Design

Aim: to examine the effect of different wavelengths of light (Blue:

455nm-492nm, Green: 492nm-577nm, Red: 622nm-780nm, Yellow: 577nm-597nm and White: 455nm- 780nm) (Color Wavelength) on the rate of photosynthesis of an Elodea plant, measured by the volume of oxygen ( cm 3 /h) released into the measuring tube every 24 hours for a period of 7 days. The independant variable that is manipulated by the student is the different wavelengths of light (Blue, Green, Red, Yellow and white). The dependant variable is the variable that occurs from the results of the experiment, which is the rate of photosynthesis that will be calculated by measuring the amount of oxygen released into the test tube as a product of photosynthesis for intervals of 24 hours over a period of 7 days.

Hypothesis: I predict that the order of the highest to lowest rates of

photosynthsis for the different wavelengths of light will be: white, blue, red, yellow, green. Photosynthesis is the production of organic molecules (glucose) and oxygen through the conversion of water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight (9Arevision - Plants). The equation bellow shows the main process of photosynthesis:

Photosynthesis Equation ' (9Arevision - Plants)

Pigments in the chloroplasts are substances that absorve light. Every organism that photosynthsizes has a number of pigments, but the main one used in chlorophyll is green. They absorb wavelengths from sunlight. They absorb all natural light wavelengths between (400-700 nm) except those between (525550 nm), which are reflected giving the plants the visible green color. Longer wavelengths have less energy than shorter wavelengths (Bauman, Nicholas). For example, Blue light has short wavelengths and so, has so much energy, and red light has less energy because it has a longer wavelength shown in the light spectrum below.

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The blue light has a wavelength of 455-492, as opposed to the red light that has a wavelength of 622-680. Green light has a wavelength of 492577, and the chlorophyll does not absorb wavelengths between 525-550, and so, green light is reflected and not absorbed by the plant. The absorption spectrum above shows that the pigment chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light the most, and green and yellow are absorbed the least, and so are reflected, justifying why most plants appear green-ish yellow.

"An action spectrum is a parameter that describes the relative effectiveness of energy at different wavelengths in producing a particular biological response" (Home Page).

As shown in the above figure ((Biology IB HL 1: 8.2 Lecture Notes), the maximum rate of photosynthsis belongs to that of the blue and red wavelengths of the visible spectrum, which are also the wavelengths of light that are absorbed mostly by the cholorphyll. It is also apparent in the diagram above that the least absorbed wavelengths of light are that of the green and yellow light wavelengths, which are also the wavelengths that are least absorbed by the cholorphyll and thus, reflected.

Relationship between Action spectrum and absorption spectrum: the blue and red lights are the wavelengths that are mostly absorbed by the chlorophyll of the plant in the action spectrum, and are therefore, responsible for the highest rate of photosnthesis in the action spectrum. Green light wavelengths, on the other hand, are the wavelengths that are least absorbed by the cholorphyll of the plant in the action spectrum, they are reflected and not absorbed and so, are responsible for the lowest rate of photosynthesis in the action spectrum. Green light is reflected by the cholorphyll which is why there is a low absorption of light for the green light, therefore, explaining the apparent green color of the plants. As a result, I predict that the plant exposed to white light would have the highest rate of photosynthesis since white light is a mixture of all visible wavelengths. This explains that the oxygen released by the plant exposed to white light would be the highest. Following the white light is the blue light. According to the absorption spectrum, blue light is highly absorbed by the chlorophyll, and so, the rate of photosynthesis of the blue light would be the second highest, thus, the second highest volume of oxygen resulted as a product of photosynthesis. The action spectrum also shows that the blue light has a high rate of photosynthesis. After the blue light comes the red light. Red light is the second most absorbed light by the cholorphyll in the absorption spectrum. It is also clear in the diagram above that red light has the second highest rate of photosynthesis excluding white light. Including white light, red light therefore would have the third highest volume of oxygen released as a product of photosynthesis. The plants exposed to green and yellow light would have the least rate of oxygen and thus, the least volume of oxygen released to the measuring tube. Since green and yellow light are the least absorbed wavelengths according to the absorption spectrum, and have the lowest rate of photosynthesis according to the action spectrum because they are reflected by the chlorophyll and not absorbed.

