Grace Fried Science 6 11/13/13 ~ 12/6/13 PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUMMATIVE REPORT PROBLEM: How does the color of light (blue,

red) affect the rate of photosynthesis in Elodea at a distance of 5cm from the plant? HYPOTHOSIS: If the color of light is changed from red to blue then the rate of photosynthesis will increase by 35%. THEORY: Photosynthesis is a chemical reaction that takes place in plants. The atoms switch and rearrange in the chloroplasts using energy from sunlight that is absorbed from the chlorophyll. Photosynthesis uses water absorbed from the roots, carbon dioxide that is taken in by the stomata, and energy from the sun. The plant uses light energy to split up and rearrange the atoms to make oxygen and glucose to feed the plant. Sunlight and chlorophyll are a huge part of this process, without them there would be no life. It is very important that chlorophyll absorbs light, and I think it is best that the whole light spectrum is shone on the plant. This way the chlorophyll will absorb the most light and the plant will flourish. The light spectrum is all of the colors combined into white light. Even if the chlorophyll only absorbs some or most of every light color, at least it is absorbing more light than just most of one color. Wavelengths also are important to photosynthesis. A color with a long wavelength (red) contains less energy then a color with a short wavelength (blue). Since blue light has more energy than the red light, I hypothesized that the rate of photosynthesis would increase if blue light were shining on the plant, and decrease if red light were shining on the plant. Although red light has less energy then blue light, both are important for plant growth. Eco farmers believe, The orange, yellow, green and violet arent really necessary for plant growth, just the red and blue. I hypothesized that photosynthesis would increase by 35% because 90% of blue light is absorbed in the chlorophyll and only 55% of red light is absorbed. PROCEDURE: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Measure 4 elodea, 7 to 9 cm, and cut at an angle. Remove a few leaves from the stem and slightly crush the end of the stem. Measure mass in grams and record. Put the elodea stem side up in a test tube. Fill the test tube with spring water and baking soda solution (1 tsp. to 100 mL of water). 6. Put the tube in a rack and adjust lamp with blue light 5 cm from top of 2 test tubes with elodea.

7. Measure the red lamp 5cm from the top of 2 test tubes with elodea. 8. Turn on lamps and wait 1 minute to allow plants to warm up. 9. After 1 minute, begin counting small, medium and large bubbles for 3 minutes. Record data. 10. After another 1.5 minutes switch 1 test tube that was under a red lamp to the blue lamp, and switch 1 test tube under the blue lamp to the red lamp. 11. Count small, medium and large bubbles for 3 minutes total, record data. DATA/OBSERVATIONS: Trial 1: 1.5 grams Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes with blue and red light Small x 1 Medium x 2 Large x 3 Total Color Blue 72x1= 72 12x2= 24 4x3= 12 108 Red 20x1= 20 3x2= 6 0x3= 0 26

Trial 2 1.1 grams Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes with red to blue light Small x 1 Medium x 2 Large x 3 Total Color Blue 58x1=58 13x2=26 4x3-12 96 Red 44x1=44 10x2=20 0 x3=0 64 Averages for 2 Trials Trials 1 2 Total Average Blue 108 96 204/2 102 Red 26 64 90/2 45

2013 AVERAGE DATA IN 3 MINUTES FROM 6 DIFFERENT CLASSES COLOR OF LIGHT

BLUE CLASS PERIOD AVERAGES 1 2 3 4 6 7 TOTAL/6 AVERAGE RED % Oxygen Decrease/Increase

58.5 63.5 39 112 102 68.5 443.5/6 73.9

70 19 24.3 85.8 45 50.8 294.9/6 49.2

16.4% more for Red 70.0% more for Blue 37.7% more for Blue 23.4% more for Blue 55.9% more for Blue 25.8% more for Blue 33.4% more for Blue 33.4% more for Blue

Photosynthesis Rate Under Red and Blue Lights

120 Photosynthesis Rate in Bubbles 102 100 80 60 45 40 20 0 Goup 7th Grade 49.2 73.9 Blue Red

CONCLUSION: In this lab, we studied how the rate of photosynthesis would change based on the elodea plant being under red or blue light. In my hypothesis I stated that the rate of photosynthesis would increase in blue light by 35%. In our experiment, our group had a 55.9 percent increase from red to blue light. Periods 2,3,4,5, and 7 also had the same results (increase from red to blue). The 7th grade averages state that the rate of photosynthesis increased by 33.4% when the plant was switched from red to blue. In my hypothesis I was right about the increase, but my guess was 1.6% off on the percent of increase. ANALYSIS: In our experiment there were many discrepancies that made some of our data almost unusable. In our group, we decided to have one elodea under red light for the whole time, one under blue light for the whole time, and two more elodea that would switch light colors halfway through the experiment. The two elodeas that stayed at one color for the whole time were more accurate than the ones that switched half way through. We had trouble with the elodea that switched because when we moved the test tubes containing the elodea it bumped and shook all of the oxygen bubbles loose. We also had trouble switching the papers we were using to tally our bubbles, which wasted time and bubbles. Because of these inconsistencies, our trial two data was not reliable.

Another discrepancy in the data was period 1s bubble count. All of the other periods found that the rate of photosynthesis increased when the plant was put in blue light instead of red light. However period 1 had a (16.4%) decrease of photosynthesis bubbles when put in blue light. If I omitted this outlier in the data, then the average would be 41.5% more bubbles in blue lighting. I think this also makes sense because chlorophyll in plant leaves absorbs more blue light and less red. The last discrepancy that I noticed is the size of the bubbles. Period 4 had large numbers whereas Period 3 had very small ones. I think the main reason for this was how people categorized the bubbles. Period 4 might have said a bubble was medium, but Period 3 might have said the same bubble is small. If I did this experiment again I would change two things to make it go more smoothly and make the results more accurate. I wouldnt change elodea to different lights in the middle, because that caused chaos and inconsistent data. I would just have two trials where we kept the photosynthesis in one light the whole time. I think this would be more reliable and a better way to get reasonable data. I would also have the same people count bubbles to make sure all of the class periods have a similar grasp on what are small, medium, and large bubbles. This will help make sure that all of the groups get numbers that are close to each other. With these little changes I hope that the experiment will run flawlessly and nobody will make mistakes leading to unreliable data. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Coolidge-Stolz M.D., Elizabeth, et al. Focus On Life Science. Boston, Mass: Prentice Hall, 2008. Young, Paul. The Botany Coloring Book. Cambridge, New York: Harper and Row, 1982. "Chlorophyll." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. Meinhold, Bridgette. "Indoor Vertical Farm 'Pinkhouses' Grow Plants Faster With Less Energy | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building." Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building Indoor Vertical Farm Pinkhouses Grow Plants Faster With Less Energy Comments. N.p., 23 May 13. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "What Wavelength Goes With a Color?" What Wavelength Goes With a Color? National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 15 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2013