Bicarbonate Concentration Lab Report

The purpose of this lab was to analyze the impact different concentrations of bicarbonate solution had on the rate of photosynthesis in spinach disks. We derived a hypothesis that stated if the concentration of bicarbonate solution increased, the rate of photosynthesis would escalate causing the disks to rise faster to the top of the syringe. When conducting the baseline experiment using a 0.2% bicarbonate solution, the spinach disks starting rising around the ninth or tenth minute. However we realized that the distance we kept between the disks and light source was around 14 cm, 4 cm more than what was required. As a result, we conducted a second baseline experiment with the same concentration of bicarbonate solution measuring the distance …show more content…
It was hypothesized that increasing the bicarbonate concentrations in the leaf disks’ surroundings would yield a faster rate of photosynthesis. Understanding this idea, different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate were prepared in order to identify changes in photosynthetic rate based on concentration differences. Four different concentrations were used, and each concentration was recorded over the span of 15 …show more content…
The lamp mimicked the sun’s light energy, which is something that plants need in order to carry out photosynthesis. The timer would start as soon as the syringes containing the different concentrations were placed under the lamp. After each minute, someone would record how many leaf disks rose to the top of the syringe. So, the data was quantified as the amount of leaf disks that floated in each minute. A leaf disk floating to the top of the syringe indicates that it is producing Oxygen, a byproduct of photosynthesis. All data that was recorded was up to the 15th