Variables
Dependant Variable: Rate of photosynthesis measured by ( cm 3 /h). Measured by calculating the volume of oxygen released, and gathered in the measuring cylinder for every 24 hours over a period of 7 days. Independent Variable: the different wavelengths of light. The different wavelengths of light will be done by wrapping different colors of transparent paper of the different intended wavelengths (blue, green, red, yellow, white). Light Color Blue Green Red Yellow White Wavelength (nm) 455 nm- 492 nm 492 nm -577 nm 622 nm -780 nm 577 nm -597 nm 455 nm - 780 nm

Controlled Variables: Same type of plants for every light wavelength.

Manipulation Method: done by buying the same plants from the same source. Same length of the plants. Manipulation Method: done by cutting the plants after measuring them using a ruler and cutting them the same size using scissors. Same room temperature (25 C). Manipulation Method: done by placing all the beakers in the same room at the same time. Same concentration of CO2 added for every plant. Manipulation Method: done by keeping all the beakers in the same room to get the same amount of CO2 . Same amount of water. Manipulation Method: done by using the same measuring cylinder to measure the same amount of water added to each plant.

 Same size and thickness of transparent colored paper for every color. Manipulation Method: done by buying the same size and thickness of transparent paper for all of the intended colors by asking for the same type but of different colors. Same size of beakers and measuring cylinders. Manipulation Method: done by making sure that all the beakers available are identical.

Apparutus Used:

5 beakers of the same size (500 ml) 5 funnels of the same size 5 measuring cylinders of the same size ( 500ml) Strands of plants. 1 A4 Blue transparent sheet. 1 A4 white transparent sheet. 1 A4 Yellow transparent sheet. 1 A4 red transparent sheet. 1 A4 Green transparent sheet. Tape. Scissors Ruler Sufficient amount of water to fill the beakers.

Labelled Diagram:

Procedure:
1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Gather all the materials needed to complete the experiment. Fill the five beakers with 800 ml of water. Cut 5 strands of the plants, each 20 cm long. Measure using the ruler. Wrap each coloured transparent paper around each beaker. For example, wrap the red transparent paper around the first beaker, then the yellow around the second ... etc. Use the tape to secure each paper to the beaker. Insert each plant strand into a funnel, ensuring the shoot of the plant is at the top part of the funnel where there is a whole. Place each funnel into the water-filled beaker. Fill each cylinder with water to the top. Reverse each graduated cylinder each one inside the beaker so that the top part of the funnel is upwards. After placing each funnel with plant strand inside each beaker, gather them all to put them outside under the sun. Place all the beakers with the plants under the sun, to start the experimentation. Record the results for the different wavelengths of light of every 24 hours over a period of 168 hours for 4 trials.

*The results will be in a table form. The results for each wavelength will be presented solely. Each wavelength will have its separate table showing the volume of oxygen produced after each time interval, every 24 hours for an overall of 168 hours, for every trial over a period of 4 trials. The tables will also be presented in graphs, using Microsoft Excel. The calculation conducted will be calculating the mean of oxygen released for every light wavelength, the standard deviation for every wavelength, and the rate of photosynthesis at different wavelengths.

Data Collection and Processing

Raw Data: Volume of oxygen ( cm 3 ) produced at different wavelengths over a period of 168 hours. Table 1: Volume of oxygen ( cm 3 ) produced at red light (wavelength of 622nm-780nm) over a period of 168 hours. Time in hours 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 ) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 0.20 0.40 0.20 0.30 1.00 1.00 1.20 1.20 2.30 2.20 2.00 2.20 3.20 3.20 2.90 3.30 3.80 3.60 3.50 3.70 4.20 4.80 3.90 4.50 3.80 4.30 4.10 4.50

Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore neglected.

Table 2: Volume of oxygen ( cm 3 ) produced at blue light (wavelength of 455nm-492nm) over a period of 168 hours. c Time in hours 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 ) Trial 1 0.80 2.30 3.40 4.60 4.80 5.60 6.90 Trial 2 0.60 2.40 4.20 5.40 6.60 7.20 7.90 Trial 3 0.80 2.20 4.20 4.90 5.60 6.80 7.20 Trial 40 0.70 2.40 4.10 5.20 5.40 6.90 7.40

Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore neglected.

