The Effect of Light Intensity on Photosynthetic Rates
Tina Means
Lab Partners: D. Northness, N. Cruz, and J. Mayes
March 19, 2015
Introduction
In order to survive, all organisms need to have a source of energy. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use light energy and simple molecules to make chemical energy. The majority of all living things on earth benefit either directly or indirectly from the ability of photoautotrophs to do photosynthesis. Plants provide oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere and all animals, including humans, depend on plant material for food or to feed the food that they ultimately consume. Photosynthesis takes place inside the chloroplasts of a eukaryotic cell. Many factors affect the rate of photosynthesis in photoautotrophs including temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, the presence of water, and light intensity.
The photosynthesis process occurs in two main stages, the light reactions, and the Calvin Cycle. The light reactions of photosynthesis take place in the thylakoid membrane. This is where light energy is turned into chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH. The ATP and NADPH then enter the Calvin Cycle which takes place in the stroma of the chloroplasts. The Calvin Cycle builds large molecules from small carbons to make sugars that are used for energy. The overall equation for photosynthesis that occurs in plants is as follows:
Light Energy + 6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Since plants are eukaryotic, they not only do
Photosynthesis is the process of autotrophs turning carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen, using light energy from sunlight. Autotrophs are organisms that are able to produce nutrients and organic compounds using inorganic materials. Examples of autotrophs are green plants, algae, bacteria, etc. Organisms which are capable to photosynthesize are called photoautotroph. The chloroplasts (plant cell that contains chlorophyll) in autotrophs trap light energy from the sun and use it to combine
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants consumed inorganic materials like solar light, carbon dioxide and water and converted it to an organic molecule like sugar and an inorganic gas like oxygen. Light is one of the major elements influencing the rate of photosynthesis; direct light concentration affects the noncyclic pathway (light
Without the process known as Photosynthesis, life wouldn’t be the way it was. Earth is an open system requiring the input energy to drive life processes. In photosynthesis, light energy is transformed into chemical energy. The chemical energy used in photosynthesis is synthesized into organic compounds by glucose and carbon dioxide. In the same process, water is used and oxygen is released into the atmosphere. The oxygen released from photosynthesis is what we use to breathe and is needed for our daily lives. We’re dependent on the successfulness of plants conducting photosynthesis but plants are also dependent on us. Plants are dependent on us because of respiration. Respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis where oxygen is being consumed and carbon dioxide is being release.
Light energy and water (H20) go into this reaction and the thylakoids produce oxygen. It also produces ATP and NADPH, which is used for the other reaction. The other reaction is called the Light-Independent reaction and it does not need light to work. Carbon dioxide (CO2) goes into the Calvin Cycle and it produces glucose (C6H12O6). It produces ADP+P and NADP+ to the Light-Dependent reaction to recharge them. When the ATP went into the Calvin Cycle, it lost a phosphate, becoming ADP, because that reaction required energy. When NADPH went into the Calvin Cycle, it lost a hydrogen. These reaction rely on eachother. The oxygen comes from the splitting of water. Lastly, the three factors that affect photosynthesis are temperature, carbon dioxide flow, and light intensity. While doing the Photosynthesis Webquest online, those were the three things you had to change on the computer in order strengthen the photosynthesis process in the plant. Photosynthesis helps answer the
Photosynthesis is a process that conserves 40% of the energy originally composed in one glucose molecule. An engine only conserves 25% of the energy from it’s original source. It’s amazing to know one tiny, little cell is more efficient than an entire engine. This fact about photosynthesis is responsible for all life on earth. While human life is the most relatable effect of photosynthesis, it is not the only effect. Photosynthesis is also responsible for food production, cellular respiration, energy release in plants, and cell duplication.
Photosynthesis is the process used by plants, algae and cyanobacteria to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy for later use. The first stage in photosynthesis involves drawing moisture (H2O) and Carbon Dioxide from the surrounding area. The next stage in photosynthesis occurs when the light from the sun reaches the chloroplasts in the organism, for plants this is in their leaves, and for algae and cyanobacteria it happens in their antennae that collect the light. This light energy is used to convert the stored carbon and water in the organism into Glucose (C6H12O6) and Oxygen (O2). The glucose is stored in the organism whereas the oxygen becomes a byproduct of this reaction and is released into the immediate area. It is this
Photosynthesis is a process that uses water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide to make oxygen and glucose (sugar). The process is light energy is converted to chemical energy.The steps are that sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide goes inside the plant. Then the outputs are oxygen and glucose (sugar). Photosynthesis is needed to make energy. It also provides us the oxygen we need.
What makes photosynthesis essential is when vitality entering the chloroplasts as daylight gets to be warehoused as the concoction vitality inside carbon-based blends. That sugar created in the chloroplasts furnishes plants with substance vitality and carbon systems to make all the significant natural atoms of cells. Photosynthesis produces more than 500 billion metric huge amounts of starches and is the most extreme vital technique on earth. It is additionally dependable and in charge of the event of oxygen in our environment.
