CLASS: 9A BIOLOGY Plant Nutrition

NOTES

Photosynthesis 

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants manufacture carbohydrates from raw materials
using energy from light:

Chlorophyll is where photosynthesis happens. It transfers light energy into chemical energy
for the synthesis of carbohydrates (i.e. glucose). 

The glucose is then either converted to sucrose for transport around the plant or starch for
storage. 

Glucose is too reactive to be transported around the plant on its own. There it has to to be
converted to sucrose first.

It is the same story with storage. Glucose cannot be stored due to its reactivity, so therefore it
must be converted to starch first. 

Limiting factor

The term limiting factor is something present in the environment in such a short supply that it
restricts life processes. 

For instance, if there was a shortage of carbon dioxide but all other raw materials were in
abundance, then carbon dioxide would be the limiting factor for photosynthesis. If there was
a shortage of chlorophyll, then that would become the limiting factor instead.  

 De-starching

De-starch all our plants by leaving the plants in the dark for 3 to 4 days. During this period
the plants will be unable to photosynthesize and therefore use up all its starch for respiration.
This means that in the beginning of our experiments, all plants (test and control) will have
absolutely no starch in them. 

This means that after the experiment, if we do a starch test (iodine test) and we find starch is
present, it would indicate that photosynthesis had occurred. 
 It is to note however that we can’t just add iodine onto a fresh leaf and expect results. First of
all, we need to break the leaf so that iodine can seep in to begin with. Moreover, we need to
remove the chlorophyll to decolourize the leaf so that the colour change from iodine is easier
to see. So here are the steps we need to take: 

 Boil the leaf in water 

 Kills the leaf to make it permeable 
 Boil the leaf in ethanol 
 Chlorophyll dissolves and the leaf decolours
 Rinse the leaf in water 
 Spread the leaf out on a white tile 
 Add iodine solution 

Factors affecting photosynthesis

 Effect of light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration, and temperature on rate of

photosynthesis 

You need to be aware of a couple of different graphs. They are quite simple so don’t worry. 

 Graph 1: Rate of photosynthesis increases with light intensity until it plateaus. The graph
plateaus because something else becomes the limiting factor (i.e. carbon dioxide). This
means that even with a stronger light intensity, there may not be enough carbon dioxide to
make the rate of photosynthesis even faster. 
 Graph 2: Rate of photosynthesis increases with increasing carbon dioxide concentration.
Again, at a certain point the graph will plateau. In this case, the light may become the
limiting factor. 
 Graph 3: The rate of photosynthesis increases with temperature until the graph reverses
and eventually drops down to zero. This is because high temperatures will denature
enzymes that are required for photosynthesis. 

 
 Leaf structure 

You need to know the structure of a leaf, and how this structure is adapted for
photosynthesis. 

We will go through the functions of each of the structures in the diagram above: 

 Cuticle – Made of wax which waterproofs the leaf

 Upper epidermis – A barrier against disease organism. The cells are thin and transparent to
allow light to enter the leaf. 
 Palisade mesophyll – Main site of photosynthesis. Cells are long and packed with
chloroplasts to trap light energy. They receive carbon dioxide via diffusion from air spaces
in the spongy mesophyll 
 Spongy mesophyll – Cells are spherical and loosely packed. They contain chloroplasts but
not as many as the palisade layer. Loose packing creates air spaces and this allows gas
exchange (i.e. carbon dioxide to the cells, and oxygen from the cells) 
 Vascular bundle – Contains xylem and phloem. Xylem vessels bring water and minerals to
the leaf. Phloem vessels transport sugars and amino acids away from the leaf to the rest of
the plant (translocation) 
 Lower epidermis – Acts as a protective layer. It contains the stomata 
 Stomata – These are gaps in the underside of the leaf, surrounding by a pair of guard cells.
The guard cells control whether the stoma is open or closed. It is through stomata that
carbon dioxide diffuses into the leaf and oxygen diffuses out. Water vapour is also lost
through this structure in transpiration. 

Mineral requirements 
There are two important mineral requirements for plants that you need to be aware of. 

Firstly, nitrate ions are important for plants as they are used in building amino acids (which
eventually become proteins). A nitrate ion deficiency would slow down the growth of the
plant, the stem would weaken. Lower leaves will turn yellow-ish and the upper leaves will
become pale green as they die off.  

Secondly, magnesium ions are required to make chlorophyll. If a plant has a magnesium ion
deficiency then they will lack chlorophyll. Leaves turn yellow from the bottom of the stem
upwards and plant growth will slow down due to reduced photosynthesis.