Rate of

Photosynthesis
with Floating Leaf Disks
Eneres, Gigataras, Haro, Magbanua
 OBJECTIVES
1. To know the process of photosynthesis;
2. To understand the relationship between the temperature
and the rate of photosynthesis; and
3. To determine the rate of photosynthesis with and without the
presence of carbon dioxide in various temperature.
 MATERIALS
Spinach leaves (Alugbati)
Tap water
Single-hole
Measuring spoon
puncher/straw
Light source
Baking soda
Masking tape
Liquid dish soap
Aluminum Foil
2 Syringe (10 mL)
Water Basin
2 Beaker (500 mL)
 METHODOLOGY
A. Preparation of Materials
1. Label one beaker with "baking soda + liquid dish soap" and
the other with "liquid dish soap."
2. Prepare the baking soda solution by filling one of the "baking
soda + liquid dish soap" beaker with 300 mL of tap water. Then
add 1/8 of baking soda to the water and mix until the baking
soda has dissolved.
For room-temperature water, use normal-temperature of tap
water;
For warm-temperature water, use the hot plate to heat the
water inside the beakers up to 42 degrees Celsius; and
 METHODOLOGY
For cold-temperature water, fill the wash basin with tap water
and ice wait and wait until it reaches 15 degrees Celsius. Then,
pour the cold water onto the two beakers.

3. Add one drop of dish soap to the baking soda solution and
gently stir until it has dissolved. Avoid foam formation in your
beaker.
4. In the "liquid dish soap" beaker, add 300 mL of tap water and
one drop of dish soap and gently stir until it has dissolved. Avoid
foam formation in your beaker.
 METHODOLOGY
For room-temperature water, use normal-temperature of tap
water;
For warm-temperature water, use the hot plate to heat the
water inside the beakers up to 42 degrees Celsius
For cold-temperature water, fill the wash basin with tap water
and ice and wait until it reaches 15˚C. Then, pour the cold
water onto the two beakers.

5. With a hole-puncher, cut 20 leaf disks from the Alugbati leaves.

Make sure they are all the same size and a complete circle. Avoid
punching through major leaf veins.
 METHODOLOGY
B. Experiment Proper
1. Remove the plunger from the syringe and place 10 leaf disks
into the syringe. Place the plunger back into the syringe and
push it down until only a small volume of air is left. Be careful not
to crush the leaf disks.
2. Suck up a small volume of the baking soda solution into the
syringe with the leaf disks.
3. Carefully push all the air out of the syringe.
4. Close the opening of the syringe with a finger and draw back on
the plunger to create a vacuum. Hold the vacuum for 10–15
seconds and swirl the leaf disks to suspend them in the solution.
 METHODOLOGY
5. Release the plunger and remove your finger from the syringe
opening to release the vacuum. Make sure that all leaf disks have
sunk to the bottom.
6. Repeat step 4 and 5 until all the leaf disks have sunk to the
bottom of the solution.
7. Remove the plunger from the syringe and pour all 10 leaf disks
and the solution into the "baking soda + liquid dish soap" beaker.
8. Cover the cup with aluminum foil so no light can get in the top.
You want to keep the leaf disks in the dark until your other beaker
is ready.
 METHODOLOGY
9. Repeat steps 1–7 but this time use the soap solution without
baking soda for all steps. Place the leaf disks in the second "liquid
dish soap" beaker and cover with aluminum foil.
10. Place both beakers under your light source. Make sure the light
shines straight onto the cups from above.
11. Remove the aluminum foil from both beakers and start a timer.
At the end of each minute, record the number of floating leaf
disks for both beaker in your data table. Briefly swirl the disks to
prevent them from getting stuck to the bottom or sides of the
cup.
 METHODOLOGY

12. Continue the experiment until all leaf disks are floating in one
of the beakers.
13. Graph your data below. Plot the time on the x-axis and the
number of floating leaf disks on the y.
 RESULTS
AND
DISCUSSION
 Group 1 (Room Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)