Table 3: Volume of oxygen ( cm 3 ) produced at green light (wavelength of 492nm-577nm) over a period of 168 hours. Time in hours 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 ) Trial 1 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.50 1.70 2.20 2.60 Trial 2 0.00 0.10 0.30 0.70 1.40 2.10 2.80 Trial 3 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.90 1.60 2.00 2.40 Trial 4 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.60 1.60 2.10 2.70

Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore neglected.

Table 4: Volume of oxygen (ml) produced at yellow light (wavelength of 577nm597nm) over a period of 168 hours. Time in hours 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 ) Trial 1 0.10 0.50 1.20 1.80 2.30 2.70 2.90 Trial 2 0.00 0.30 1.40 1.90 2.50 2.90 3.20 Trial 3 0.10 0.40 1.20 2.10 2.80 3.20 3.60 Trial 4 0,10 0.60 1.30 1.80 2.60 3.20 3.70

Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore neglected.

Table 5: Volume of oxygen (ml) produced at white light (wavelength of 455nm780nm) over a period of 168 hours. Time in hours (+/Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 ) 0.50 seconds) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 24 1.20 0.90 0.80 1.10 48 2.40 2.10 2.30 2.60 72 4.20 4.60 4.30 5.20 96 5.70 5.90 5.20 6.10 120 7.40 6.60 6.90 7.30 144 8.20 7.70 7.90 8.40 168 9.20 9.10 9.40 9.60
Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore neglected.

Data Processing:
Table: Mean of oxygen production of each light wavelength every 24 hours for a period of 168 hours (7 days)

Mean of oxygen production of each light wavelength every 24 hours for a period of 7 days

Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 )

Light/ (Wavelength in nm) 24 hours 48 hours

Time (hours)

72 hours

96 hours

120 hours

144 hours

168 hours

Blue (455nm492nm)

0.7 2

2.3 2

3.9 7

5.0 2

5.6 0

6.62

7.35

Green (492nm577nm)

0.0 0

0.0 2

0.1 5

0.6 8

1.5 8

2.10

2.63

Red (622nm780nm)

0.2 8

1.1 0

2.1 8

3.1 5

3.6 5

4.00

4.53

Yellow (577nm- 597 nm)

0.0 8

0.4 5

1.2 8

1.9 0

2.5 5

3.00

3.35

White (455nm780nm)

1.0 0

2.3 5

4.5 8

5.7 2

7.0 5

8.05

9.32

Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore neglected.

Mean of Oxygen Production of Each Light Wavelength Every 24 hours For a Period of 168 Hours (7 days)
12 Mean volume of oxygen production (cm3) 10 8 B (455nm- 492nm) lue 6 4 2 0 24 hours -2 Time (hours) +/- 0.5 seconds 48 hours 72 hours 96 hours 120 hours 144 hours 168 hours G reen (492nm- 577nm) R (622nm- 780nm) ed Yellow (577nm- 597 nm) White (455nm- 780nm)

*The Uncertainty value is too minimal to be significant. Therefore, the uncertainty will be neglected. Sample calculation for the average of oxygen produced: *Mean of oxygen produced for blue light after 120 hours: Mean = Sum of oxygen produced for blue light after 120 hours for 4 trials ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Number of trials = 4.80 + 6.80 + 5.60 + 5.40 --------------------------------4 = 22.4 ------4 = 5.60 cm 3

Table: Standard Deviation for each light wavelength every 24 hours for a period of 168 hours (7 days).

Mean of oxygen production of each light wavelength every 24 hours for a period of 7 days

Volume of Oxygen Produced (+/- 0.05 cm 3 )

Light/ (Wavelength in nm) 24 hours 48 hours

Time (hours)

72 hours

96 hours

120 hours

144 hours

168 hours

Blue (455nm492nm)

0.0 9

0.0 9

0.3 9

0.3 5

0.7 5

0.70

0.42

Green (492nm577nm)

0.0 0

0.0 5

0.1 0

0.1 7

0.1 3

0.08

0.17

Red (622nm780nm)

0.0 9

0.1 1

0.1 3

0.1 7

0.1 3

0.18

0.21

Yellow (577nm- 597 nm)

0.0 5

0.1 3

0.1 0

0.1 4

0.2 1

0.24

0.37

White (455nm780nm)

0.1 8

0.2 1

0.4 5

0.3 9

0.3 7

0.31

0.22

Uncertainty: +/- 0.5 seconds. Minimal value to be significant, therefore

neglected.

