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Type
science_lab
Pre Lab
Background: Have you ever wondered how plants make their own food? Plants are remarkable living things because they can capture energy from sunlight and use it to build sugar molecules from water and carbon dioxide. This process is called **photosynthesis**, which means 'building with light.' The word equation for photosynthesis is: Carbon dioxide + Water + Light Energy → Glucose + **Oxygen**. Notice that oxygen is a product — it is released as a gas during photosynthesis!
Leaves are the main sites of photosynthesis in most plants. Inside each leaf are millions of tiny structures called **chloroplasts**, which contain a green pigment called **chlorophyll**. Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight and uses that energy to power the photosynthesis reaction. Leaves also have tiny pores on their surface called **stomata** (singular: stoma), which allow gases like carbon dioxide and oxygen to move in and out of the leaf.
In today's lab, you will submerge a leaf in water and place it in light. Because the leaf is underwater, any oxygen gas produced during photosynthesis will be trapped and will appear as tiny **gas bubbles** on the surface of the leaf. By counting these bubbles, you can actually measure how fast photosynthesis is happening! This is a clever way to make an invisible chemical process visible right before your eyes.
Vocabulary
Term: Photosynthesis
Definition: The process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce glucose (sugar) and oxygen
Term: Chlorophyll
Lab Type
Post Lab
Standards
Safety Level
Teacher Notes
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Experiment Design
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