Figure 1 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using room-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 20% of the leaf disks floated under 1 min, 30% in 3 mins, 50% in 4 mins, 60% in 5 mins, 80% in 6
mins, 90% in 10 mins and 100% in 16 minutes. Meanwhile, 10% floated in 15 mins, 20% in 25 mins, 30% in 29 mins, and 40%
in 36 mins.
 Group 2 (Room Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 2 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using room-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 100% of leaf disks floated in 1 minute and 11 seconds while none floated in the second
solution.
 Group 3 (Room Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 3 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using room-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 10% of leaf disks floated in 2 mins, 70% floated in 3 mins, 80% floated in 4 mins, 90%
floated in 6 mins and 100% floated in 10 mins. On the other hand, none floated in the second solution.
 Group 4 (Room Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using room-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 10% of leaf disks floated in 10 mins, 20% in 13 mins, 40% in 15 mins, 50% in 16 mins, 70% in 17
mins, 80% in 19 mins, and 100% in 20 minutes. Meanwhile, none floated in the second solution.
 Group 2 (Warm Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 5 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using warm-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 40% of leaf disks floated in 1 minute and 54 seconds, 60% floated in 2 minutes and 100% of
leaf disks floated in 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Meanwhile, none floated in the second solution.
 Group 5 (Warm Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

6
No. of Floating Disks

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 6 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using warm-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 10% of leaf disks floated in 15 mins, 20% in 16 mins, 40% in 24 mins, and 60% in 29 mins. On
the other hand, none floated in the second solution.
 Group 6 (Warm Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 7 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using warm-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda + Liquid
Dish Soap”, 30% of leaf disks floated in 2 mins, 80% in 3 mins, and 100% in 4 mins while none floated in the other solution.
 Group 7 (Warm Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 8 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using warm-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, 10% of leaf disk floated in 2 mins, 70% in 4 mins, 80% in 6 mins, 90% in 16 mins, and 100% in 19
mins. Meanwhile, none floated in the second solution.
 Group 2 (Cold Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

2
No. of Floating Disks

1.5

0.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)

Figure 9 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using cold-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap” solution, only 20% of leaf disks floated in 12 minutes while none floated in the second solution.
 Group 8 (Cold Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

100
No. of Floating Disks

75

50

25

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)

Figure 10 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using cold-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In both solutions, no
leaf disks floated.
 Group 9 (Cold Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

2
No. of Floating Disks

1.5

0.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)

Figure 11 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using cold-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap”, only 20% of leaf disks floated in 42 minutes while none floated in the second solution.
 Group 10 (Cold Temperature)
Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap Liquid Dish Soap

10
No. of Floating Disks

7.5

2.5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Time (Mins.)
Figure 12 shows the relationship between the time in minutes and the number of floating leaf disks using cold-
temperature water in both “Baking Soda + Liquid Dish Soap” and “Liquid Dish Soap” solutions. In the “Baking Soda +
Liquid Dish Soap" solution, 50% of leaf disks floated in 6 mins, 70% in 7 mins, 80% in 8 mins, 90% in 9 mins, and 100% in
21 mins. On the other hand, none floated in the second solution.
SUMMARY OF
FINDINGS
Room-Temperature Warm-Temperature Cold-Temperature
Group 1: 20% Group 2: 40% Group 2: 20%
floated in 1 min. floated in 1 min. floated in 12
and 11 secs. and 54 secs. mins.
Group 2: 10% Group 5: 10% Group 8: 0%
floated in 1 min. floated in 15 min.
and 11 secs. Group 6: 30% Group 9: 20%
Group 3: 10% floated in 2 mins. floated in 42
floated in 2 mins. Group 7: 10% mins.
Group 4: 10% floated in 2 mins. Group 10: 50%
floated in 10 mins. floated in 6 mins.
CONCLUSION
 Room-Temperature
In water with room temperature, the rate of
photosynthesis increases since it is the optimum
temperature of the photosynthetic enzymes.

Warm-Temperature
In water with a warm temperature, photosynthesis
slows down and decreases because enzymes are
denatured or damaged.
 Cold-Temperature
In water with cold temperature, the enzymes cannot
function properly, and so the rate of photosynthesis
decreases.

Presence of Carbon dioxide

The presence of carbon dioxide also affects the rate of
photosynthesis. It is because it increases the availability
of carbon in leaves, causing greater Rubisco activity
and higher rates of photosynthesis.
Group 2

(Room Temperature)
Group 2

(Warm Temperature)
Group 2

(Cold Temperature)
Group 1

(Room Temperature)
Group 3

(Room Temperature)
Group 4

(Room Temperature)
Group 5

(Warm Temperature)
Group 6

(Warm Temperature)
Group 7

(Warm Temperature)
Group 8

(Cold Temperature)
Group 9

(Cold Temperature)
Group 10

(Cold Temperature)
Open Forum
Do you have any questions?