Photosynthesis Lab Report

Abstract: The rate of photosynthesis and cellular respiration can change in varying conditions. How does the rate change with varying degrees of temperature and light exposure? To test this algae beads were exposed to a CO2 indicator, which changes colors based on the level CO2 level present. The algae beads were exposed to two different variables, light and temperature and tested for color change, Ph, level, and CO2 absorbance level. The beads were exposed to a light and a dark condition, and another set was exposed to ice and a warm water bath. It was found that the rate of change of CO2 decreased in the dark condition and increased in the light condition, meaning that photosynthesis was not able to occur in the dark condition. The results
The process captures energy from sunlight and converts that energy to ATP and NADH which it uses to reduce CO2 into simple sugars. The process follows the equation: 6CO2+H2O+Light C6H12O6+6CO2. CO2 is converted into simple sugars in the Calvin cycle, which occurs in three stages. It takes 6 “turns” of the Calvin cycle for the organism to produce one molecule of glucose. Organisms that are autotrophs use photosynthesis to make their own energy to survive. Heterotrophs eat other organisms because they cannot synthesize their own energy, therefor photosynthesis is an important building block of life. (Raven et al.,
Three milliliters of CO2 indicator solution in a clean cuvette was used as a blank to calibrate the Spectrophotometer. The wavelength in LabQuest was set to 550nm. Next 8 cuvettes were obtained containing 10 algae beads each. The previous CO2 indicator solution was removed with a clean pipet and disposed of in to the waste container. Two milliliters of distilled water were pipetted into each of the cuvettes and allowed to sit for 5 minutes to soak. After 5 minutes the distilled water was removed and disposed of into a waste container. Three milliliters of fresh CO2 indicator solution were added into each cuvette. (Dept. of Biology,