Rate is the measurement of an amount of product or time. In the case of the rate of photosynthesis, it is measuring the gain of mass or growth over time.
If the plant is an aquatic one that grows in water the rate of photosynthesis can be measured by counting oxygen bubbles or the volume of gas produced in a measured time period.
A limiting factor is something that is present in the environment that has a short supply and because of that restricts life processes. Some factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis are: carbon dioxide concentration temperature light intensity pH Carbon dioxide concentration: Since a plant takes in carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen, as the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, so does the rate of photosynthesis. After a certain concentration of carbon dioxide is reached the rate of photosynthesis does no longer increase and just stays the same making carbon dioxide no longer a limiting factor. …show more content…
This is because when the temperature increases, the molecules inside the plant speed up and move around faster, this causes more kinetic energy or molecular collisions to occur. When molecules collide a reaction occurs, with more collisions, more reactions occur, speeding up the rate of photosynthesis.
After a certain temperature is reached at the plants optimum temperature, the maximum rate of photosynthesis is occuring. When the optimal temperature is passed more and more energy is given to the plant. With more energy more enzyme bonds are broken, causing the enzyme’s structure to change shape and denature. This causing the reactions not to take place and decreases the rate of