Planting Science - Projects: Courtsunis Group 3
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Courtsunis Group 3

Project by group nfacourtsunisfall2018

Explore Plants rely on energy from the sun in order to make their food through photosynthesis. They need water as well. Plants will also turn themselves so they are facing the sun. In class we learned that different wavelengths of light can affect plants in different ways. Questions that interest include how they stand up on their own and how they know to face towards the sun?
Research Question Does the thickness of a plant effect its rate of photosynthesis?
Predictions When spinach, mustard, and red romaine leaves are exposed to a fluorescent light bulb from a fixed distance, Spinach will have the fastest rate of photosynthesis, following mustard, and then red romaine.
Experimental Design 1) Prepare a solution of distilled water and baking soda, and stir to dissolve. 2) Add 1-2 drops of diluted liquid soap and stir until thoroughly mixed. 3) Measure the thickness of the leaves using a micrometer, and record the average thickness for each of the plants. 4) Make the leaf disks by using a hole puncher and punch 10 disks of each plant (lettuce, kale, and spinach) 5) Remove the gases inside the leaf disks and infiltrate them with the baking soda solution prepared earlier. a. Carefully place 10 leaf disks in each syringe, which tweezers and tap the syringe on the table to move all the disks to the bottom of the barrel. b. Carefully push the plunger back into the syringe, avoiding any damage to the leaf disks. Place the syringe tip into the baking soda solution, and fill the syringe until the “9” mark on it. 6) Hold the tip upwards and push out any air in the syringe. 7) Place your finger on top of the syringe, and pull a vacuum until all of the leaf disks have sunk to the bottom. 8) Pour the leaf disks back into the into the cups, all should sink to the bottom. 9) Repeat for all three vegetables. 10) Place the three cups under the light stand and turn on the light. 11) Collect data every minute on how many are floating and not floating, until half (5) of the disks rise to the top.
Conclusion Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight to synthesize food from carbon dioxide and water. A by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen, which is necessary for living things, like humans. It was predicted that when a leaf is thicker, it would have a greater rate of photosynthesis. However, our prediction was incorrect. The leaf with the smallest thickness, the mustard, has the fastest rate of photosynthesis. This occurred because the thickness of the leaf, may not of been because of the larger mesophyll layer, but the thickness of the cuticle, and outer layer, hindering the rate of photosynthesis. Errors that may have occurred during the lab is while conducting the first trail, the light fixture kept moving and was not kept in a constant place. Some leaf disks may also have been crushed while in the syringe, making them stick to the syringe or not rise under the light. This may have influenced the data because, all leaves were not equidistant from the light source at all times. An observation made during the lab was that after the leaf disks rose to the top, and looking under the leaf with a magnifying glass, air bubbles were present, showing an indication of oxygen. The experiment should be conducted many more times, and more precisely to develop a final conclusion.
Investigation Theme POS
Grade Level High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12)
School Name Newburgh Free Academy
Session Fall 2018

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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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