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Abstract
The goal of this lab was to determine the absorption spectrum of pigments used in

photosynthesis. Leaves were grinded into a paste. The paste was then divided in half and was

added to 30ml of water and half to 30ml of ethanol. Both beakers were left alone for 10 minutes.

After, mixtures of each beaker were filtered through a coffee filter into separate test tubes. For

the experiment, three additional test tubes were used: one held water, one held ethanol, and one

held water/green dye. Each test tube was exposed to an intense light to determine the light

spectrum of the pigment. When exposed to the light, test tubes were clear, except for the

ethanol/leaf mixture test tube, which produced a red light. When the leaves were grinded, the

chloroplast was likely damaged, which would have impaired the photosystem process, where

light reactions begin during photosynthesis. When added to ethanol, ethanol had access to disrupt

the membrane, considering that ethanol disrupts the cell membrane of the chloroplast which had

exposed the chlorophyll pigments (Goldstein, 1986). Light energy was absorbed by a pigment

when it hit the test tube. Since chlorophyll was unable to transform the absorbed energy into

chemical energy, it was released as red light. Therefore, it can be concluded that in the presence

of ethanol, chlorophyll was unable to absorb light energy and convert it into chemical energy.

This resulted in the ethanol/leaf mixture test tube producing a red light when exposed to intense

light.
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References

Goldstein, D. B. (1986). Effect of alcohol on cellular membranes. Annals of Emergency

Medicine, 15(9), 1013–1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0196-0644(86)80120-2