Name : ………………………………

Date: ………………………………..

Nutrition in flowering plants

Photosynthesis is the fundamental process by which plants manufacture food molecules (carbohydrates)
from raw materials CO2 and H2O using light energy.

Green plants are autotrophs. Autotrophs are the organisms capable of synthesising its own food.

Photosynthesis is a process in which small molecules are absorbed by …………………..

and……………………, and these are used by the plant to build larger molecules.

Green plants take in ………………………………….. through their leaves (by diffusion) . ……………………is
absorbed through plants’ roots (by………………………), and transported to the leaf
through………………………………………... Chlorophyll (green pigment which contains Mg2+) traps light
energy and absorbs it. This energy is used to break up H2O molecules, that to bond hydrogen and CO2 to
form…………………………... Glucose is usually changed to …………………………….. then, transport
around the plant, or to …………………………………….. for storage. ……………………………….is released
as a waste product, or used by plant for respiration. In this process, light energy is converted to
………………………….. energy for the formation of glucose and its subsequent storage.

Energy required to build up large molecules is obtained by sunlight and some of this energy is remained
locked away in the molecules of carbohydrate produced.

What happens to the glucose produced in photosynthesis?

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Why glucose is not stored in cells?

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 Factors necessary for photosynthesis
1. Sunlight
2. Carbondioxide
3. Water
4. Suitable temperature
5. Chlorophyll
6. Minerals eg:- Mg & NO3, NO2

Investigating the factors necessary for photosynthesis, using appropriate controls.

What is meant by control in Photosynthesis experiments?

A control is a plant that is supplied with all the factors (CO2, H2O & sunlight) needed for Photosynthesis so
that it can be used to compare with the experiment in which one of the factors is absent.

Destaching

Destaching the plant is important to ensure that no starch is present in the leaves at the start of the
experiment & to be sure that the starch present at the end is produced only during the experiment.

How to destarch a plant

Place a plant in complete darkness for 48 hours. Thus, the plant cannot photosynthesis & they use up all
the produced and stored Photosynthate in leaves.

To be certain that they are thoroughly destarched, test a leaf for starch before the photosynthesis -
investigation.

 After each investigation to check for the starch production, starch test is carried out.

Starch test with Iodine solution

 Boil the leaf in water for 30 seconds. This kills the cells in the leaf and break down the cell
membrane. This allows iodine solution to diffuse through the broken cell membrane to reach starch
inside the chloroplasts and in starch grains and react with them.
 Boil the leaf in alcohol (ethanol) in a water bath: The green colour of the leaf and the brown iodine
solution can look black together, thus, to remove chlorophyll from the leaf, leaf is dipped in alcohol
which is in a water bath. Chlorophyll is readily soluble in alcohol.
 Rinse the leaf in water. Because boiling the leaf in ethanol makes it brittle, the water softens it.
Spread the leaf out on a white tile (easy to see the result). Add iodine solution to the leaf.
 If positive (starch is present) - blue black
 If negative (starch is absent) - yellow – brown

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Chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis

Procedure

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Observations

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 Areas with green patches Areas with white patches

Colour with iodine solution

Is starch test positive or

negative?

Plant type (control / test)

Conclusion

Photosynthesis takes place only in green areas because of the presence of chlorophyll.

The pale yellow patches do not perform photosynthesis because of the absence of chlorophyll.

Light is essential for photosynthesis

Procedure

Take a potted plant. Destarch the plant by keeping it in complete darkness for about 48 hours. Test one of
the leaves for starch, to check that it does not contain any starch.

Two strips of a thick paper / two aluminium foils are fixed on leaf. Place the plant in light for 48 hours.
Remove the cover from the leaf and test it for starch.

Observations

Area of the leaf with aluminium Area of the leaf without

foil aluminium foil

Colour with iodine solution

Is starch test positive or

negative?

Plant type (control / test)

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Conclusion

Without light starch is not produced. Thus light is necessary for photosynthesis.

Carbon dioxide is essential for photosynthesis

Procedure

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Observations

Plant with Sodium hydroxide Plant without Sodium hydroxide

Colour with iodine solution

Is starch test positive or

negative?

