Photosynthesis Simulation Questions PDF

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Module 5
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Photosynthesis Simulation Name Leanne Pitt Directions: Be sure to answer all questions completely. Introduction/Background This lab is designed to assess the role of light in photosynthesis and the growth of plants. Keep in mind that growth is dependent upon a plant’s ability to produce sugars through photosynthesis. The reactants (CO2, H2O, and light absorbed by pigments) will produce the products of photosynthesis (C6H12O6 H2O and O2).

Figure 1 shows the relative absorption of various wavelengths of light by the photosynthetic pigments

Hypothesis. Based on the action spectrum above, answer the following about light and photosynthesis: Which colors of the light are most important for plant growth? Be sure to give an explanation for why you think so. This will be your hypothesis for the photosynthesis experiment. Click here to enter text.

If most energy is absorbed by the color blue, and the least energy is absorbed by the color green, then the color green causes the least plant growth while the color blue causes the most plant growth. Methods. How can you test your hypothesis? Which variables could you control in your experiment and which variable will you change in order to compare your results? Use the following simulation to conduct the experiment. You need Adobe Flash downloaded on your device to run the simulation. http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS12/LS12.html  Describe the steps you used (Methods) in paragraph form. In the virtual lab, I perform an experiment to investigate what colors of the light spectrum cause the most plant growth. I will calculate the plant growth by measuring the height of each plant under different colors of light. I will then, compare and average the measurements to determine which colors of the spectrum cause the most growth in the plants.  

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What was the experimental (independent, manipulated) variable? Click here to enter text. What two groups did you test? o Control group: Plants o Experimental group: Light color What was the dependent variable (what you measured)? Plant growth What variables, other than the experimental variable, were the same in all trials (control variables)? Days observed, brightness of light

Results: Filter Color Red Orange Green Blue Violet

Spinach (Avg. Height in cm) 18 14 3 19 16

Analyze the results of your experiment. Did your data support your hypothesis? Explain. The data supported my hypothesis because it shows that the average height of all the plants are greater being grown under the blue light. The spinach, lettuce, and radish plants all grew the least under the green light as well. The plants reflect green, in which the pigment contains chlorophyll. Generally, out of all the plants, the lettuce grew to be the shortest. The spinach and radish plants grew to be the tallest out of the three. Discussion. What conclusions can you draw about which color in the visible spectrum results in the most plant growth? How do the data compare to the absorbance spectrum? I can draw the conclusions that the color blue causes the most plant growth. In the chart above it is apparent that Filter Color Lettuce Radish Chlorophyll b is at the (Avg. Height in cm) (Avg. Height in cm) highest absorption Red 12 14 compared to the Orange 8 8 others at around 400 Green 4 2 mm, which is the blue Blue 13 15 wavelength. Violet 9 11 Discussion. Given that white light contains all colors of the visible spectrum, what results would you expect under white light? Given that white light contains all colors of the visible spectrum, I would expect it to be more beneficial to the plants. White light is the combination of all the colors such as red, green, blue, and green. Therefore, I expect it to have the combined energy amount as well. Now complete the experiment with the other two plants. How do radish and lettuce compare to spinach? Results: Analyze the results of your experiment. Did your data support your hypothesis? Explain. Now that you conducted tests with more than one type of seed, explain any differences or similarities you found among types of seeds (spinach, radish, and lettuce).

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What conclusions can you draw about which color in the visible spectrum causes the most plant growth? Click here to enter text.

Considering the structure of each type of plant, why might the leaves be shorter/longer in some plants than others? Why is height affected given that each type of plant receives the same amount of light for the same amount of time? Click here to enter text....