The Effects Of Uv C Radiation On Higher Terrestrial Plant Species

There are two main types of chlorophyll, chlorophyll a which absorbs wavelengths of 430nm (blue) and 662 (red) and is the main photosynthetic pigment, and chlorophyll b, which doesn’t directly participate in the photosynthetic process, but is capable of donating its energy to chlorophyll a

Introduction: Photosynthesis can be defined as a solar powered process that removes atmospheric carbon dioxide and transforms it into oxygen and carbohydrates (Harris-Haller 2014). Photosynthesis can be considered to be the most important biochemical process on Earth because it helps plants to grow its roots, leaves, and fruits, and plants serve as autotrophs which are crucial to the food chain on earth. Several factors determine the process of photosynthesis. Light is one these factors and is the main subject of this experiment. The intensity of light is a property of light that is important for photosynthesis to occur. Brighter light causes more light to touch the surface of the plant which increases the rate of photosynthesis (Speer 1997). This is why there is a tendency of higher rates of photosynthesis in climates with a lot of sunlight than areas that primarily do not get as much sunlight. Light wavelength is also a property of

In my research paper, I will attempt to determine how the perception of light in phytochromes plays a role in the development of plants. Specifically, I will look at how phytochromes play a role in the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana. The paper will also look at how light perception plays a role in phototropism and the immune systems of a plant. Finally, my paper will explore how changing light conditions impact perception in phytochromes.

The ozone layer is in the Earth’s stratosphere and the necessity of this layer is to protect the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation rays. “Since the late 1970s, an ozone hole has formed over Antarctica each austral spring (September / October), in which up to 66 percent of the total ozone is depleted” (Ozone Layer Protection). What directly causes holes in ozone are Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), which rapidly damage the ozone layer. However, with the rising global warming temperature the CFCs’ process is catalysed, further damaging the ozone layer. “According to the estimates made by Dasgupta and Bhaumik (1995), it is likely that 10% decrease in ozone will lead to 20% increase in UV irradiance” (Gangul and Iyer 2006). Once an uncontrolled amount of UV radiation is exposed to lifeforms, especially to humans, “According to the estimates made by Vander Leun and De Gruijl (1993), 1% decrease in total stratospheric columnar ozone (SCO) will lead to 2.3% increase in non-melanoma skin cancer, 2% increase in cutaneous melanoma and 0.5% increase in the incidence of cataracts” (Gangul and Iyer 2006). More devastating effects from the depleting ozone layer are more destruction to agricultural fields, warming of oceans and increased acidity which is diminishing the amounts of phytoplankton, which can immensely affect the stability of the food chain. Therefore, the depletion of

In this lab, four different types of leaves were tested to see the rate at which each leaf photosynthesized. This lab demonstrates how plants store light, capture light, and use light as energy for reproduction and growth, by photosynthesis. The control in this experiment was spinach, which was tested before any of the other plants were. The other plants that were tested were English Ivy, C4 Plant, and a multicolored plant. Each type of leaf was tested in a sodium bicarbonate solution and a solution of distilled water. It will be shown in the discussion whether the hypothesis made was correct or incorrect. It will be shown in the discussion what could have

Abstract: During photosynthesis plants take light energy and turn it into chemical energy. The purpose of the study was to test the effect of various lighting conditions on the rate of photosynthesis. In this experiment the rate of photosynthesis is measured by timing how long it takes photosynthesis to occur in ten leaf disks that are in a solution of carbon dioxide. The prediction for this experiment was that if a plant receives more light, then it will have a higher rate of photosynthesis. The data supports the hypothesis, because the rate of photosynthesis is higher in direct sunlight than in the shade. This experiment untimely lead to the conclusions that light and carbon dioxide are necessary for photosynthesis to occur.

Plants occur around the world in a wide variety of environments, but how does the environment affect photosynthesis rate? Temperature, light intensity, water supply, and the amount of carbon dioxide are all factors that contribute photosynthesis rate. For the lab on photosynthesis, our group tested the Anacharis Bunch plant, which is an aquatic plant that needs moderate light in order for photosynthesis to occur (“Anacharis (Egeria densa)”). For photosynthesis to take place, energy from the sun is required. When sunlight strikes a plant, the stoma opens and carbon dioxide along with energy from the sun are absorbed into the chlorophyll as well as water which is transported up through the leaves to the chloroplasts where the chlorophyll are located. The chlorophyll then uses carbon dioxide, water, and the sun’s energy to produce to sugars such as glucose. After the glucose is produced, the energy that is stored in the glucose is then used to form ATP, which is carried throughout the plant and into the chloroplast where the energy is used for photosynthesis and other cellular functions. As a byproduct of synthesizing, a plant releases oxygen and water into the air. Then the cycle of photosynthesis which is made up of two parts, the Light Reactions and the Calvin Cycle, start all over again (“A Primer on Photosynthesis”). To figure out the rate at which the Anacharis Bunch plant photosynthesizes under different conditions, my group and I decided to test the