Sample Calculation of Standard Deviation:

Table: Calculating rate of photosynthesis ( cm 3 /h) of different wavelengths (blue, green, red, yellow, white).

Light Wavelength

Rate of Photosynthesis (ml/h)

Blue

0.04

Green

0.02

Red

0.03

Yellow

0.02

White

0.06

Sample Calculation of rate of photosynthesis: Rate of photosynthesis of red light: Rate of photosynthesis= final volume of oxygen produced ( cm 3 )
-------------------------------------------------------Total time (hours) = 4.53 -----168 = 0.03 cm 3 / hour

R of Photos ate ynthes (cm of D is 3) ifferent Waveleng (Blue, Green, R ths ed, Y ellow, and White)
0.07 Rate of Photosynthesis (cm3) 0.06 0.05 0.04 R te of Photos a ynthes (ml/ h) is 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 B lue G reen R ed Yellow White Colors of Wavelengths

Conclusion and Evaluation

After conducting the experiment, collecting the data, processing the data and producing graphs, I have come to a conclusion that my data supports my hypothesis. As stated in the hypothesis, the white wavelength would have the highest rate of photosynthesis, following blue, then red, yellow and finally green.

Photosynthesis Equation ' (9Arevision - Plants)

As shown in the equation above, hypothesis is the conversion of carbon dioxide and water to glucose and oxygen as products with the presence of light energy, which can be in different forms of wavelengths, and chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a pigment found in the chloroplast that absorbs light energy. The main pigment in the chlorophyll is green. All natural lights are absorbed by the chlorophyll between the wavelengths (400-700nm) except for those between (525-550nm) (Bauman, Nicholas). The green's wavelength lies within (525-550nm), and so, according to what was stated in the hypothesis, and what was supported in the results, green light was poorly absorbed by the chlorophyll and thus, had the lowest rate of photosynthesis.

Absorption Spectrum (photosynthesis)

The absorption spectrum above shows that blue light and red light are mostly absorbed by the chlorophyll, and so, would have the highest rate of

photosynthesis, which is in agreement to what the hypothesis and the results stated.

The action spectrum (Biology IB HL 1: 8.2 Lecture Notes)shows that blue and red lights have the highest rates of photosynthesis as a result of their high absorption by the chlorophyll. As shown in the table showing the calculated rate of photosynthesis of each wavelength, the highest rate of photosynthesis belongs to that of the red and blue, apart from white. The blue wavelength had a rate of photosynthesis of 0.04, and the red wavelength had a rate of 0.03, which is highest than the green and yellow wavelengths. Therefore, the data is congruent to the scientific reasoning, in relation to the action and absorption spectrums, stating that red and blue wavelengths are mostly absorbed by the chlorophyll leading to a higher rate of photosynthesis. The relationship between the action spectrum and absorption spectrum. Blue and red lights are mostly absorbed by the chlorophyll of the plants, as shown in the absorption spectrum, and so, are responsible for the highest rates of photosynthesis in the action spectrum. As opposed to the green and yellow lights that were least absorbed by the chlorophyll as shown in the absorption spectrum, and so, is related to the least rate of photosynthesis in the action spectrum. The rate of photosynthesis was highest at that of the white light, as shown in the graph, where the rate of photosynthesis was (0.06 ml/h) as shown in the rate of photosynthesis graph. White light is a mixture of all visible lights, and so, would have a combination of red, blue, yellow and green lights put

