOR COLOR OF LIGHT 1. Measure and cut huge piece of elodea into 3 equal pieces. (Depends on elodea piece for how big the smaller pieces will be.) 2. Remove a few leaves from end of stems and slightly crush end of stem. 3. Put one elodea stem bellow red light, and two under blue light. 4. Fill test tube with spring water and baking soda solution (1 tsp. to 100 mL of water). 5. Put tube in rack and adjust lamp with blue light 5 cm from top of test tube. 6. Turn on lamp and wait 1 minute. 7. After 1 minute, begin counting small, medium and large bubbles for 3 minutes. Record data. 8. Switch one elodea from blue light to red light and repeat procedure for each elodea. 9. Repeat procedure for Trial 2

DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Trial 1 0.8 grams Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Small x Medium 1 x2 Color Blue 32 x 1 = 32 Red 14 x 1 = 14 5x2= 10 2x2=4

Large x Total 3 7x3= 21 5x3= 15 63

33

Trial 2 0.9 grams

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Small x1 Color Blue Red 19 x 1 = 19 14 x 1 = 14

Medium x 2

Large x 3 4x3= 12 1x3= 3

Total

5 x 2 = 10 5 x 2 = 10

41 27

Averages:

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1/2 Average:

Blue 63 41 104/2 52

Red 33 27 60/2 30

2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 6 DIFFERENT CLASSES COLOR OF LIGHT

BLUE CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE 58.5 63.5 39 112 102 68.5 443.5/ 6 73.9 70 19 24.3 85.8 45 50.8 294.9 /6 49.2 41.3% Increase 70.1% Decrease 37.7% Decrease 23.4% Decrease 55.9% Decrease 25.8% Decrease RED % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

33.4% Decrease

AVERAGE OF OXYGEN PRODUCED

80 AVERAGE OF OXYGEN PRODUCED IN THREE MINUTES 70 60 52 50 40 30 20 10 0 30 24.3 49.2 39 Blue Light Red light 73.9

GROUP 2

PERIOD 3

ALL CLASSES

Conclusion:
In this lab, my group investigated the difference in oxygen produced in blue and red light. I hypothesized that blue light would produce at least 45% more oxygen than red light. In my group, blue light produced more in blue light than red light by an average of 22%. In both trails that we did, my group discovered that photosynthesis had a greater chance under blue light. Comparing this data to the data for all of 7th grade, my groups lab was accurately done. In all of the data, 5 classes out of 6 concluded that blue light from red light decreased instead of increased. In total, my hypothesis was incorrect besides that fact that blue light produced more oxygen than red light.

Analysis:
Looking at the grades level data, there were inconsistences. First of all, 1st Period was the biggest outlier in the experiment because they were the only class to have more bubbles produced under red light. If we took out 1st Period, and averaged the data, the data would become more consistent. The average for blue light would be, 77 and the average for red light would be, 44.98. This data is more reliable than the data the 7th grade as a whole discovered, so I believe that the reason the lab had so many discrepancies was because the data had an outlier that was the opposite of the rest of the data. There are many reasons why 1st period caused so many problems. A few main problems could be that they were careless or the fact that they were the first class to do this experiment. Since we have to get up at about 6:30 in the morning and 1st period is the first class in school, the students could still be tired even though they are supposed to be awake. They may have forgotten what to do exactly, so they left the light on longer while the elodea was under the lamp, and the person counting bubbles kept counting. Maybe they started counting earlier than they were supposed to on their first trial, and the first color they tested was red. There are many reasons that this experiment could have been messed with, but one thing is for sure. Thanks to 1st period being the outlier, it changed the whole experiment indefinitely. To improve the lab that we have done this year, I believe we should first have an experiment like the first elodea experiment. The thing is, that some people either didnt remember the elodea lab or/and people didnt understand the first elodea lab.

I deduce that if we conduct another lab using the elodea, the 6th graders (that will do this next year) will understand elodea and the labs more than when the 7th graders now. Adding this idea, will not only make sure that the students know what the lab is about, but if there are any mistakes in the practice experiment, it could be solved the next time. This is like having trial 1 and trial 2 (in this lab), but what is different is that there would be 4 trials; counting the first and second times this lab is done. If we add this extra practice, the results in this lab will become more accurate.

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.
"What Wavelength Goes With a Color?" What Wavelength Goes With a Color? N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

<http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/EDDOCS/Wavelengths_for_Colors.html>
"Chlorophyll | Causes of Color." Causes of Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.

<http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/7A.html>

"Leaf Pigments." Harvard Forest. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. <http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/leaves/pigment>