Photosynthesis and Carbon Cycling

LAB - Exercise 1, Pigment Separation

Leaves used in the experiment, Groups A, B, and C respectively.

Leaves used in the experiment, Groups A, B, and C respectively.

Filter papers for each test.
Note: Filter papers were not included in the lab kit, so a coffee filter was used in its stead.

2 of the leaf fragments had 4 visible pigments, and the other had 3. The distance traveled varied slightly between the 3 groups but stayed in a short-range. Most of the filter papers reflected similar colors and not the colors of the leaves themselves. The time of year these were taken from would most likely be average as the plants had yet to change.

LAB - Exercise 2, Photosynthesis


Subject A: High CO2                                   Subject B: Plain H20

Subject C: Dark

The tube in figure A has a plant and was placed into a CO2 enriched environment by combining baking soda with water. The tube in figure B has a plant and is submerged in plain tap water. The tube in figure C has a plant and was wrapped in foil to obstruct light from getting to the plant. 
The tube that produced the most gas was the A (high CO2), then B (plain water), and last C (dark). There was a small amount of gas in the dark tube which should be CO2. A control could be a tube without a plant for each of the existing figures.

LAB - Exercise 3, Carbonate

Blue Balloon: Chalk and Water
White Balloon: Chalk and Vinegar
Note: balloons were not in the kit so the balloons shown are different than expected, also the amounts of chalk and vinegar/water were adjusted for the increase in size.

Clearly, the white balloon with the vinegar has puffed up compared to the blue one. The gas in the vinegar balloon came from a chemical reaction between the vinegar and the chalk. This experiment can be related to carbon cycling in natural ocean ecosystems because it shows the difference between water reacting to calcium carbonate and how acid reacts to it.