Analysis Questions
1. Make a hypothesis about which color in the visible spectrum causes the most plant growth and which color in the visible spectrum causes the least plant growth?
If chlorophyll, which is found in plants, is best at absorbing red and blue light, then purple light will cause the most plant growth. If plants are green because the color of an object is the color of the light that is reflected off of that object, and plants require light energy for photosynthesis, then green light will cause the least plant growth.
2. How did you test your hypothesis? Which variables did you control in your experiment and which variable did you change in order to compare your growth results?
I grew three spinach plants, three radish plants, and three lettuce plants under each color of light, and I measured their height to see which ones grew the tallest. I controlled the type of plant and time spent in the light. I changed the color of light.
3. Analyze the results of your experiment. Did your data support your hypothesis? Explain. If you conducted tests with more than one type of seed, explain any differences or similarities you found among types of seeds.
My data supported half of my hypothesis. While I hypothesized that purple light would cause the most plant growth, it was actually blue light that caused the most plant growth. However, I was correct in that green light caused the least plant growth. The results for the different seed types were mostly the same. Spinach grew taller than radish, and radish grew taller than lettuce. Lettuce grew the most out of the three in green light, despite growing less than the others in all other types of light. All three seed types grew the tallest in blue light and the least in green light.
4. What conclusions can you draw about which color in the visible spectrum causes the most plant growth? The color in the visible spectrum that causes the most plant growth is blue.
5. Given that white light contains all colors of the spectrum, what growth results would you expect under white light?
You should expect an average level of growth, because white light includes a multitude of different colors of light. For example, it includes blue light, which causes high levels of growth, and green light, which causes low levels of growth, therefore, white light should cause an average amount of growth.
Site 2: Photolab
http://www.kscience.co.uk/animations/photolab.swf
This simulation allows you to manipulate many variables. You already observed how light colors will affect the growth of a plant, in this simulation you can directly measure the rate of photosynthesis by counting the number of bubbles of oxygen that are released.
There are 3 other potential variables you could test with this simulation: amount of carbon dioxide, light intensity, and temperature.
Choose one variable and design and experiment that would test how this factor affects the rate of photosynthesis. Remember, that when designing an experiment, you need to keep all variables constant except the one you are testing. Collect data and write a lab report of your findings that includes:
- Question
- Hypothesis
- Experimental parameters (in other words, what is the dependent variable, independent variable, constants, and control?)
- Data table
- Conclusion (Just 1st and 3rd paragraphs since there's no way to make errors in a virtual lab)
*Type your question, hypothesis, etc. below. When done, submit this document via Canvas. You may also copy and paste it into your blog.
Question
What is the optimal temperature for photosynthesis?
Hypothesis
If photosynthesis involves an enzyme called ATP synthase, and most enzymes do well in conditions that are neither hot nor cold, then the optimal temperature for photosynthesis is 25℃.
Experimental Parameters
The dependent variable is the amount of bubbles produced by the plant in a minute. The independent variable is the temperature of the water that surrounds the plant. The constants are the light intensity percentage and the amount of dissolved CO₂. The control is the plant at 25℃.
Conclusion
In this lab, I asked the question, “what is the optimal temperature for photosynthesis?” I found that the optimal temperature for photosynthesis is 25℃. At a temperature of 25℃, the plant produced 34 bubbles in 30 seconds, which is more bubbles than the plant produced at either 10℃ or 40℃. Since oxygen is produced during photosynthesis, and the bubbles are oxygen rising to the surface, the plant photosynthesized quicker at a temperature of 25℃. Also, it is known that the enzyme ATP synthase is used in photosynthesis, and that enzymes have medium optimal temperatures. The first piece of data supports my claim because it shows that plants are faster at photosynthesis when they are in a temperature of 25℃. The second piece of data supports my claim because the enzyme did the best in a medium temperature.
This lab was done to demonstrate that there is an optimal temperature for photosynthesis. From this lab I learned about the factors that can affect the speed of photosynthesis, which helps me understand the concept of the reactants needed for photosynthesis. Based on my experience from this lab, I am a better botanist because now I know the temperature for which plants will grow better in.
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