| Explore | We did the leaf disc lab and learned that leaves give off oxygen and require CO2 and a light source. Our teacher wants us to answer how did a seed grow to a whole tree. Where did the mass come from. We still don't know what other factors influence how a plant grows. Our teacher also showed us ALGA BALLS and we played with them! We love ALGAE BALLS so we want to use balls in our experiment. |
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| Research Question | How would different colors of light effect photosynthesis and/or respiration in ALGA balls? |
| Predictions | We predict that the algal balls in green light will have an increased rate of photosynthesis. |
| Experimental Design | Materials: algae balls, different colors of light, cups, distilled water, sodium bicarbonate, phenol red Procedure: 1. Set up green, red, yellow, blue, and white lamps, by covering the containers with colored cellophane folded to have 2 layers of cellophane around each container. Set aside a cup to place in the dark wrapped in tin foil. We will make 3 of each color. 2. Make a 3:1 solution of distilled water to phenol red (30 mL). 2. Add 12.5 mL of the solution to 18 cups. 3. Using a straw, breathe into each cup until it turns yellow. 4. Add 20 algal balls to each cup. 5. Please one cup under each lamp and place one cup in the dark (cover with foil) 6. Observe any color changes in the cups at 5 minute intervals up to 30 minutes. Independent variable: color of light Dependent variable: indicator color change Constants: algal balls in distilled water, distance from light Data will be recorded in a data table. |
| Conclusion | It was hypothesized that green light would be optimal for photosynthesis. At minute 1, we observed a color change (from yellow to pink) in the green cups. At Minute 2, we observed a pink hue in all of the colors except the cups in the dark. After 30 minutes the colors remained the same. We conclude that light is necessary for photosynthesis. However, we did not see any significant differences between the different colors. The data does not support or reject that green light is better for photosynthesis. |
