Photosynthesis Rate Lab

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Measuring the rate of photosynthesis at different levels of light intensity 1. Introduction Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms capture light energy from the sunlight to convert into usable chemical energy (carbohydrates).In simple words, photosynthesis uses light energy to make food, coverts water and carbon dioxide into sugars which provide plants with the chemical energy necessary for them to live and grow. [1] This process occurs in two main stages, the light dependent reactions and the light independent reactions, which release oxygen as a by-product. In photosynthesis, electrons from water are boosted uphill by the energy from sunlight; chloroplast uses these electrons along with carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions, to produce sugar molecules. In light dependent reaction, sunlight energy is converted to chemical energy, generating energy rich ATP and NADPH molecules. At this same time the oxygen that come from the water in the cells of the leaves are released into the atmosphere through the stomata of leaves. In the light independent reactions these energy rich molecules are used to reduce Co2 and eventually to form carbohydrates. The reactions can be followed in the chemical equation for photosynthesis: CO2 + H20 → C6H12O6 + O2 The rate of photosynthesis is controlled by what are called limiting factors – a factor present in an environment that determines the rate of a reaction – such as light intensity, temperature, the availability of carbon dioxide, water, and certain minerals.[2] By altering any of these factors, one can limit or accelerate the rate of photosynthesis. In this experiment, the light intensity factor will be investigated. Leaf disks will be filled with a sodium bicarbonate solution, which will increase the overall density of the leaf disks and cause

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