Plant type (control / test)

Conclusion

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 Effect of varying light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis

Plants need light energy to break small molecules and build large molecules such as carbohydrates.
Increasing the light intensity will speed up the rate of photosynthesis. However, at high light intensities the
rate becomes constant.

Experiment

Place a pond weed (submerged aquatic plant) in a test tube containing water. Place the tube in a beaker of
fresh water at 25°C. This helps to maintain a constant temperature around the pond weed.

Place excess sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in the water to give a constant saturated solution of CO2.

Place the lamp (the only light source) at distance from the plant. (for a better investigation, experiment can
be carried out in a dark room).

A heat screen is kept in between the set up and the bench lamp. Heat screen (can be as simple as a glass
containing water) prevents the heat reaching the setup which is emitting from the light bulb. Thus
temperature will not be changed.

Keep the setup for about 5 -10 minutes for the plant to settle down/ adjust to the given environment
conditions. (for acclimatisation)

Rate of reaction can be measured either by reduction of no of raw materials within a given period or by the
increase of no of products within a given period.

Count the number of oxygen bubbles given off by the plant in 10 minute period. This is the rate of
photosynthesis at that particular light intensity. The gas should be checked to prove that it is indeed oxygen
- relights a glowing splint.

Then repeat the same procedure by moving the bench lamp to position “B”.

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Rate of photosynthesis vs light intensity;

Explanation:

Light energy absorbed by chlorophyll is converting ………………………….. ………………………………….

At very low light levels the plant will be only ………………………………………… not photosynthesising.

Thus at low light intensities plant’s,

As the light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis……………………………. However, the rate will
not increase beyond a certain level of light intensity.

At high light intensities the rate becomes constant. (even with further increase in light intensity, there is no
increase in the rate.)

What are the reasons for the rate to become constant?

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What are the ways to increase the light intensity except changing the distance in between light source and
the plant?

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What are the measures taken to increase the validity of the above experiment?

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How to increase the reliability of this experiment?

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Effect of Temperature on the Rate of Photosynthesis

When the temperature rises the rate of photosynthesis rises also. There is an optimum temperature at
which the rate of photosynthesis is maximum. Beyond this temperature, the reaction quickly comes to a
halt.

Experiment

Place a pond weed in a test tube containing water at 25°C. Place the tube in a beaker of fresh water.

Place excess sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in the water to give a constant saturated solution of CO2.

Place the lamp (the only light source) at a fixed distance from the plant. The set-up is kept for 5 -10 minutes
for acclimatisation.

Count the number of oxygen bubbles given off by the plant in a 10 minute period. This is the rate of
photosynthesis at that particular temperature.

The gas should be checked to prove that it is indeed oxygen - relights a glowing splint.

Repeat the same at different temperatures:

 0°C - surround the beaker ( not the plant) with an ice bath.
 greater than room temperature (25°C, 30°C, 35°C, 40°C, 45°C, etc.,) by using a hot water bath. Use
a thermometer, to measure the temperature.

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Explanation

At low temperature, the enzyme does not have enough energy to meet many substrate molecules, so the
rate of reaction is slow.

When the temperature rises, the particles in the reaction move quicker and collide more, thus the rate of
photosynthesis increases. At temperatures above 40°C the rate slows down. This is because the enzymes
involved in the chemical reactions of photosynthesis are temperature sensitive and denatured at higher
temperatures.

Effect of CO2 on the Rate of Photosynthesis

Place a pond weed (submerged aquatic plant) in a test tube containing water. Place the tube in a beaker of
fresh water at 25°C. This helps to maintain a constant temperature around the pond weed.

Place the lamp (the only light source) at distance from the plant. (for a better investigation, experiment can
be carried out in a dark room).

A heat screen is kept in between the set up and the bench lamp. Heat screen (can be as simple as a glass
containing water) prevents the heat reaching the setup which is emitting from the light bulb. Thus
temperature will not be changed.

Keep the setup for about 5 -10 minutes for the plant to settle down/ adjust to the given environment
conditions. (for acclimatisation)

Count the number of oxygen bubbles given off by the plant in 10 minute period. This is the rate of
photosynthesis at that particular light intensity. The gas should be checked to prove that it is indeed oxygen
- relights a glowing splint.

Then repeat the same procedure by adding different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in
the water.

