Determination of the rate of photosynthesis using Elodea plant

Document Type:Lab Report

Subject Area:Biology

Document 1

On the other hand, decreasing the light intensity leads to a reduction in the number of bubbles observed. If the source of light is removed completely or its distance from the plant is varied to a point where the levels of energy are minimal, the production of bubbles stops completely. Light is one of the important factors of photosynthesis (IANCU & G. CHILOM, 2015). Therefore, cells of green plants left at a dark place will not undergo photosynthesis process. The tab labeled BPM (beats per minute) was chosen to help in calculating the number of bubbles per minute. The tap button was clicked everytime a bubble was seen floating on the surface of the test tube. The process was repeated for three minutes and the data collected was recorded in the data table.

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The counter tab was chosen to help in giving the exact number of bubbles formed. The “+” button was clicked for every bubble that floated on top of the test tube. For instance, when the distance between the test tube and source of light was 120 mm, 118 bubbles were observed, indicating high levels of light intensity (Virtual Lab, 2018). When light intensity is high, and below the optimum level, the rate of photosynthesis is increased resulting in increased production of air bubbles observed. However, if the rates of light intensity are very high, the process of photosynthesis reaches a saturation point and remains constant. In such a case, the most likely cause of leveling off the photosynthesis process is saturation of active enzymes in the plant that catalyzes the reactions taking place.

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