together, and so, having the highest rate would be justifiable. The steepest line in the average oxygen production graph belongs to the white light. White light was mostly absorbed, and so, had the highest rate of photosynthesis, and so, produced the most oxygen, therefore, having the highest average of all other lights. Blue light had a rate of (0.04 ml/h) as shown in the rate of photosynthesis graph. As mentioned above, the blue light has the highest rate of photosynthesis excluding white light, in the action spectrum and is mostly absorbed by the chlorophyll according to the absorption spectrum. This explains why the line in the average of oxygen production graph was also steep, as the average was the second highest after white light. After blue light comes red light, which had a rate of (0.03 ml/h) in the rate of photosynthesis graph. According to the action spectrum, red light had the highest rate after blue light, and so, the results agree with the scientific reasoning that red light followed blue light in results. The average of oxygen production graph shows that red light has the third steepest line after white light and blue light. Finally, yellow and green light had the least rate of photosynthesis, with the rate of (0.02 ml/h) and (0.01 ml/h) respectively, as shown in the rate of photosynthesis graph. Green and yellow light are poorly absorbed by the plant. Green is the color of the pigment in the chlorophyll, and so, it is rarely absorbed by the plant, and so, it would have a very low rate of photosynthesis, which is also according to the action and absorption spectrum as well. Green and yellow lights had lines that were closer to the x-axis in the average oxygen production graph, showing that the average oxygen production was very low to both as a result of their poor absorption by the plant. They are both poorly absorbed by the pigments of the plant, and so, would not photosynthesize much, and so, would release little oxygen, thus, having a low average of oxygen production, as shown in the graph.

The standard deviation of all the different light wavelengths mainly overlapped at the first 24 hours of which the experiment was conducted, because the rate of photosynthesis for all the plants begins with the same rate, before the chlorophyll start absorbing the colored wavelengths. The bar for the white wavelength overlaps with the blue wavelengths. An explanation for this could state that white light contains blue light; therefore, it is expected to have close results. Furthermore, the standard deviation of the yellow and green wavelengths also overlap in some days, because there

results are nearly the same since they are both very poorly absorbed by the chlorophyll, especially green. Evaluation of Procedure: It is clear that the procedure followed for this procedure is the most appropriate one to follow. The plants were all the same size, and the amount of light that went through each flask was maintained and kept constant for all the different flasks. However, the way each colored sheet was not accurate, as the placement of the sheets might have allowed in more heat, for one plant over the other. The data collected was precise, however not very accurate. The results were precise because they apply to the scientific reasoning proposed, and agree with the scientifically explained reasoning. The data collection was also nearly accurate because of the use of a measuring instrument, which in this case was the measuring cylinder that was used to calculate the amount of oxygen released as a result of photosynthesis. This will give a nearly accurate result because of the usage of the instrument, however, there is a degree of error since the human eye was relied on to recorded the reading on the cylinder, therefore, there might be an addition or subtraction of a few cm 3 .

Improvement of the investigation:

Sources of Errors
There is a difference between the chosen plants; they do not have the same DNA, since they were not grown all together. Since the plants were not grown from the same original soil, they might have different PH ranges, and might have absorbed different types of nutrients, which would ultimately affect the growth and photosynthesis. The light intensity reached out to each plant might not to be equal amongst the five plants. One plant might have absorbed more light than the other, which would affect the rate of photosynthesis. When measuring the volume of oxygen released, the direction in which the plant strand is headed towards the sun might change, as a human error, affecting the rate of photosynthesis. The initial measurements of the plants were not accurate, according to how the measurements were taken. When we added water to each soil, it might have absorbed the water at different rates, which would cause the level of the soil to rise differently, thus affecting the height of each plant.

Suggested Improvements
Grow your own plants, to ensure you have clones of the same plant, so have fair experiment. Ensure that all the plants have the same amount of nutrients, by growing your own plants, as mentioned above.

Provide each plant with a separate lamp, with the same light bulb, to ensure that all the plants get an equal amount of light, for a more accurate rate of photosynthesis. Try and measure the volume of oxygen without closely touching the experiment.

Measuring the heights of each stem, and then taking an average for the heights.

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"Home Page." Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center. Web. 09 June 2010. <http://sedac.ciesin.org/ozone/docs/AS.html>.

"Photosynthesis." Welcome to UIC. Web. 09 June 2010. <http://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios100/lectu resf04am/lect10.htm>.

"Sam's Laser FAQ Components: HTML, Photos, Diagrams, and Schematics." Dartmouth Hitchcock Anesthesiology. Web. 09 June 2010. <http://an.hitchcock.org/repairfaq/sarti/laserfil.htm>.

"Color Wavelength." USByte - Electronic Discovery and Data Recovery News and Information Site. 2008. Web. 09 June 2010. <http://www.usbyte.com/common/approximate_wavelength.htm>.