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GUTUZA
-PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS THE PROCESS WHEREBY GREEN PLANT
MAKE FOOD USING CARBON DIOXIDE AND WATER IN THE
PRESENCE OF SUNLIGHT.
THINGS THAT PLANTS NEED FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
CARBON DIOXIDE
WATER
LIGHT (A SOURCE OF ENERGY)
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT PLANTS MAKE BY
PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
GLUCOSE
OXYGEN
HERE IS THE WORD EQUATION FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER GLUCOSE + OXYGEN
Purpose
Short distance for carbon dioxide to diffuse into leaf cells
Chlorophyll
Absorbs sunlight to transfer energy into chemicals
Network of veins To support the leaf and transport water and carbohydrates
Stomata
Allow carbon dioxide to diffuse into the leaf
Structure of leaves
Adaption
Purpose
Epidermis is thin and
To allow more light to reach the palisade cells
transparent
Thin cuticle made of wax To protect the leaf without blocking out light
Palisade cell layer at top of
To absorb more light
leaf
Air spaces allow carbon dioxide to diffuse through the
Spongy layer
leaf, and increase the surface area
Palisade cells contain many
To absorb all the available light
chloroplasts
Light intensity
Without enough light, a plant cannot photosynthesise very quickly, even if
there is plenty of water and carbon dioxide. Increasing the light intensity
will boost the speed of photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide concentration
Sometimes photosynthesis is limited by the concentration of carbon dioxide
in the air. Even if there is plenty of light, a plant cannot photosynthesise if
there is insufficient carbon dioxide.
Temperature
If it gets too cold, the rate of photosynthesis will decrease. Plants cannot
photosynthesise if it gets too hot.
If you plot the rate of photosynthesis against the levels of these three limiting
factors, you get graphs like the ones above.
Photosynthesis experiments
Test for starch
1. heat a plant leaf in boiling water for 30 seconds (this stops its chemical
reactions)
2. heat it in boiling ethanol for a few minutes (this removes most of its colour)
3. wash with water and spread onto a white tile
4. add iodine solution from a dropping pipette
After a few minutes, the parts of the leaf that contain starch turn blue-black.
To prove light is essential put a black covering on the leaf for 3-4
hrs then test for starch
To prove CO2 is necessary use a black foil to cover a part of the
leaf then test for starch after time
To prove chlorophyll use a variagetaed leaf