Athena Alderman

BIO 103-10

Photosynthesis

Introduction:

For this lab our group was tasked to create a simple experiment to find out if the plant we were

experimenting with called elodea, would release more oxygen in a warmer environment or in a

cold one. Our hypothesis for this lab was that the Elodea in warmer temperatures, will release

more oxygen than it would in colder temperatures.

Methods:

Our first step in testing our experiment was take a small piece of the elodea and put it in a test

tube filled halfway with water, then added a small amount of baking soda. After we made the test

tubes (2 total), we placed one in a bucket of ice and the other in a beaker of warm water. We then

held each in their places for ten minutes.

Data:

As we waited for ten minutes, we observed how many oxygen bubbles were coming off of the

elodea and started to notice that there were many in the test tube located in the warm water and a

few, slow moving bubbles in the test tube located in the ice.

Results:

Once the ten minutes were up, we were able to observe the status of the bubbles in the test tubes.

The first thing we noticed was that there were almost too many bubbles to count in the warm test

tube and maybe 3-4 bubbles in the cold test tube.

Discussion:

Overall, our hypothesis was correct, the elodea released more oxygen in warm water than it did

in cold water. We felt that this made the most sense because we thought of rainforests, and how a

more humid climate is better for plants to grow in, rather than a tundra.