Olivia Eilers Sci.

4 11/14/13

PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMATIVE PROJECT

PROBLEM: How does doubling the amount of carbon dioxide from .5g of bisodium carbonate dissolved in 100mL of water to 1g. Dissolved in 100mL of water affect the rate of photosynthesis in elodea?

HYPOTHESIS: If carbon dioxide (by doubling baking soda) is increased, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 30% or lower.

THEORY: Photosynthesis is the process where plants use energy fr om the sun to make their own food. Carbon dioxide and light energy travel to the chloroplasts and create a chemical reaction in the chloroplasts. This chemical reaction produces glucose and oxygen, which are used for cellular respiration. Even though plants need carbon dioxide, Too much of a good thing, can be a bad thing (Skeptical Science). Plants with more carbon dioxide will need extra water to deal with the heat and keep growing. So, more carbon dioxide isnt always good for plants. In some plants too much carbon dioxide causes less photosynthesis. Though the real harmful conflict is that more carbon dioxide will increase temperatures.

PROCEDURE FOR CARBON DIOXIDE (BAKING SODA)

1. Measure and cut at an angle elodea 7 to 9 cm. 2. Remove a few leaves from end of stem and slightly crush end of stem. 3. Measure mass in grams and record. 4. Put elodea stem side up in a test tube. 5. Fill test tube with water and baking soda solution (1 gram 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 with .5 grams and 100mL of water. 10. Repeat for Trial 2

DATA/OBSERVATIONS:

Trial 1 Grams of Oxygen Produced in 3 Minutes with .5 g and 1 g Baking Soda

Small x 1 CO2 1 gram 7x1=7

Medium x 2

Large x 3

Total

0x2=0

0x3=0

.5 gram

4x1=4

4x2=8

6x3=18

30

Notes: Average for Two Trials TRIALS 1 2 TOTAL AVERAGE .5 g 30 28 58/2 29 1g 7 7 14/2 7

Trial 2 Grams of Oxygen Produced in 3 Minutes with .5 g and 1 g Baking Soda

Small x 1 CO2 1 gram 5x1=5

Medium x 2

Large x 3

Total

1x2=2

0x3=0

.5 gram

10x1=10

3x2=6

4x3=12

28

Rate of Photosynthesis When Doubling Carbon Dioxide

Average of Oxegen in 3 Minutes 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 GROUP 4TH PERIOD 7TH GRADE 7 29 23.7 14.3 0.5 1 44.1 56

2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 5 DIFFERENT CLASSES Baking Soda

.5g CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/5 AVERAGE 1g % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

108 69 33.7 23.7 26.3 3.8 264.5/6 44.1

139 47 26.5 14.3 36.3 72.8 335.9/6 56

22.3 % Increase 31.8% Decrease 21.3% Decrease 39. 6% Decrease 27.5% Increase 94.7% Increase 21.25 % Increase

CONCLUSION:

In this lab, we tested the rate of photosynthesis when doubling the amount of carbon dioxide. I hypothesized that if by doubling baking soda the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 30% or lower. The seventh

grade average shows that the rate of photosynthesis when doubling carbon dioxide will increase by 21.25%. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct 30% of the time.

ANALYSIS: Looking at the 2013 data, there were some inconsistencies and as a result, not all of the data was reliable. One inconsistency was that class period 1 had a higher numbers than the rest of the class periods. Their numbers were in the hundreds, while the rest of the data was at least below 80. Another outlier was class period 7. They threw off the data because they had a high number at 1g. The final inconsistency I found was that 50% of the classes had more oxygen with less carbon dioxide. I think students not knowing what to do next or forgetting a step cause the reasons of these inconsistencies. I encountered a group that didnt know you only had to count the bubbles out of the stem. However, this was only in my class, I have not seen the other classes do the experiment. So, I didnt see any other mistake that could of led to an inconsistency in the data. Something that will improve the reliability of the procedure is to make sure a student from each group has the procedure out on their laptop and is clearly reading the next step to his/her peers.

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. "Controlling the Amount of Products in a Chemical Reaction." Middle School Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "Controlling the Amount of Products in a Chemical Reaction." Middle School Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.