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Explanation:

When the concentration of CO2 is low, the rate of photosynthesis is also low.

Increasing the concentration of CO2 increases the rate of photosynthesis. However, rate will not increase
beyond a certain carbon dioxide concentration. The rate of photosynthesis will become a constant.

Reasons for the rate to be a constant:

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Limiting factors in photosynthesis

Limiting factor is something present in the environment, but in short supply thus it restricts life processes.
Three factors can limit the speed of photosynthesis - light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration and
temperature.

If a component is in low supply then productivity is prevented from reaching the maximum.

 Sunlight
Light energy severely limiting at times of partial light conditions, e.g. dawn or dusk. As light intensity
increases, the rate of photosynthesis will increase. But at a specific light intensity, even if light
becomes brighter, the plant cannot photosynthesise any faster.

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 In between A and B of the curve, light is a limiting factor.
In between B and C, light is not a limiting factor. Even if more light is shone on the plant, it still
cannot photosynthesise any faster. Because now another factor is limiting the rate of
photosynthesis. It could be,
1. Temperature is too high and enzymes could be denatured.
2. Carbon dioxide concentration is low.
3. Chlorophyll concentration is less and cannot trap sunlight any further.
4. Glucose has been produced a lot and cytoplasm osmotic concentration has increased. Thus
further production is inhibited.

 Carbon dioxide
The usual atmospheric level of CO2 is 0.04%. In perfect conditions of water availability, light and
temperature, this low CO2 level is the limiting factor of the rate of photosynthesis. The more CO2 a
plant is given, the faster it can photosynthesise up to a point, but then a maximum is reached. Now
another factor limits the rate thus rate is a constant.

These factors could be,

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 Temperature
The chemical reactions of photosynthesis can only take place very slowly at low temperature, so a
plant can photosynthesise faster on a warm day than on a cold day.

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 LEAF STRUCTURE

The leaf consist of a broad, flat part called the lamina, which is joined to the rest of the plant by a petiole.
Running through the petiole are vascular bundles, which then form the veins in the leaf.

Leaf is made up of several layers of cells.

1. Cuticle:

It is made of wax – waterproofing the leaf and secreted by cells of the upper epidermis

2. Upper epidermis

This is thin and transparent – allows light to pass through. no chloroplasts are present. It acts as a barrier to
disease organisms

3. Palisade mesophyll

The main region for photosynthesis. These cells are columnar and packed with chloroplasts to trap light
energy. It receives CO2 by diffusion from air spaces in the spongy mesophyll.

4. Spongy mesophyll

These cells are more spherical and loosely packed and contain chloroplasts, but not as many as in
palisade cells. The air spaces between cells allow gaseous exchange – co2 to the cells, o2 from the cells
during photosynthesis

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5. Vascular bundle

This is a leaf vein, made up of xylem and phloem.

Xylem vessels bring water and minerals to the leaf.

Phloem vessels transport sugars and amino acids away (translocation)

6. Lower epidermis

This acts as a protective layer. Stomata are present to regulate the loss of water vapour (transpiration) This
is the site of gaseous exchange into and out of the leaf

7. Stomata –

Each stomata is surrounded by a pair of guard cells.

Guard cells – control whether the stoma is open or closed - water vapour passes out during transpiration -
CO2 diffuses in and O2 diffuses out during photosynthesis.

MINERAL NUTRITION

The most important minerals for a plant are Magnesium ions and Nitrates.

Importance of nitrate and magnesium ions

Nitrates

Plants absorb nitrate ions from the soil, through their root hairs by diffusion and active transport. Nitrate
ions combine with glucose and form amino acids. Amino acids bond together with each other to make
proteins.

Proteins are required for the growth and tissue repair.

Nitrate deficiency causes poor growth, especially of leaves. The stem becomes weak, lower leaves become
yellow and die, while upper leaves turn pale green.

Magnesium

Plants absorb magnesium ions from the soil solution and used for the manufacture of chlorophyll. Each
chlorophyll contains one magnesium atom.

Deficiency of Magnesium makes leaves turn yellow from the bottom of the stem upwards and eventually
stops photosynthesis.

Thus, deficiency of both of these minerals, causes decrease in rate of growth and reduced yield.

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