Nick DeCosmo

11/2/2021

Bio 1 Lab

The Rate of Photosynthesis in Correlation to Light Intensity Measured by the Consumption of

Carbon Dioxide in Green Elodea
Introduction

Plants around the world require different amounts of sunlight to undergo photosynthesis. This can be
seen in the different sizes of leaves on the plant. The larger the leaf, the more chloroplasts there are to
absorb light (Lambers H., Chapin F.S., Pons T.L, 2008). Finding the best possible range of light for the
plant is key for the production of Oxygen and for the plant to create energy for itself. With this range
established for the Green Elodea, it can lead to a better suited area for the Green Elodea to live while
benefiting the local ecosystem based upon the amount of sunlight shined in the area; thus, creating a
healthier balance between Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide within the water. Without this balance the
organisms that live in this water would create a higher level of CO2 in the water, resulting it to become
acidic (Clifton KB, 2018-2019). In higher concentrations this can be toxic for marine organisms.

Due to the chloroplasts having to be in direct contact with sunlight to undergo photosynthesis, some
parts of the leaves could not be getting enough sunlight which is usually caused by the intensity of the
light. With the need of chloroplasts and sunlight coming in contact with each other, the change of
intensity could potentially change the rate of photosynthesis. To accurately observe this, the same type
of plant would need to be placed under different intensities of light, which can be replicated with
distance from a light source.

The objective of this experiment was to place 2 solutions at different distances from a light and test for
the amount of CO2 in the water after having a Green Elodea within said water. Both tests would have
the same amount of water, Elodea, and placed for the same amount of time in front of the light source.
The amount of CO2 was expected to lower the closer the Elodea was placed from the light source for
the allotted time.

Materials and Methods

The preparation of this experiment required samples of healthy green elodea. 2 grams of elodea and 50
mL of distilled water were placed into a beaker labeled “Elodea 15”, the step was repeated for a beaker
labeled “Elodea 30”. Elodea 15 was then measured and placed 15 cm away from the light source. It
remained there for 30 minutes and was removed from the light source. The elodea was removed from
the beaker and 3 drops of Phenolphthalein was added. The solution was then stirred with a stirring rod
until the mixture became clear. Drops of 0.02 m NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) was added and then stirred
until there was a faint yet permanent pink color within the solution. It is imperative to add one drop of
0.02 m NaOH at a time then was stirred before adding another drop. The same steps were followed for
Elodea 30 but instead of placing the elodea 15 cm away from the light source it was placed 30 cm away.
Results

The distance of the light source caused an ever-increasing count of CO2. During the 30 minutes, the
Elodea placed 15 centimeters away from the light source resulted in having a lower Carbon Dioxide
concentration than the Elodea placed 30 centimeters away (Figure 1). The resulting drops of 0.02 m
NaOH placed in the solution translated to the concentration of CO2 in the water (Table 1).

Table 1. Correlation of drops of Sodium Hydroxide to Carbon Dioxide concentration.

Drops of 0.02 m Concentration of CO2

NaOH (mL)

1 0.05

2 0.09

3 0.14

Concentration of CO2 over 30 minutes

0.1
0.09
0.08
0.07
Volume of CO2 (mL)

0.06
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0
15 30
Distance from light source (centimeters)

Figure 1. The relationship between the Carbon Dioxide concentration within the water and the distance
of the Elodea plant from the light source over the course of 30 minutes. A 0.01 room for error of the
volume of CO2 was added due to potential errors conducted during the experiment.
Discussion

During this experiment, the Elodea that was placed closer to the light source had a lower concentration
of CO2 which entails a higher rate of photosynthesis. This is possibly due to the amount of light hitting
the Elodea being greater compared to the Elodea being placed further away. The light emitted from the
source started to spread further thus weakening the concentration of light in one area. This led to a
lower rate of photosynthesis the further the Elodea is placed from the light source which would require
more drops of 0.02 m NaOH to get the desired permanent but faint pink hue. This would implicate that
there was a higher concentration of Carbon Dioxide within the water that was further from the light
source. (Figure 1.) Thus, the hypothesis that the closer the Elodea is placed to a light source the CO2 in
the water would decrease is supported based upon the results gathered in this experiment.

The trend found in this experiment is rather small but is similar to that of the findings by D Shin, M Song,
C Thompson (2011) who conducted a similar experiment but included 3 trials, 6 different ranges of light
intensity or treatments, along with exposure to the light source varying from 30 minutes to 2 hours
depending on the trial. They found that there was no exponential change in the rate of photosynthesis
but there was a slight incline during the beginning of trial 1 and 2. It would seem that after reaching
6000 lux the rate of photosynthesis would start to plateau. Due to only having 2 variables for light
intensity within our experiment, the rate of photosynthesis is similar to the beginning of trials 1 and 2.

The Elodea gathered for the experiment did not have the same number of leaves between the two
distances. This can lead to higher rates of photosynthesis due to having more chloroplasts to undergo
photosynthesis. A simple fix would be to count the number of leaves for each group before starting the
experiment and adding around .01 room for error of the volume of CO2 in the results gathered. (Figure
1.) Additionally, light emitted from the ceiling lights could have induced a higher rate of photosynthesis
compared to only having the single light source.

The results gathered from this experiment imply that there is room for the rate of photosynthesis to
increase within Green Elodea plants. This can help in process of properly locating ecosystems that are
suitable for this type of Elodea to grow while not out competing the local marine plants. Also, this could
be used to create the perfect environment to mass produce Green Elodea to fight against invasive
marine plants in their local ecosystem.

References

[1] Lambers H., Chapin F.S., Pons T.L. 2008. Photosynthesis. In: Plant Physiological Ecology. Springer,
New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78341-3_2

[2] D Shin, M Song, C Thompson. 2011. Turn That Light Up: Examining the Effect of Light Intensity on
Photosynthesis as Measured by Oxygen Production in Elodea canadensis.
https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/expedition/article/view/183642

[3] Clifton KB. 2018-2019. BSC 2010L Biology 1 Laboratory Manual Fourth Edition. Page 76. Department
of Biology University of West Florida.