| Explore | Plants do photosynthesis to create energy for themselves because they are autotrophs. To preform photosynthesis, the plants need light energy, carbon dioxide, water, and chlorophyll. |
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| Research Question | We are testing to see if and how fast photosynthesis occurs if the water used is polluted. We are doing this by switching the water to tea. Everyday, pollution becomes a larger problem in our society. We are testing to see if the plants are being affected by the pollution and if they can withstand pollution. |
| Predictions | Some possible outcomes of our study could be photosynthesis not occuring at all, having it speed up, it staying the same, or having it slow down. We believe the new solution will slow down the photosynthesis process. We think this will happen because photosynthesis needs water to occur, so if the water is polluted or changed, it will make the process slower |
| Experimental Design | First, we are going to cut out spinach circles and separate them evenly into syringes with water in them. Then, we are going to suck out all of the oxygen out of the spinach so it sinks. Next, we empty the leaves into two cups. One of them has water and 1 tps of baking soda. The other cup has tea and 1 tps of baking soda. Then, we put a heat lamp over the top of the cups evenly. Finally, we record how many leaves float to the top of each cup. |