Investigation into the effect of differentconcentrations of carbon dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis

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Investigation into the effect of different concentrations of carbon dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis

Aim

To investigate into the effect of different carbon dioxide concentrations on the rate of photosynthesis.

Introduction

The investigation will be conducted using the method outlined in detail later on. In short, the water plant Elodea will be placed in a solution of altering hydrogencarbonate concentrations (0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08% and 0.1% as previous research has shown that concentrations above that start to damage the leaf.1) and the rate of photosynthesis will be measured by the volume of oxygen given off in a set amount of time, via a meniscus which is part of a photosynthometer apparatus set up.

Prediction

I predict that the rate of photosynthesis will increase as the concentration of carbon dioxide increases up to a certain point after which another factor limits the rate of photosynthesis e.g. light intensity or temperature.

Variables

-The independent variable is the concentration of carbon dioxide which will be manipulated to see what effect it has on the rate of photosynthesis.

-The dependent variable is the volume of oxygen given off in the set amount of