Nick Beecher Science Period 1 11/25/13 SUMMATIVE PHOTOSYNTHESIS PROJECT

Problem: If you double the distance of light, from 5 cm to 10 cm then will the rate of photosynthesis decrease by half? Hypothesis: If you double the distance of light from 5cm to 10cm, then the rate of photosynthesis decreases by half because the light distance is doubled. Theory: Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide to water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct. Because the distance of light is doubled, from 5 cm to 10 cm, could the math be correct? Quantitative data could be the right answer. Since the light is doubled it could decrease by half. What if there is something that could make my hypothesis incorrect? Procedure: 1. We got two light bulbs. Then, we got books to separate them from 5 cm to 10 cm.

2. We then got the elodea and did everything we were supposed to do, cut leaves, etc. 3. We put the elodea in the test tubes. 4. We had two people on each side, and two timekeepers. 5. We started at the same time and counted the bubbles. 6. Switch, to see if there is any difference in bubble count. Data:

Trial 1 ___grams
Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 36

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 2 Large x 3 0 Total 38

10 cm

24

42

74

Notes: Trial 2 _____grams

Small x 1 Distance 5 cm 10 cm 9 29

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 8 0 Large x 3 15 0 Total 32 29

5cm 10cm

Trial 1 38 74

Trial 2 32 29

Total 70 103

Average 35 51.5

TRIALS 1 2 TOTAL AVER

5 cm
38 32 70 35

10 cm
74 29 103 51.5

2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 6 DIFFERENT CLASSES Light Intensity

5cm CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE 35 29 16.3 17 52.3 40.8 190.4 31.7 51.5 10 12.3 7.5 29.5 45 155.8 26 32%66%+ 24.5%+ 56%+ 44%+ 9% 18%+ 10cm % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

Distance of Light
A m o u n t 60 3 50 35 31.7 26 5 cm 10 cm P r o d u c e o d f 51.5

40 m i 30 n u 20 t e 10 i s O 0 n 2

Period 1

7th Grade

Conclusion: In this lab I investigated the unknown question, if you double the distance of light, from 5 cm to 10 cm then will the rate of photosynthesis decrease by half? I hypothesized that there would be a 50% decrease when the light distance was doubled. The average decrease for our class was 32%. The 7th grade average shows that 4 out of 6 classes had an increase when it was at 5 cm. I hypothesized that if you double the distance of light from 5cm to 10cm, then the rate of photosynthesis decreases by half because the light distance is doubled. My hypothesis was incorrect because 2/6 of the classes had an increase.

Analysis: There were a lot of discrepancies in the data and the question is, how does this happen? A big discrepancy in the data is that Period 1 had a 32% decrease, and that Period 2 has a 66% increase. The rate of photosynthesis from 5cm from Period 1 was 35, and at 10cm it was 51.5. For Period 2 it was 29 for 5cm, and 10 for 10cm.

As you can see there is a gigantic change in percentage change and rate of photosynthesis between the classes. However, how come the results were so inconsistent? The results could have been inconsistent by the people who were doing the lab. For example, we could have a highly trained person in Period 1 measuring, and a person who is not even paying attention in Period 2. Also, if nothing was showing up, kids could lie and count oxygen, even though there is no oxygen at all. Finally, the lamps could be a problem too, and they might have not been set properly. All of these things could have made the lab data inconsistent. To improve the reliability of the procedure, we have to get rid of all of the negative things that could make our lab incorrect. If we use the same lamp for every class it would make it so the different lamp problem would be obliterated. Also we need to have the teacher or another loyal student to watch to make sure the oxygen count is reliable and correct. Finally to make this lab move more smoothly, we make sure that the lamps are exactly at 5cm and 10cm for ALL classes. If we did all of these procedures then the lab will run smooth and everything will be 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. http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/elodea/

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/aqua002.html