The Effect of Varying Wavelengths on Photosynthesis of Spinach
Introduction
The rate of photosynthesis changes based on the light that the spinach is exposed to. Knowing the wavelengths of light that spinach is most likely to photosynthesize would help in knowing what light to expose spinach to, to ensure that it grows the best. When exposed to varying wavelengths, rate of photosynthesis varies as well. Wavelengths of green light, red light, blue light, and light without a filter change the rate of photosynthesis, because of the wavelengths absorbed by plants. Spinach is green, so it absorbs red and blue light and reflects green light (Biological Science). Based on these facts, our hypothesis was that exposing red light and green light would …show more content…
On Lab Quest Mini, the collection rate was set record data every four seconds for a period of 420 seconds (7 minutes). We weighed 30 grams of spinach using a digital scale; we allowed time for the spinach to breathe for 3 minutes while fluffing the spinach up between trials and rotated the spinach out every third trial. For each trial, the spinach was placed in a sealed container with the CO2 and O2 sensors. We began collecting data as soon as the lid was sealed on and the light was turned on. Light filters included two bottles of water placed in front of the light as a filter. The bottles used to filter the light contained clear water used as a control, water with blue dye with an estimated wavelength of 475, water with red dye at an estimated wavelength of 700, and water with green dye at an estimated wave length of 525. We ran three trials of each colored filter and two trials of our control filter. We collected 7 minutes of data for each trial, but the focus of the experiment is on the last five minutes, because we wanted the photosynthesis to have time to begin before we recorded data. The steps followed in this experiment can be found in further detail on pages 40-43 of the lab …show more content…
The red light increased the rate of the photosynthesis the most, had the smallest amount of photosynthesis. This is because of the fact that the spinach absorbs the red and blue light, and it reflects the green light. Unexpected results included the decrease in oxygen during various trials and the difference in controls in comparison with the other data. In light of this data, it can be concluded that it is likely that red light is the best light to expose spinach to, and green light is the least effective in photosynthesis. We also had anticipated that the blue light was going to be the most effective way of photosynthesizing the spinach, but we found that the red light was more effective overall, in comparison to the other trials. Alternative explanations include the spinach having varying times in between the trials to breathe, the container not being completely sealed, or the sensors not having enough time to
Introduction
The rate of photosynthesis changes based on the light that the spinach is exposed to. Knowing the wavelengths of light that spinach is most likely to photosynthesize would help in knowing what light to expose spinach to, to ensure that it grows the best. When exposed to varying wavelengths, rate of photosynthesis varies as well. Wavelengths of green light, red light, blue light, and light without a filter change the rate of photosynthesis, because of the wavelengths absorbed by plants. Spinach is green, so it absorbs red and blue light and reflects green light (Biological Science). Based on these facts, our hypothesis was that exposing red light and green light would …show more content…
On Lab Quest Mini, the collection rate was set record data every four seconds for a period of 420 seconds (7 minutes). We weighed 30 grams of spinach using a digital scale; we allowed time for the spinach to breathe for 3 minutes while fluffing the spinach up between trials and rotated the spinach out every third trial. For each trial, the spinach was placed in a sealed container with the CO2 and O2 sensors. We began collecting data as soon as the lid was sealed on and the light was turned on. Light filters included two bottles of water placed in front of the light as a filter. The bottles used to filter the light contained clear water used as a control, water with blue dye with an estimated wavelength of 475, water with red dye at an estimated wavelength of 700, and water with green dye at an estimated wave length of 525. We ran three trials of each colored filter and two trials of our control filter. We collected 7 minutes of data for each trial, but the focus of the experiment is on the last five minutes, because we wanted the photosynthesis to have time to begin before we recorded data. The steps followed in this experiment can be found in further detail on pages 40-43 of the lab …show more content…
The red light increased the rate of the photosynthesis the most, had the smallest amount of photosynthesis. This is because of the fact that the spinach absorbs the red and blue light, and it reflects the green light. Unexpected results included the decrease in oxygen during various trials and the difference in controls in comparison with the other data. In light of this data, it can be concluded that it is likely that red light is the best light to expose spinach to, and green light is the least effective in photosynthesis. We also had anticipated that the blue light was going to be the most effective way of photosynthesizing the spinach, but we found that the red light was more effective overall, in comparison to the other trials. Alternative explanations include the spinach having varying times in between the trials to breathe, the container not being completely sealed, or the sensors not having enough time to