Planting Science - Projects: Mitochondrias
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Mitochondrias

Project by group flhsstraubelfall2017

Explore We know the chemical formulas and the process of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Through experiments done in class, we learned that plants get their mass from water and C02 rather than the soil and use that to create glucose and oxygen. We also learned that every living creature does cellular respiration. We are interested about the factors that affect photosynthesis.
Research Question Our research question is, "Do different plant species' leaves have an effect on the rate of photosynthesis?" We came up with this question by focusing on a certain factor. To be specific, we decided to study different species and their rates on photosynthesis, therefore, we wonder if the different species really do have an affect on photosynthesis.
Predictions We believe that the kale leaves will have the fastest rate of photosynthesis and more of them will float to the top than any of the other leaves because the kale is the youngest plant. It is known that younger plants photosynthesize at higher rates in comparison to the old plants that are beginning to die off. In addition, we believe that the strawberry leaves will photosynthesize the slowest and the geranium will photosynthesize more than the strawberry but less than the kale.
Experimental Design We are looking to see how the difference in species of leaves have an effect on the rate of photosynthesis. Therefore, we will have 3 beakers with 200 mL of the same water solution, with the same amount of carbon dioxide. We'll also add two drops of soap to break the surface tension when the leaves rise. We will cut out 10 disks of each leaf (geranium, strawberry, and kale). We will put them into a syringe and use a vacuum method to make them sink. Then, we will dump them into the beakers. We will measure for 10 minutes, and record the time at which each disk from each cup rises. We are keeping everything else other than the species of the leaves the same to keep the experiment controlled. Therefore, we will know that if there is an effect on photosynthesis, it will come solely from the leaf itself. That way, we will know what leaf has the best effect on photosynthesis.
Conclusion In conclusion, our hypothesis was correct; kale did have the fastest rate of photosynthesis. The average time that it took for the kale to rise was 269.2 seconds, which is 41 seconds faster than it took for the spinach to rise, and 153.5 seconds faster than the geranium leaves. If this experiment were to be done again, it would be helpful if the light source was the same distance away from each beaker, and to do more trials of the experiment to get the most accurate data as possible. When the first trial was performed for geranium leaves, the light source was overhead and far away from the beaker. Because the light source was too far away, the leaves could not do photosynthesis and float up, therefore no data was available to be used for the first trial. When thinking about what could have gone wrong in the trial with geranium, It was pondered if the results were also affected by the mass of the geranium leaf since it was slightly thicker. Also, from trial to trial, the data was not very consistent. Due to time restrictions, opportunities to run the experiment several more times was not available. Therefore if the experiment could be done again, the tests would be performed a few more times in order to get more accurate data. This experiment not only clarified the process of photosynthesis, but also gave a basic understanding about other factors that can affect photosynthesis, such as the age and health of a plant.
Investigation Theme POS
Grade Level High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12)
School Name Fair Lawn high school
Session Fall 2017

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NSF_Logo.jpg This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2010556 and #1502892. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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