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Essay about The Effect of Light Intensity on the Rate of Photosynthesis

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The Effect of Light Intensity on the Rate of Photosynthesis

Plan:

Aim: To investigate the affect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis.

Theory: Before I predict what will happen I must look at how photosynthesis occurs. Photosynthesis is the way plants create a source of food for themselves. Photosynthesis requires the following resources; Carbon Dioxide, Water and light.

Inside the leaves of a plant there is a green substance, this substance is known as chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is in the Chloroplast which are cells contained inside a plant. Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight and then makes the energy from the sunlight available for chemical reactions. This shows that Chlorophyll …show more content…

Firstly the plant needs water; this is absorbed from the soil, through the roots and is carried up the stem by water vessels within the veins. Next the plant needs carbon dioxide, this absorbed from the through pores in the leaf known as stomata. Inside cells in the leaves the carbon dioxide is mixed with water to make sugar, but in order for these to be able to mix a source of energy is needed, this energy is gained from sunlight. The sunlight is absorbed from a green pigment in plants called chlorophyll. The chlorophyll is present within the chloroplast of the leaf cells, which the reaction takes place in. Chloroplasts are small green structures found in the cytoplasm of plant cells. Chlorophyll is the substance that gives plants there green colour. It is able to absorb energy from this light. The water molecules are split into hydrogen and oxygen molecules, the oxygen escapes into the atmosphere while the hydrogen is mixed with the carbon dioxide to create sugar.

Prediction: I predict that if there is a higher amount of light intensity on the plant the rate of photosynthesis is going to increase due to there being more energy available to be used to create sugar. As the light gets further away from the plant a weaker source of energy will be reaching the plant and therefore there will be a decrease in the amount of photosynthesis occurring.

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