Anas Ahmed 10JC
Biology Controlled Assessment- Investigating the rate of photosynthesis
All living things require energy to carry out their life processes. The green plants obtain their energy from sunlight for their life processes. They capture the solar energy and then convert it into a chemical energy. Photosynthesis is an important process , to plants, because they produce glucose and they use the glucose to produce other important and useful chemicals such as fats, proteins and vitamins. The oxygen released as a by-product, vital to respiration in plants and animals. Therefore, photosynthesis can be considered the ultimate source of energy for life and for nearly all plants and animals by providing the source of energy that drives all their metabolic processes (Infoplease, 2012)
Considering our knowledge has increased in understanding what photosynthesis is, we now need to learn how photosynthesis is carried out by understanding the equation for this necessary life process.
To carry out photosynthesis the green plants trap the solar energy using the chemical chlorophyll and use this energy to combine water and carbon dioxide to turn it into glucose. During this complex step by step reaction oxygen is given out as a by-product.
The equation for photosynthesis is as follows.
Solar Energy
C6H12O6 + 6O2 (q)
Solar Energy
Chlorophyll
Glucose + Oxygen
Chlorophyll
Carbon dioxide + Water
6Co2 (B) + 6H2O (L)
The main factors that affect photosynthesis are:
The amount of Carbon dioxide
The temperature of the environment
The amount of light available
Availability of water
Green plants obtain their raw materials for the above reaction from the following resources.
Carbon dioxide from the air which has 0.4% concentration
Light from the sun (solar energy)
Temperature depending on the environment
Water that is absorbed from the soil via the roots for land plants. Aquatic plants from...