Info
| Explore | Plants use photosynthesis to convert light energy into chemical energy, which takes place in the chloroplasts. This takes place in two stages: light-dependent and the Calvin cycle. The light-dependent reaction uses energy from sunlight to split water, producing oxygen gas, protons, and... |
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| Research Question | How can changing the pH affect plant growth? We came up with this research question because one of our past experiments used pH to determine if O2 was being produced. This brought up the question if the pH of the solution that the leaf is in would affect the rate of photosynthesis. This question... |
| Predictions | We believe when the plant is exposed to higher or lower pH, the plant will lower in rate of photosynthesis or stop within the plant. This would happen due to the change of the hydrogen ion gradient within the thylakoid causing the Electron transport chain and ATP synthase to slow or stop working.... |
| Experimental Design | 1. Cut out 36 leaf disks from the spinach plant. 2. Get 3 cups and label one high pH, one low pH, and one neutral. 3. In the cup labeled high pH add water, sodium hydroxide, and baking soda. In the cup labeled low pH add water, sulfuric acid, and baking soda. In the cup labeled neutral add water... |
| Conclusion | From our experiment, we found that the neutral pH solution had the highest rate of photosynthesis. In contrast, the higher and lower pH solutions had a lower rate of photosynthesis, with lower pH having the lowest rate of photosynthesis. The explanation for these results is that photosynthesis... |
| About this Project | The mentor and the mentees tried to communicate with each other by using plant jokes. The mentees cracked a plant related joke every time and the mentor complimented them on that. But then the mentor joined in the closing comments and cracked a joke themselves. -- SNEHANJANA CHATTERJEE,... |
Updates
Great job everyone! I believe that all of you have wrapped up experiments and have updated the info section of your projects! Thank you so much to the mentors who participated and answered all the questions of our curious mentees.
I am really proud of the students for asking all the important questions that they had in their minds. Best of luck for your future endeavours!
Nice summary plot of your data PlantingScientists. Oh, BTW ... Why do plants hate math? Because it gives them square roots!
Hey Dr. Hay,
Thank you so much for all of your help! We are finishing up the project now, and we will check in one more time before we are completely done. So, here is our last joke.
Why don't you tell jokes while ice skating ................................................................... the ice may crack up!
Nice work Team. I suggest summarizing the raw data in a plot. Creating a graphical representation of the data can help in visualizing the trends and patterns more effectively. Consider using scatter plots, line graphs, or bar charts. Also, consider the creation of new attributes, such as percentages.
Hey Dr. Hay. We used white light in our experiment because sunlight is a white light and therefore the best light to use for photosynthesis. We have finished our experiment for pH and uploaded everything, including the data table in the files section, please take a look and let us know what you think.
We are also glad that you like the jokes! Here is another one for you: What does a tick and the Eiffel Tower have in common? ...................................................................................... They are both Paris sites (parasites)
Finally, our school has a long break this week, so we may not be on the site to respond to anything for the rest of the week.
That's another funny joke. Sounds like an interesting research question you have here. The impact of pH on plant growth is an important topic, and there's a lot of room for experimentation. Using white light in your last experiment is a good choice too – why do you think?
Hey Dr.Hay, we are starting to form a research question. We were thinking, How can changing the pH affect plant growth. What do you think? Also the light we used was white light for our last experiment. Finally, what does the cactus say to the other cactus... looking sharp.
Joke of the Day: What is a math teacher's favorite type of tree? .......................... A geomeTREE
Hello PlantingScientists. Can you think of any connections between your research and Math / Geometry?
Hey Dr. Hay! In class, we did a science experiment that investigated photosynthesis using a leaf floatation method. From this experiment, we proved that plants need carbon dioxide in order to photosynthesize, as the leaf disks in the breath cup and the baking soda cup (which both had CO2 and H20) rose due to the O2 being produced, while the leaf disks in just H2O did not.
That is great news! Did you put the disks in the light or the dark? Why?
Hey Dr. Hay! We put it in the light for that experiment. We are doing an experiment today testing if light is needed to photosynthesize by using the leaf floatation method again. We put 12 leaf disks in a cup with water and baking soda in the dark and 12 in a cup with water and baking soda in the light and looked at if they floated. We found that the leaf disks in the light floated, while the ones in the dark did not. We then switched the dark cup and put it in the light, and the light cup and put it in the dark. We found that the 12 leaf disks that were once floating in the light, sunk in the dark, and the 12 leaf disks that were once not floating in the dark, were floating in the light. This proved that light is needed in order to photosynthesize.
That's a great experiment. What wavelength(s) of light color did you use? Why?
Hello folks! I am Snehanjana, the liaison of this group. That means I will be interacting with the mentors, your teacher and also the students. It's my job to oversee everything is working out as smooth as possible.
I am a second year PhD student at Texas Tech University researching on how plants carry out photosynthesis when meet with challenges such as less/more nutrients and less/more water supply. In my free time, I like to catch up on some really good horror movies/series, work as a volunteer and a global guide for International culture centre and learn salsa!!
Joke of the Day: What did the father buffalo say to his son..............................................bison
Hello Planting Scientists! Nice to meet you. How is your research going? I hope you can come up with a good team name.
Hey Mr. Hay! It is such an honor to be working with you on our tree-growing project. I want to introduce our group as we will work together for a while. We are made up of two seniors, Justyn and Brooke, and two sophomores, Ryan and Amelia. We can't wait to start this project and get to know each other.