In this lab the effect of changing the pH of water that leaf disks were submerged into to find the effect on the ET50 time of plants. The hypothesis was that if the pH is closer to a normal water pH than the ET50 time will be the smallest. This lab was conducted to see what different variables change the amount of time needed for photosynthesis to occur(ET50) . This is important because of acid rain being present in the world with climate change and the effect it can have on plants which has large tolls. Previous studies have shown that acid rain and a change in pH can have damaging effects on plants. One study, showed that, acid rain destroyed the chloroplast of soybeans the location of photosynthesis in plants which disrupted photosynthesis

Results found the necessity for light and CO2 in photosynthesis. As shown in Figure 1, the light + CO2 treatment had approximately 55% of disks float. The mesophyll layer of a leaf has many spaces filled with gas, causing floatation. However, all gases were removed from the Beta vulgaris disks in this experiment and replaced with water and dissolved sodium bicarbonate respectively. The sodium bicarbonate releases CO2, allowing photosynthesis to occur. Exposure to light also helps the Beta vulgaris photosynthesize and produce oxygen, therefore causing floatation. Light enters the chloroplasts of a plant and becomes stored as chemical energy in organic compounds, which are produced from CO2 (Mudie, K. and Brotherton, J. 2004). This supports the idea that light and CO2 together drive photosynthesis to

Let's start in the upper atmosphere and work our way down to the surface. The stratosphere (that part of the atmosphere above the wispy clouds extending nearly 30 miles above the surface) contains ~97 percent of the ozone on the planet. This ozone is considered extremely beneficial and is, in fact, essential for life as we know it. Ozone has the very special property of absorbing the highly energetic ultraviolet (UV) rays that come from the sun. This partial absorption of UV light protects life from the complications that result when life forms are exposed to elevated levels of it. In humans, UV light might be desirous to someone attempting to get a tan, but it is very damaging to our eyes (via cataracts), contributes in the creation of cancerous skin cells, produces age spots, and stimulates wrinkles. (Despite the fact that our culture tends to admire tanned skin, the process of tanning is actually a sign of skin damage.) Many plants also show signs of reduced productivity when exposed to higher UV levels. Thus, stratospheric ozone is a blessing to all of life because of its ability to absorb (and therefore block) much of the UV light from reaching the earth's surface.

A community and the interactions of living and nonliving things in an area are commonly referred to as an ecosystem. Being a part of the Earth’s vast ecosystems, the marine ecosystem is among the largest on Earth; having such unique characteristics that make this ecosystem so unique; such as Coral Reefs, Polar Regions, and the Deep Sea. All of these levels of the marine ecosystem are widely used by the aquatic marine life, which is also being affected each and every day by humans and greatly affected by the Sun’s Ultraviolet Rays. Having the Sun’s Ultraviolet Rays beaming down onto Earth’s Stratosphere reduces the amount of ozone on Earth. In this paper, I will be telling

However, the photosynthetic process can be affected by different environmental factors. In the following experiment, we tested the effects that the light intensity, light wavelength and pigment had on photosynthesis. The action spectrum of photosynthesis shows which wavelength of light is the most effective using only one line. The absorption spectrum plots how much light is absorbed at different wavelengths by one or more different pigment types. Organisms have different optimal functional ranges, so it is for our benefit to discover the conditions that this process works best. If the environmental conditions of light intensity, light wavelength and pigment type are changed, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase with average light intensity and under the wavelengths of white light which will correspond to the absorption spectrum of the pigments. The null hypothesis to this would be; if the environmental conditions light intensity, light wavelength and pigment type are changed, then the rate of photosynthesis will decrease with average light intensity and under the white light which will correspond to the absorption spectrum of the pigments.

Sunlight includes ultraviolet radiation, which can harm turf grass. Ultraviolet radiation is split into three different categories based on their wavelengths, UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C. UV-A has a wave length of 400-315nm, and is the least harmful to turf grass. UV-B has a wave length of 315-280nm, and is responsible for getting through the ozone layer and is the most harmful UV light to turf grass. UV-C has a wavelength of 100-280nm, but this wavelength never reaches the earth. The smaller the wavelength the more energy, and radiation with higher energy can penetrate deeper into the cells, causing more damage (Huylenbroeck and Bockstaele, 2001). Over exposure to ultraviolet radiation can be harmful to grasses and weeds, by damaging the grasses DNA, its proteins, lipids and membranes. With over exposure to ultraviolet radiation, grasses can undergo mutations when reproducing. Mutations are however, mostly negative, inhibiting vital cellular processes (DNA transcription and replication) and resulting in disturbed cellular function, sometimes even cell death (Busey and Davis, 1991).

A plant is any of the boundless number of living beings within the biological kingdom Plantae, these species are considered of low motility since this species generally generate their own food by sunlight. They incorporate a large group of commonplace life forms including trees, forbs, bushes, grasses, vines, plants, and greeneries. In this task we are experimenting the relationship between light and plant growth by growing plants in three different lights which are red light, blue light and white light. As I stated above that plants generate their own food by sunlight. Sunlight can be broken up by a prism into respective colors of red, blue, orange, yellow, green, indigo, violet and white. All this lights have specific

Some of the organisms are reported to have the skin cancer when exposed to the high frequency UV ray. An