Introduction

Plants make food through a process called photosynthesis.

Activity 1: Let’s find out how the amount of light can affect photosynthesis through this activity. Record your observations by filling in your own table of amount of light versus amount of oxygen produced, using the automated graph readings as data.

When the amount of light increased, the plant produced more oxygen. Hence, the rate of photosynthesis increased when the amount of light increased.

Activity 2: Let’s find out how the amount of carbon dioxide can affect photosynthesis through this activity. Record your observations by filling in your own table of amount of light versus amount of oxygen produced, using the automated graph readings as data.

When the amount of carbon dioxide increased, the plant produced more oxygen. Hence, the rate of photosynthesis increased when the amount of carbon dioxide increased.

Critical thinking skills

More light generally equates to higher levels of photosynthesis. However, as the light intensity increases, the photosynthetic rate eventually reaches a maximum point. This point where the light intensity does not increase the photosynthesis rate is called the light saturation point.