| Explore | We know that leaves fall in fall, and that when the sun is facing away from the (Northern) Hemisphere, the leaves turn red because of less sunlight reaching us. We have discovered that cellular respiration and photosynthesis are linked, as they feed into each other, and that cellular respiration can be seen in water as bubbles, when the plant exhales. We are curious to know why the leaves fall off the tree. We know that they do, but we don't know why. |
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| Research Question | Does being in a vacuum affect photosynthesis? We came up with this question by looking at available materials, and determining what we can actually test with said materials. This question fit what we knew by telling us that cellular respiration and photosynthesis are connected, but how connected are they really? |
| Predictions | We predict that throughout this experiment, photosynthesis will not be able to occur without air. Cellular respiration is connected to photosynthesis and without one the other cannot occur. |
| Experimental Design | Does the amount of air affect photosynthesis? Hypothesis: If the amount of air is decreased, then photosynthesis cannot occur. IV: air pressure DV: acidity of BTB Constant: amount of light/water 1. cut the leaves into slivers 2. fill the flask full with correctly formulated BTB 3. put the spinach leaves in flash and prepare the vacuum 4. measure the original pH 5. seal the flask 6. after two minutes, What color is the BTB? 7. pump the vacuum tube once, repeat 10 times 8. open flask and remeasure the pH 9. put information into the data table Did the pH become more acidic? |
| Conclusion | We have concluded that photosynthesis can still occur without air. There was enough carbon dioxide and oxygen that they could cancel each other out, and therefore no change in the results. The data we collected does not support our claim, as we discovered that photosynthesis did still occur in the flask. In future experiments, we should put a plant in a true vacuum sealed container that they would have at like NASA, that could truly replicate the vacuum of space. |
| Investigation Theme | POS |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| Teacher Name | Kate Ramin |
| School Name | McQueen High School |
| Session | Fall 2023 |
| About this Project | Does being in a vacuum affect Photosynthesis? These student creatively planned an experiment to answer this question. I was impressed with thier experimental design and their intelligent interpretation of result. They made conclusions based on obtained data and proposed an improved approach to solving the question (in their capacity) -- Abdulkabir Omeiza Abdulmalik, Liaison |
