The Effect Of Temperature On Rate Of Photosynthesis Of Pondweed Plant Coursework

The Effect Of Temperature On Rate Of Photosynthesis Of Pondweed Plant - Coursework Example Literal meaning of photosynthesis is â€Å"to put together by light†. It is a process that involves capturing sunlight, in the presence of chlorophyll, CO2, water, and then producing starch and oxygen. This starch is then used by the plants either to produce energy, for storage, or to build them into a complex material and then producing starches, oils and proteins. Starch is the best way to store carbohydrates as it is compact and is easily broken down in the body. During the process of photosynthesis plants fix environments CO2 and release oxygen, which is essential for entire living beings for survival. Thus, more than 80% of plant material is synthesized by photosynthesis including respiration process also depends on its byproducts. Chlorophyll is the chemical, which traps light energy and then uses it to synthesize carbohydrates. It acts as catalysts to speed up the process of reaction. Chlorophyll is present in the chloroplasts of the palisade layer of leaves. The equati on for photosynthesis is: 6CO2+6H2O => C6H2O6+6O2 +energy Photosynthesis involves trapping of CO2 from the environment in the presence of Chlorophyll and the sunlight. If a light source is placed near the pondweed plant that acts as sunlight, then the plant will release more oxygen due to splitting of water molecule into hydrogen and Oxygen molecule. The Hydrogen molecule that is released in the process will then combine with the CO2 and produces carbohydrates. This process again gives off more oxygen. The whole process needs to be catalyzed by enzymes to speed up the reaction. Photosynthesis is a two phase procedure. Stage one is light reliant and it captures sunlight to manufacture high energy molecule. In the second phases, which are light free reactions, these molecules are used to incarcerate CO2 and convert them into originators of carbohydrates. There are various limiting factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis. Most important factor is the presence of CO2 in the envir onment i.e., 0.03% to 0.04%. Only at a certain rate can a plant takes up CO2 and proceeds with photosynthesis. Light intensity will also affect the rate as well as temperature. In laboratory experiments, volume of oxygen released per minute is used to determine the rate of the process, and this in turn can be used as the source for determining the effects of limiting factors (Kent, 2000). The law of limiting factor states that, â€Å"When a process depends on more than one factor to be favorable then its rate is limited by the factor at its least favorable value. For a process to go at its maximum rate, all factors need to be at an optimum stage.† Measurement of photosynthesis rate is required to determine the limiting factors that can affect productivity of the process as well as its response to environmental stresses. Most of the measurement techniques being used today involve the gaseous exchange of the plants as an indicator for the rate. Chemical pathway of intake of CO2 and water discharge is the same and hence these two pathways are involved in measurement of photosynthesis through stomata conductance and transpiration method (MILLAN, GUEVARA, TORRES, OSORNIO, 2009). These days modified methods are being used to conduct the analysis, which increases the precision and accuracy of the results. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the effect of temperature on the photosynthesis of pondweed plant. Basically, temperature does not pose an enormous effect on the rate of photosynthesis individually; it only affects the speed of the process by affecting the rhythm of chemical responses in the plants. This is because photosynthesis is a