| Explore | From outside of school we know: - Plants grow - Plants have roots, a stem, and leaves - Plants are green - Plants perform photosynthesis but not how it works In class we learned that: - Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll which reflects green to our eyes and absorbs other colors - Photosynthesis is made up of 2 reaction; light independent and light dependent which creates glucose and oxygen - All living things are made of cells Our Questions : - Does each cell perform photosynthesis simultaneously? - Why do some plants grow taller than others? - Why do plant stems and parts feel and look different but are all made of plant cells/ |
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| Research Question | How does the temperature of the plant’s environment affect its photosynthesis? |
| Predictions | We predict that the plant will perform photosynthesis the best in the room temperature environment rather than under a heat lamp or next to an ice cube. |
| Experimental Design | Materials: Lamp Heat Lamp Ice cube A leaf (or multiple) A hole puncher Methods: 1. take the hole puncher and punch out 30 holes from the leaf 2. separate the leaf disks into groups of ten 3. put all the disks in a syringe full of water and pull the oxygen out of them 4. take ten of the disks and put them in water under the normal lamp 5. once you turn the lamp on, record each minute how many leaves have risen 6. repeat steps 4 and 5 but with the next set of 10 leaf disks under a heat lamp 7. repeat steps 4 and 6 but place an ice cube into the water as well (using the last set of 10 leaf disks) and use the normal lamp Variables: Independent variable: The temperature Dependent variable: The rate of photosynthesis Constants: Room temperature, type of leaf, size of leaf disks Control: Normal light |
| Conclusion | |
| Investigation Theme | POS |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| School Name | Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School |
| Session | Fall 2017 |