To do the experiment I will set up the apparatus first. I will firstly place the tripod on top of the base of the clamp stand and fill the 300ml beaker with 250ml of water to create the water bath. I will place the boss in the middle of the bar on the clamp stand and place the clamp in the boss. I
Photosynthesis is a key contributor to the survival of humans. Earth is an open system requiring the input energy to drive life processes Photosynthesis uses light energy to produce chemical energy which is glucose. Photosynthesis deals with plant growth as well as being a source of energy and food. The four things needed for plant growth are energy in the form of solar radiation, carbon in the form of carbon dioxide, mineral nutrients and water (Kirk, 1994). In order for plants to be able to conduct photosynthesis, plants need chloroplasts. Chloroplasts, green colored cells, are a plastid that contains chlorophyll and in which photosynthesis takes place. Photosynthesis is indeed very essential for plants, but it depends on environmental factors. For example, photosynthetic tissues can experience variations in temperature which can affect the rate and integrity of components in photosynthesis (Govindjee, 2012). Other essential resources that contribute to photosynthesis varies in habitat and time as well. In the same process, water is used and oxygen is released into the atmosphere. The oxygen released from photosynthesis is what we use to breathe and is needed for our daily lives. The oxygen being released is a part of Respiration. Respiration comprises of four different stages.
Photosynthesis is an oxidation-reduction process powered by light in order to create energy for the cell. Plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria (Kingdom Protista) use light energy to synthesize organic compounds (Whitmarsh and Govindjee). The chemical equation for photosynthesis looks relatively simple, however, is truly complicated because the cell has to use over 30 different proteins to synthesize organic compounds within the cell. Photosynthesis is represented by the chemical equation, 6CO2 + 6H2O + light → C6H12O6 + 6O2. The equation shows that carbon dioxide, water, and light react to form glucose (a carbohydrate) and oxygen. Each year, photosynthesis is responsible for ten percent of the atmospheric carbon dioxide on earth being reduced to form glucose (Whitmarsh and Govindjee). Photosynthesis is essential for the life of the cell because it provides energy for the cell to do all of its biological needs. Photosynthesis is also really important for other living organisms, including humans, because the waste product of photosynthesis is oxygen, which is essential for life of most living things. Photosynthesis creates two compounds, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine di-nucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH). ATP and NADPH are the “energy currency” of the cell (Whitmarsh and Govindjee). Photosynthesis occurs in two main processes, the light dependent reactions, and the dark reactions.
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants, a select number of prokaryotes, and algae use solar energy and convert it into chemical energy. (Swarthout, 2010)The chemical energy is generally stored as glucose. Photosynthesis most notably occurs in the leaves of plants, more specifically, in the chloroplast. The Calvin Cycle and light reactions are two stages that occur in photosynthesis. In the light reactions, the solar energy is stored in the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplast, which then create ATP and NADPH. In the Calvin Cycle or dark reaction, chemical energy that is in the ATP and NADPH is utilized in order to convert CO2 into glucose. In both C3 and C4 plants, Rubisco, an enzyme, transforms CO2 which is used later on to create organic compounds such as glucose. (Marshall et al 2016) Carbon dioxide is used directly and as a result photorespiration occurs. This makes the photosynthesis of these plants less efficient. In C4 plants, a different pathway is used and produces carbohydrates more efficiently. (Marshall et al 2016)
When using algae beads and a CO2 indicator, the process of Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration can be measured. In this experiment the intensity of light will be altered in each trail, and the rate of Photosynthesis will then be measured. As you rise from low light intensity to higher light intensity, the rate of photosynthesis will increase because there is more light available to drive the reactions of photosynthesis. However, once the light intensity gets high enough, the rate won’t increase anymore since there will be more-light than water and CO2; there will not be enough components from light, water, and CO2 to create the process of Photosynthesis. As CO2 dissolves and the amount of CO2 goes up, the pH will lower, which means the solutions color will change varying form red, orange and yellow, all pending on what the pH is at. CO2 will be produced from respiration, all while photosynthesis absorbs the CO2. This means that when the rate of photosynthesis is less than respiration, pH levels will decrease, and CO2 concentration will increase. Vis versa, when pH levels increase and CO2 concentration decreases, the photosynthesis rate is greater than the respiration rate.
Photosynthesis can be considered the most important chemical reaction on Earth. Most life on Earth is maintained using energy stored in the carbohydrate glucose produced by photosynthesis. Green plants contain chlorophylls, pigments, which have the ability to trap light energy. The trapped light energy is changed into chemical energy, which is stored in carbohydrates such as glucose (C6H12O6). Photosynthesis means building up, synthesis, and using light, photo. The raw materials for this process are carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from the atmosphere, and liquid water (H2O) obtained through the roots of land plants. A by-product of this process is oxygen (O2) gas, which
Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy for other organisms’ activities. The two stages responsible for this process are Photochemical reactions (Light reactions) and Biochemical reactions (Calvin cycle). The light reactions consist of two enzymatic protein complexes, Photosystem II and Photosystem I, in the thylakoid membrane of a chloroplasts that use light to reduce molecules to power the electron transport chain. Photosystem II contains a chlorophyll with an optimum wavelength of 680 nanometers that uses the light energy absorbed to excite electrons from the chlorophyll to a higher energy level while using some of the energy absorbed to pump hydrogen ions into the thylakoid membrane (Khan Academy). As water is being oxidized, the electrons stripped are being used to power the electron transport chain, transferring electrons from Photosystem II down to Photosystem I while releasing a biproduct of oxygen. The electrons in Photosystem I are also excited by light to a higher energy state reducing NADP to NADPH. The hydrogen ions that have been pumped into the thylakoid membrane are used for ATP synthase.