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Caitlan Gannam

IB Bio
Selimovic
August 26, 15
Lab Write Up
Problem: When all is removed from the spongy Mesophyll and replaced
with varying concentrations of (NaHCO3) how will the different
concentrations of sodium bicarbonate affect the rate of
photosynthesis?
Background:
The photosynthesis reaction is

6CO +6H O>C H O +6O


2

12

Sunlightenergy

Hypothesis: When spinach leaf disks are exposed to different


concentrations of (NaHCO3), then the leaf disks exposed to the .66%
solution will have the fastest rate of photosynthesis.
Materials:
5 grams of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
Liquid dish soap
Plastic syringe (20-60ml) No needle
40 leaf disks
Hole punch
4 large beakers
4 small beakers
Timer
Light source (60watt or higher)
Procedure:
1. Using a hole punch cut 40 leaf disks out of a spinach leaf.
2. Prepare the Backing soda solutions by pouring 300ml of water
into each large beaker and adding two drops of dish soap to each
beaker. Then measure out .5 grams of backing soda to go into
beaker 1, 1 gram of backing soda to go into beaker 2, 1.5 grams
of backing soda to go into beaker 3, and 2 grams of baking soda
to go into beaker 4. Stir each beaker until baking soda has
dissolved.
3. Remove the plunger from a large clean syringe (no needle). Place
10 leaf disks into the syringe making sure to position the leaf
disks near the bottom so as to not damage them when inserting
the plunger.

4. Insert the plunger and use the syringe to draw 15 ml of solution


1 into the syringe. The leafs should be floating at this tie.
5. Hold the syringe upward and expel the air be depressing the
plunger carefully. Stop before any solution comes out the tip.
6. Seal the tip of the syringe using the index finger of your nondominant hand. Pull back the plunger creating a vacuum within
the syringe. If you have a good seal it should be hard to pull on
the plunger and you should see air bubbles coming from the
edge of the leaf disks. Hold for a count of ten and then release
both the plunger and your index finger at the same time.
7. Repeat step 6 until all leaf disks have sunk to the bottom of the
syringe. DO NOT Repeat after all have sunk to prevent damage
to the leafs.
8. Remove the plunger and pour the solution and the leaf disks into
beaker 1 (located under the light source) and immediately start
the timer. Measure how long it takes each disk to rise and record
the data.
9. Repeat steps 3-9 for the remaining beakers.
Data:
Independent Variable: The concentration of the NaHCO3 solutions
Dependent Variable: The rate of photosynthesis
Constants:
Type of beakers
Type of Baking Soda
Type of soap
Amount of water
Type of spinach
Size of leaf disks
Results:
Measured in minutes/ 300ml

Trials
Concentrat
ion

2.4
1
3.4
8
2.6
8
4.8
6

2.4
1

2.4
5
3.8
5
2.8
1
5.0
1

2.4
5
5.3
1
2.9
6
5.4
3

.16%

1.5

.33%

0.2
8

2.3
3
2.2
8

.5%

2.5

2.6

.66%

4.1
1

4.1
5

* Did not rise after 10 minutes.

3.5
2.8
4.9

7
2.5
5.9
6
3.2
1
5.8
3

3.3
3
6.0
3

3.8
3
8.2
8
3.5
6

8.3
1
3.6
6

8.7

3.4
8.3
8

10
*

Av
g.
3.2
2
4.0
8
2.4
1
6.1
4

Rate of Photosynthesis based on %Sodium bicarbonate Soluion


7

6.14

6
5
Rate of Photosynthesis 4
in minutes/300mL
3

4.08
3.22
2.41

2
1
0
0.0016

0.0033

0.005

0.0066

% Sodium Bicarbonate Concentration

Conclusion
The .5% sodium bicarbonate solution had the fastest rate of
photosynthesis while the .66% solution had the slowest rate. This could
indicate that to much sodium bicarbonate can cause an issue with the
photo systems slowing the rate of photosynthesis.
The original hypothesis that the .66% solution would cause the fastest
rate of photosynthesis was disproven.
For future experiments the researcher could use more precise
measuring utensils and attempt to remove as much human error as
possible.

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