Secondary 3 Cambridge Biology

Pre-Mid Year Exam

Revision Note
Photosynthesis
Photo – Light; Synthesis – Making
Photosynthesis means making food with light.

Reactants of Photosynthesis
• Carbon dioxide- gets from the air through the stomata in the leaves
• Water- from the soil and absorbed by roots
Energy need for photosynthesis
• Light energy- captured by chlorophyll in chloroplasts
Products of photosynthesis
• Glucose – simple sugar (food), a store of chemical energy
• Oxygen – gas released through the stomata

Notes
• Photosynthesis converts light energy to chemical energy.

Collecting the gas produced in photosynthesis (Experiment)

• The apparatus is set up under bright light.

• The water plant starts to do photosynthesis which produces oxygen, appearing as bubbles in the water.
• We can simply count the number of bubbles to measure the rate of photosynthesis, or we can measure
the volume of oxygen gas collected in the test tube.
• Remember: Gases can displace water. Reduced water volume = the volume of oxygen
 • The gas collected in the test tube is mostly oxygen which will cause the splint to relight.

Investigating how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis (Experiment)

Change Variable
• Light intensity (By changing the distance between beaker and lamp)
• Short Distance = High light intensity; Long distance = Low light intensity
Measure Variable
• Rate of photosynthesis (By counting the number of bubbles)
• More bubbles = more photosynthesis
Constant Variable
• Temperature
• Species of water plant
• Mass of water plant
• Power of light source
• Concentration of carbon dioxide
• Volume of water
Results
• The greater the light intensity, the faster the rate of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis and Respiration Difference

Photosynthesis Respiration
- Food is made - Food is broken down
- Performed by organisms containing - Performed by all organisms
chlorophyll
- Dependent on light - Do not depend on light
- Oxygen is given out - Oxygen is used
- Carbon dioxide is used - Carbon dioxide is given out
- Takes place in chloroplasts - Takes place in mitochondria
- Energy is used (Light) - Energy is released form glucose.
Why is photosynthesis important?
• Photosynthesis provides organisms with oxygen.
• It converts light energy to chemical energy so that energy can flow from one organism to another
organism along the food chain. Without plants, the food chain will collapse.
• Eg: Grass ---> Cricket --> Spider ----> Hawk, Seeds ---> Chicken ---> Human

Structure of a plant cell

• Cell wall: keeps the cell in shape

• Cell surface membrane: controls what goes in and out of the cell
• Cytoplasm: jelly-like substance
• Vacuole: fluid-filled space, contains cell sap
• Nucleus: controls the activities of the cell
• Chloroplast: contain chlorophyll which can absorb light energy and a place where photosynthesis takes
place

• The rate of photosynthesis can vary throughout the day and throughout the seasons.
• If the conditions are favorable for the plants, the rate of photosynthesis is great, and more glucose is
produced which is converted to starch and stored inside the chloroplasts.
(i.e... Chloroplasts contain starch when the leaf has been photosynthesizing)
• At night or when the conditions are not favorable, plants break down stored starch into glucose which
is used in their respiration again.
Testing a leaf for starch

Key Concepts
• Iodine solution is used to test for the presence of starch.
• The original color of the iodine solution is orange-brown (yellow). When it reacts with starch, it turns
blue-black.

Procedure
• Leaf is boiled in hot water. (To destroy the cell membrane so that iodine solution can reach inside the
cell)
• Boil the leaf in hot ethanol. (Turn of the Bunsen burner at this stage as ethanol is highly flammable)
• Wash with water. (To remove the ethanol)
• Add a few drops of iodine solution.
• Results: if the iodine turns blue-black, the leaf contains starch.

Layers of leaf
Photosynthesis takes place inside chloroplasts and palisade cells contain a lot of chloroplasts.
Palisade cells are really adapted to do photosynthesis.
(1) Leaf is thin (so, light can reach inside the palisade cells)
(2) Vein carries water to the cells inside the leaf.
(3) Carbon dioxide can diffuse into the palisade cells through the stomata.

Which surface of a leaf has more stomata? (Experiment)

• Put the leaf into the warm water.

• Warm water expands the gases and makes the gases diffuse out of the leaf through the stomata.
• The results show that the lower epidermis contains more stoma as more bubbles are produced from the
underside of the leaf. (Notes: the bubbles contain mostly oxygen)

Minerals and Plant Growth

• Plants get the required minerals from the soil. However, sometimes the soil does not contain enough
minerals. This stops the plant growing to their full potential.
• Farmers add fertilizers which include minerals to increase the yield of the crops.
• Minerals are absorbed by plant roots along with water.

Two important minerals (Magnesium and Nitrate)

Magnesium: needed for making chlorophyll
Magnesium deficiency: Leaves turn yellow as they cannot make chlorophyll and it cannot grow well, because
it does not have much chlorophyll to absorb energy from sunlight, and so it cannot photosynthesize as much
as it should

Nitrate: nitrogen is needed for synthesis of proteins which are essential for making new cells (growth)/ making
chlorophyll
Nitrate deficiency: plants cannot convert carbohydrates to proteins and the plants cannot grow well and stay
small.

Note: Too many fertilizers can cause damage to plants.

The Carbon Cycle

• Carbon is an element, symbol C, non-metal, part of many different compounds.
• Organisms cannot use carbon in the form of an element. They can only use it when it is part of a
compound.
• Carbon is part of many different compounds that make up cells. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are
all compounds that contain carbon.
How do plants and animals affect carbon dioxide concentration?

• Indicator: Hydrogen Carbonate Indicator

• PURPLE when there is no carbon dioxide
• RED when there is a low concentration of carbon dioxide
• YELLOW when there is a higher concentration of carbon dioxide
Tube A (No light):
• No photosynthesis, only respiration takes place.
• Net release of carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide concentration increases
• Turns yellow

Tube B (With Light)

• Both photosynthesis and respiration
• Photosynthesis outweigh respiration
• Net use of carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide concentration decreases
• Turns purple
Tube C (No light)
• No photosynthesis, only respiration occurs
• Net release of carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide concentration increases
• Turns yellow

Tube D (With Light)

• No photosynthesis, only respiration occurs
• Net release of carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide concentration increases
• Turns yellow

Tube E (no light)

• No photosynthesis, only respiration occurs
• Net release of carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide concentration increases
• Turns yellow

Tube F (With light)

• Both photosynthesis and respiration
• Plant photosynthesizes and respires but photosynthesizes more than it respires and therefore uses up
carbon dioxide.
• Maggots respire, giving out carbon dioxide.
• Photosynthesis = Respiration
• No net release or use of carbon dioxide
• Remains red