Julia Scharf Science 4 November 14, 2013 Summative Project 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 carbon dioxide (by doubling baking soda) is increased, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase 30% THEORY: Photosynthesis is the process by which plants absorb sunlight and convert it into food for their cells, and oxygen. Chloroplasts in plants contain a pigment called chlorophyll that obtains the sunlight, which is used to create glucose that powers the plant. The reactants for photosynthesis are CO2, H2O, sunlight, and the products are O2 , and sugar (glucose). If you add a larger amount of bisodium, which when added to water produces carbon dioxide, will speed up the process of photosynthesis because CO2 is a reactant of photosynthesis. Also, previous data from 2012 states that when adding bisodium, the rate of photosynthesis increases by an average of 30%. CO2 induced plants require extra water in order to cope with additional heat. More CO2 in the long run causes damage to plants and decreases the nutritional quality. CONCLUSION: In this lab we tested photosynthesis by taking two test tubes of 100ml of water and adding .5 g of bisodium in one and 1 g of bisodium in the other. I hypothesized that if the bisodium (carbon dioxide) was doubled, the rate of photosynthesis would increase by 30%. There was a 31% decrease in the average oxygen when the carbon dioxide was doubled in our group. There was a 22% increase in my 4 class when the carbon dioxide was doubled. There was a 20% increase in the average oxygen for the 7th grade when the carbon dioxide was doubled. In conclusion my hypothesis was correct 33% of the time because I was

wrong about our group average but right about the grade average, and class average. ANALYSIS: Looking at the 2013 data there were a few inconsistencies that could be identified. For one, period 2,3,and 4 all had higher rates of photosynthesis when there was only .5 g of carbon dioxide in the water. Thats 50% of the classes, which means that the other 50% of the classes had higher levels of oxygen when there was 1 g of carbon dioxide mixed with the 100ml of water. However, comparing the over all averages for all 6 classes, the average oxygen bubbles for 1 g among all groups was 20% higher than with .5 g. This leads me to believe this data is so because of what an outlier period 7 was. There was a 94% increase in oxygen bubbles from .5 g to 1 g in period 7. That is a much larger increase than any of the other classes. Removing the period seven data, the .5 g average becomes 52.1 bubbles rather than 44.1, and the 1 g data becomes 52.6 bubbles rather than 56. That leaves a .5 bubble difference, which is much smaller than an 11.9 difference. There are many different situations that may have occurred during the experiments causing inconsistencies. For one, the different pieces of elodea used in the tests could have reacted differently to the carbon dioxide due to whether or not their stems had been crushed before the test. They could have had different masses that caused a different rate of photosynthesis from the others. Also, in some tests the students may have counted bubbles that did not come from the stem, but instead the leaves. This could severely skew the data. Another thing that could have affected the dependability of the test is if the lamps during the tests were positioned in different ways, meaning farther or nearer to the elodea in the various experiments. All of these scenarios are plausible explanations for the inconsistencies in the data. This leaves the question of how to make the experiment more reliable. For one, the assessment could be conducted using different types of plants, and using the data students could see which plants have more consistent results. Another thing that could be helpful is removing all of the leaves from the plant of choice so that there is no way to measure the bubbles aside from the ones that come from the stem. Also, if all the lamps that are to be used are positioned before hand at the same angle and distance from the test tubes, this could lead to more valid data. Not to mention, if all the plant stems are crushed lightly in advanced then there is no need to worry about that aspect of the test. Lastly, if all of the plants are measured before and the ones with the closest range of masses are chosen, this is another way to verify the reliability of the results. There are many way to improve this test for 2014.

PROCEDURE FOR CARBON DIOXIDE (BAKING SODA) 1. Measure and cut at an angle elodea 7 to 9 cm.

2. Remove a few leaves from end of stem and slightly crush end of stem. 3. Measure mass in grams and record. 4. Put elodea stem side up in a test tube. 5. Fill test tube with water and baking soda solution (1 gram to 100 mL of water). 6. Put tube in rack and adjust lamp 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 DATA/OBSERVATIONS:
Trial 1 ___grams Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes with .5 g and 1 g baking soda
Small x 1 CO2 1 gram 7x1=7 Medium x 2 0x2=0 Large x 3 0x3=0 Total 7

.5 gram

4x1=4

4x2=8

6 x 3 = 18

30

Notes: Trial 2 _____grams Oxygen Produced in 3 minutes with .5 g and 1 g baking soda
Small x 1 CO2 1 gram .5 gram 5x1=5 10 x 1 = 10 Medium x 2 1x2=2 3x2=6 Large x 3 0x3=0 4 x 3 = 12 Total 7 28

Average for Two Trials

TRIALS 1 2 TOTAL AVERAGE/2 .5 g 30 28 58/2 29 1g 7 7 14/2 7

.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

22% decrease 94% increase 20% increase

Rate of Photosynthesis
AVERAGE OXYGEN IN 3 MINUTES 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 GROUP PERIOD 4 DIFFERENT AVERAGES 7TH GRADE 7 29 23.7 14.3 .5 g 1g 44.1 56

CITATIONS:

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. "BAKING SODA BAKING POWDER." BAKING SODA BAKING POWDER. N.p., 24 Jan. 1998. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.

<http://users.rcn.com/sue.interport/food/bakgsoda.html >
Bostrom, Doug. "Climate Science Glossary." Skeptical Science. N.p., 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. <http://www.skepticalscience.com/co2-plant-food.htm >