| Research Question | Our group will study how the amount of baking soda in distilled water affects the rate of photosynthesis. |
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| Predictions | If there is mire baking soda in a solution, then the rate of photosynthesis would be faster because there is more Carbon Dioxide. |
| Experimental Design | 1. Fill up a cup with 100mL of distilled water and two grams of baking soda. Stir to dissolve baking soda into the water. 2. Hole punch ten leaf chads out of spinach. 3. Use the Flotation Method to sink leaf chads. 4. Pour leaf chads into the cup. 5. Put cup under light bulb for ten minutes and record the risen leaf chads every minute. 6. Repeat steps one through five for two more trials. Although trial two will contain four grams of baking soda, not two grams as used in trial one, and trial three will contain six grams. |
| Conclusion | At the end of our experiment, our group found that our claim did not match our results. Originally we thought that more baking soda in the water would increase the rate of photosynthesis, although it actually did not. Our trial with three grams of baking soda had the highest rate of photosynthesis and resulted with an average of 8 leaf disks risen over a ten minute period. This result shows a faster rate of photosynthesis compared to the two grams of baking soda with 6.6 disks rising and four grams of baking soda with 4 disks rising (both trials also over a ten minute period). We believe having too much or too little baking soda in water when performing this type of experiment lowers the rate of photosynthesis. |
| Investigation Theme | POS |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| School Name | West High School |
| Session | Spring 2019 |