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 the amount of baking soda is doubled, then the amount of photosynthesis will increase by 50%. THEORY: Photosynthesis is the process conducted by plants, which takes carbon dioxide (CO2) in through the stomata, water (H2O) in through the roots, and sunlight and converts it to oxygen (O2) and glucose. It takes place in the chloroplasts in the leaves of the plant. In the 2012 data, every class period except one had an increase in oxygen produced when the amount of baking soda was doubled, and the average percent increase was around 50%. CO2, water, and sunlight are the reactants during photosynthesis. If the amount of baking soda is doubled, then the amount of C02 in the water would double, creating double the amount of oxygen as before.

PROCEDURE FOR CARBON DIOXIDE (BAKING SODA)

Measure and cut at an angle elodea 7 to 9 cm. Remove a few leaves from end of stem and slightly crush end of stem. Measure mass in grams and record. Put elodea stem side up in a test tube. Fill test tube with water and baking soda solution (1 gram to 100 mL of water). 6. Put tube in rack and adjust lamp with light 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 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Trial 1 ___grams
Small x 1 CO2 1 gram 42 x 1 = 42

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10 cm

Medium x 2 17 x 2 = 34 Large x 3 4 x 3 = 12 Total 88

.5 gram

31 x 1 = 31

14 x 2 = 28

6 x 3 = 18

77

Notes:

Trial 2 _____grams cm
Small x 1 CO2 1 gram .5 gram 95 x 1 = 95 71 x 1 = 71

Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes at 5 and 10

Medium x 2 25 x 2 = 50 19 x 2 = 38

Large x 3 15 x 3 = 45 10 x 3 = 30

Total 190 139

Average
Trial 1 Trial 2 Total Average .5g 77 139 216 108 1g 88 190 278 139

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 56.0

28.7% increase 31.9% decrease 21.4% decrease 39.7% decrease 38.0% increase 1,815.8% increase 27.0% increase

2013 Average Data

Rate of Photosynthesis in Bubbles/ CO2 in 3 Minutes 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 139 108 0.5 grams of Baking Soda 44.1 56 1 grams of Baking Soda

1st Period Data

7th Grade Average Data

Conclusion In this lab, we experimented how doubling the amount of carbon dioxide from .5g of baking soda to 1g of baking soda mixed in 100 mL of water affects the rate of photosynthesis in elodea. I predicted that if the amount of baking soda is doubled, then the amount of photosynthesis will increase by 50%. Half of the classes had an increase of bubbles, and the other half had a decrease of bubbles, but the 7th grade average was 27.0% increase. The 1st periods rate of increase was 1.7% more than the 7th grade average. My hypothesis was correct in that the rate of photosynthesis increased, but it did not increase by 50%.

Analysis Some inconsistencies in the data were the class averages because every group had different ideas of what small, medium, and large sized bubbles were. Therefore, some periods got little numbers and others got very large numbers, leaving a very wide range (like Period 7). Something to improve the reliability of the procedure would be to have a control for what small, medium, and large sized bubbles were. Another inconsistency in the data was that some elodea sprigs could be producing more oxygen than others. Something to improve the reliability of the procedure would be to have all the elodea sprigs cut to the same length and mass, for example 7 cm and 1.5 grams.

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://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/sav/key/common_waterweed.asp