BIOL 1208

Lab Report
Cover Sheet

I certify that the writing in this assignment is my individual work and is my sole
intellectual property. It does not contain the ideas or writing of other individuals/authors.
___Ana Heully___________________
Author

____17________
Lab Section #

_____November 30, 2012_____

Date

Ana Heully
Final Lab Report
30 November 2012
Lab Topic: Measurement of Rate of Photosynthesis by Carbon Dioxide Consumption
Introduction:
In this experiment, we were testing how the intensity of the LED light affected the
amount of Carbon Dioxide the plant consumed. By placing an LED light on top of the leaf of a
cauliflower romanesco and setting up a leaf chamber connected to a Qubit CO2 analyzer, the
rates of photosynthesis were sent to a computer to show the results. Our null hypothesis was that
the light intensity would not affect the rate of photosynthesis and photosynthesis would continue
at a steady rate no matter if we strengthened or weakened the light. Our alternative hypothesis
was that as the strength of the LED light increased, the rate at which photosynthesis occurred
would also increase.
Method:
To do this experiment we had to be sure that the gas used remained constant in level of
oxygen. In order to assure that the level stayed constant throughout the experiment and was not
affect by our breathing, we first filled a nylon-polyethylene gas bag with air from the laboratory
air using an air pump. Once the gas bag was filled, we went on to set up the rest of the
experiment. First we removed the LED from the leaf chamber and turned on to a low setting to
allow it to heat up. Next we made sure the infrared gas analyzer (IRGA) was on and set to 2000
ppm. Then we made sure that the Photosynthesis CO2 Program was open. On the screen there
were two graphs: one for Carbon Dioxide and the other for the LED intensity. There was a table
that indicated the Carbon Dioxide levels. After everything was set up properly we needed to get a
base line for the Carbon Dioxide content of the gas bag. In order to do this we had to release the
clamp on the bag and turn the pump that was connected to it on. Once the pump was running that
we were sure that the flow meter was working properly we hit the Collect button on the
computer. After the values of Carbon Dioxide had stabilized, we recorded the value for our
baseline Carbon Dioxide value, which was 873.495 ppm.
Now that we have recorded a baseline Carbon Dioxide value, we can prepare the leaf
chamber. We opened the leaf chamber and picked a leaf that would fill the entire chamber. While
the leaf was still attached to the cauliflower romanesco plant, we resealed the chamber without
over tightening so that it would not crush the leaf.
The leaf is in the chamber, the gas bag is filled with oxygen, and we have a baseline
Carbon Dioxide value; it is now time to start measuring the Carbon Dioxide consumption by the
leaf. To do this, we had to place the LED light, which had been heating up, on top of the leaf
chamber and adjusted it to 200. Once this was set up we had to hit collect on the computer and
record the value for the Carbon Dioxide consumption once all the numbers had leveled off. The
value we got was 916.667 ppm. We then repeated the last step setting the LED light to 400, 600,
and 800. We recorded our values and 913.71 ppm, 903.065 ppm, and 900.561 ppm respectively.
We then used these values to calculate the micromoles of Carbon Dioxide consumed per second
per meter squared.

Rate of Photosynthesis by Carbon Dioxide Consumption

Micromolecules of CO2 consumed per second per meter squared

Linear ()

LED setting
(E/m2/s )

Figure Caption: The results represent the Carbon Dioxide consumed per second per meter
squared. The amount of Carbon Dioxide consumed increases continuously. We used a Qubit CO2
analyzer to get the data.
Results:
The main trends or patterns in the graph are that as the LED setting was increased as the
rate of photosynthesis increased. The rate of photosynthesis was at its lowest point of -1.585
micromoles of Carbon Dioxide consumed per second per meter squared when the LED was set
to 200 E/m2/s. The rate of photosynthesis continued to increase at each 200 E/m2/s interval.
The highest point was -0.993 micromoles of Carbon Dioxide consumed per second per meter
squared when the LED light was set to 800 E/m2/s.
Our results show that as the LED setting is increased the amount of Carbon Dioxide
consumed per second per meter squared increases. The LED settings are proportional to the
amount of Carbon Dioxide consumed per second per meter squared. When the LED is set to
lowest settings, the least amount of Carbon Dioxide was consumed, while the highest amount
consumed was at the 800 E/m2/s setting.
Discussion and Conclusion:
The hypothesis that is supported by results is our alternative hypothesis that states that as
the strength of the LED light increased, the rate at which photosynthesis occurred would also
increase. Our null hypothesis was that the light intensity would not affect the rate of
photosynthesis and photosynthesis would continue at a consistent rate no matter the intensity of
the LED light. This hypothesis was proven invalid because our results show that the intensity at

which the LED light is shining on the plant will affect the rate of photosynthesis within the plant.
Since we saw the increase and were able to see the development of light saturation, we believe
the results of our experiment are accurate, with some possible human error taking place. Error
such as misreading the data processor in the computer, or miscalculating some of the formulas to
find the micromoles of Carbon Dioxide consumed.
The question for this experiment is would the rate of photosynthesis change based on the
intensity of the light. Based on the chart of our results the answer would be yes because, the least
amount of Carbon Dioxide was consumed when the light was at its lowest setting and the
greatest amount of Carbon Dioxide was consumed at the greatest setting. Photosynthesis rates
and the rate of Carbon Dioxide used by photosynthesis is directly proportion to the light
available at low light intensities.
Reference:
The information for this lab report came from Biology 1208/1209: Biological
Laboratories for Science Majors the Fall 2012 edition by William Wischusen, Ann Dickey
Jolissaint, Jane Reiland, and Steven Pomarico.