Photosynthesis and

Cellular Respiration
Sydney Atkinson, Sarah Nadir, Sam Carner
and Peyton Korte
Hypothesis

How does the color/wavelength of the light affect the cellular respiration and
photosynthesis of the algae beads?

Lighter color bulbs cause more photosynthesis to occur while darker color bulbs
cause less respiration to occur because photosynthesis gets its energy from light. More
light causes more photosynthesis, therefore the darker color bulbs (blue and black) will
have a higher CO2 reading on the indicator and the lighter color bulbs (normal and red)
will have a lower CO2 reading on the indicator.
Variables and Constants

Variables:

Independent Variable: the amount of cellular respiration and photosynthesis, tested

by pH and the spectrometer
Dependent Variable: the color of the light/wavelength

Constants:

Temperature (room temperature)

5 algae beads in each cuvette
Each cuvette was allowed 30 minutes to grow, tested every 5 minutes
Background- Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy from sunlight into chemical
energy, giving plants their main source of energy in the form of glucose (C6H12O6)
Photosynthesis also takes carbon dioxide (CO2) and takes the oxygen from it and
reintroduces it to the atmosphere.
Background- Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration is a process that takes place in cells of organism to convert
biochemical energy into ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
The process generally occurs in two different phases.
The first phase is glycolysis
The second is the complete oxidation of pyruvic acid to carbon dioxide and water.
Background - pH reading

Lighter pH (lower reading) is a result of more cellular respiration occurring.

Cellular respiration releases CO2 as a by-product
CO2 is slightly acidic, therefore more CO2 in the cuvette will cause the pH to decrease
Darker pH (higher reading) is a result of more photosynthesis occurring.
Photosynthesis uses CO2 and releases O2 as a by-product
O2 is slightly basic, therefore more O2 in the cuvette and less CO2 will cause the pH to rise.
 Background - Spectrophotometer Reading

The more concentrated the CO2 in the solution is, the less light will pass through.

More absorption is due to more photosynthesis and less cellular respiration.

Less absorption is due to more cellular respiration and less photosynthesis.

The spectrometer works, by a lamp providing the source of

light. The beam of light strikes the diffraction grating, which works

like a prism and separates the light into its component wavelengths.

The grating is rotated so that only a specific wavelength of light

reaches the exit slit.

Procedure
1. Set up:
a. Label one cuvette N, one R, one BU and one BK
b. Use the algae transfer pipet to transfer 5 algae beads into each cuvette
c. Remove excess liquid from the cuvettes and add 10 mL of distilled water to each cuvette
d. Leave for 5 minutes, and then remove excess water
e. Transfer 1 mL of CO2 into each cuvette
f. Place the N cuvette 20 cm from the regular light bulb, the R 20 cm from the red light
bulb, the BU 20 cm from the blue light bulb, and the BK 20 cm from the black light bulb
2. Let the algae grow for 30 minutes, taking data every 5 minutes to test the level of CO 2,
take pictures
Procedure (pictures)

Black Light- Normal Light- Blue light- Red Light-

 Pictures (continued)

Before Picture- Final Cuvettes- Algae beads-

Picture of lightbox setup

lab
pH Data Table
Time (minutes) N Sunlight R Red Light BU Blue Light BK Black Light

0 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.3

5 7.7 7.9 7.5 7.5

10 7.5 7.7 7.3 7.5

15 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.5

20 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.5

25 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.5

30 7.5 7.5 7.1 7.3

1,440 (one day) 6.9 6.9 6.9 6.9

A720 Data Table (Spectrophotometer)

Time (minutes) N Sunlight R Red Light BU Blue Light BK Black Light

0 .129 .130 .129 .128

5 .101 .103 .102 .105

10 .100 .118 .102 .119

15 .07 .089 .065 .032

20 .071 .065 .097 .058

25 .159 .100 .123 .100

30 .071 .135 .149 .136

Observations

The N Sunlight cuvette pH quickly dropped from 8.3 to 7.7 to 7.5, but did not
decrease any farther until we tested it the next day.
The R Red Light pH gradually decreased to 7.5 around 15 minutes
The BU Blue Light pH quickly dropped to 7.3 at 10 minutes and decreased the
farthest to 7.1
The BK Black Light pH decreased to 7.5 after 5 minutes and did not change until
30 minutes when it changed to 7.3
Analysis (pH Graph)

PH
Conclusion (hypothesis)

Our hypothesis stated that the lighter color light environments would result in more
photosynthesis because lighter light (Red and Normal) have more light and longer
wavelengths than darker light (Blue and Black).

More light causes more photosynthesis to occur because photosynthesis is powered

by light.
If there is more light to power the metabolic process, photosynthesis will occur at a faster
rate than it would with less light.
Conclusion (hypothesis continued/evidence)
We found that little to no photosynthesis occurred; based on the change in pH, we
determined that more cellular respiration took place.

The Blue Light cuvette had the most cellular respiration determined by the drop in
pH after 30 minutes to 7.1

The Black light cuvette had an ending pH of 7.3 after 30 minutes

The Normal (sunlight) and Red light cuvettes had the least amount of cellular
respiration after 30 minutes, with an ending pH of 7.5
Conclusion (hypothesis/evidence continued)

We determined that little to no photosynthesis occurred because the starting pH was

8.3

If photosynthesis had taken place, CO2 would have been removed from the environment,
causing the pH to rise above 8.3

Instead, the pH dropped, indicating that only/mostly cellular respiration took place

Our hypothesis was partially true; the least amount of cellular respiration took place in the Red
and Normal light cuvettes, which could be due to some occurrence of photosynthesis, and the
most cellular respiration (or least photosynthesis) occurred in the Black and Blue light cuvettes.
Sources of Error

1. When testing we didnt truly check every five minutes because we had to take the
cuvettes out of the light, and bring them into normal light. This process of taking
them out and putting them back in took about one minute, which took away from
the time we were testing.
2. Interference of outside light. Although the cuvettes were in a dark room, the data
could have been influenced by outside light coming in when the door opened and
when we brought the cuvettes out to check the pH.
Conclusion (why important?)
It is important for those who work with plants to understand the effect different
wavelengths of light have on such plants.
It's important in order to learn and know how other organisms absorb oxygen and
release carbon dioxide.
It is also important to learn where the oxygen comes from and where the carbon
dioxide goes.
It educates on how instrument like the spectrophotometer and color can help
identify the pH and photosynthesis/ cellular respiration produced.
It is important, in order to understand the cycle of cellular respiration and
photosynthesis even if tested on an autotroph because living things need food and
energy to live.
We are also able to discover the effects of light on the processes of cellular
respiration and as well as photosynthesis.
Conclusion (what learned?)
We learned that
Red Light and Normal sunlight have the same effect on the respiration and
photosynthesis of plants, specifically algae beads.

pH drops as more CO2 accumulates in the environment

Blue light causes the least amount of photosynthesis to take place

Black light causes some photosynthesis to take place but is not as effective as red
light and sunlight
Bibliography (APA)

Cellular Respiration. (16, September 2). Retrieved January 13, 2017, from
http://www.biology-pages.info/C/CellularRespiration.html

CHAPTER XVII: LIGHT-SCATTERING AND MOLECULAR SPECTROPHOTOMETRY. (n.d.).

Retrieved January 18, 2017, from
http://www.ecs.umass.edu/cee/reckhow/courses/572/572bk17/572BK17.html

PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Rep. N.p., 30 Jan. 1998. Web. 11 Jan. 2017.

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Kit. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2017, from
https://app.schoology.com/docviewer/1962619708/e762a3e7a07bc59646665a2c43d282cc

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