Title: The relationship between light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis in spinach leaves | StudyHippo.com
Headings: The relationship between light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis in spinach leaves
The relationship between light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis in spinach leaves
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Content: Rate of photosynthesis was determined at pH 7, 0.2% NaHCO3, room temperature, and under white light using light intensities of 2200, 4250, 5300, 14400, 20600 lux. The amount of oxygen production was determined after five minutes at each light intensity. Spinach leaf segments were infiltrated with 0.2% NaHCO3 and made to sink in solutions of 0.2% NaHCO3 so that rate of oxygen , production could be estimated from the rate at which the leaf segments floated. The rate of oxygen production increased relatively rapidly at lower light intensities but leveled off at intensities greater than 5300 lux, suggesting that light intensity is a limiting factor of photosynthesis below 5300 lux. At light intensities greater then 5300, however, light intensity is no longer limiting. Instead other factors such as amount of water, NaHCO3, chlorophyll, and other reagents of photosynthesis become limiting. Introduction: Photosynthesis is a process that underlies all life on Earth. It is essential in creating the sugars that sustain life. By converting light energy into chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates, it not only sustains the life of photosynthetic organisms themselves (called autotrophs), but also provides food for the heterotrophs that consume autotrophs.