What is photosynthesis? 16.1.2023.

Photosynthesis takes place inside plant cells in small objects called chloroplasts.
Chloroplasts contain a green substance called chlorophyll. This absorbs the light
energy needed to make photosynthesis happen. Plants and algae can only carry out
photosynthesis in the light.

A diagram of a plant cell to show its main components

Plants get carbon dioxide from the air through their leaves, and water from the
ground through their roots. Light energy comes from the Sun.

The oxygen produced is released into the air from the leaves. The glucose
produced can be turned into other substances, such as starch and plant oils, which
are used as an energy store. This energy can be released by respiration.

It's hugely important these pitches are absolutely pristine for the fans, the
spectators, for the players, it's incredibly important. We have to have a safe surface
so they're not getting injured, missing a shot, costing your team a chance for a win,
the chance for a trophy.

I'm Nathan Scarff, and I'm the Head Groundsman in Derby County Football Club.
Working inside a stadium, we have a really big shade issue. The darkest area in
this pitch will never see any sunlight. The plants struggle to photosynthesise
naturally, so we use the lights to effectively synthetically induce the photosynthesis
process and create the growth, so it gives the plant a lot of light energy and also
some heat as well to encourage growth.

We are looking for just a healthy plant, something that's strong, something that's
durable, something that would recover well.

The sciences that we use is predominately biology, we have a variety of measuring

tools, we'll measure the moisture, the length of the grass, the hardness of the
surface, everything is about producing absolute uniformity.

The first year that we had these lights, we won the award for best pitch in the
championship. You do take a lot of pride away on what you do.

Can you answer these questions?

1. Derby County FC has a very big shade issue with regards to the growth of their
grass pitch. What do they use to overcome this problem?

2. Name three qualities of the pitch that is measured to ensure healthy, durable
grass to play football on?

These are the things that plants need for photosynthesis:

 Carbon dioxide
 Water
 Light (a source of energy)

These are the things that plants make by photosynthesis:

 Glucose
 Oxygen

The word equation for photosynthesis in the presence of light and chlorophyll is:

Carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen

Why is photosynthesis important?

Photosynthesis provides organisms with oxygen, a gas that many living things
need. Oxygen is a product of photosynthesis and is needed for respiration. All
organisms respire to release energy and to stay alive.

Without photosynthesis, life as we know it would come to an end, as almost every

food chain

depends on it either directly or indirectly.

Producers such as algae, seaweed, grasses and phytoplankton all require

photosynthesis to make their own food.

Photosynthesis brings about a balance in the ecosystem as it decreases the

concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Together with other processes
such as respiration and combustion, it can help to maintain levels of oxygen and
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Without photosynthesis we wouldn’t have fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum,
as these were formed from photosynthetic processes. These non-renewable sources
were made by the breakdown of older plants.

Plant products such as timber, rubber and oil also require photosynthesis to be
made.

If a plant cannot photosynthesize, it will die

Plants and animals working together

The composition of the atmosphere has changed since the Earth was formed 4.5
billion years ago. Natural processes, such as photosynthesis, have contributed to
maintaining the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, required
for survival.

Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere as a by-product of photosynthesis and

processes such as respiration and decomposition release carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. These processes work symbiotically, where plants and animals depend
on each other to benefit from this. Plants need the carbon dioxide released by
respiration and decomposition, whereas animals need the oxygen released by
plants from photosynthesis. This cycle helps maintain the balance of carbon
dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere.

Uses of glucose

Glucose is a useful molecule that is made during the process of photosynthesis.

The initial use for glucose, when broken down during respiration, is to release
energy.

Glucose is a molecule that can be bonded together to make many types of

carbohydrates including cellulose and starch (in plants) and glycogen (in animals).
Think of it like each glucose molecule being an individual bead on a necklace and
the entire necklace represents the carbohydrate molecule.

Plants only photosynthesize and synthesize glucose during the day when there is
sunlight, but they use glucose for respiration all the time, including during the
night.

Cellulose

Glucose is used to make cellulose. Cellulose is an example of a natural polymer.

Cellulose is the main component found in plant cell walls and this gives the plant
cell strength and support.

Humans cannot digest cellulose, but it is important in your diet as fibre. Fibre
assists your digestive system, keeping food moving through the gut and pushing
waste out of the body.
Starch

Other uses of glucose produced from photosynthesis is to make the insoluble

storage molecule starch. Most plants including rice, potatoes and wheat store their
energy as starch. Starch is also a polymer and can be converted back to glucose by
the plant when it is needed, for example at night for respiration.

Fats and oils

Glucose can also be converted to fats and oils such as olive oil. Fats and oils are
also used by the plant as a storage form of energy.

Amino acids

Glucose produced in photosynthesis can be used to help make amino acids. These
amino acids are used by the plant to synthesise

. Minerals such as nitrate ions are also absorbed by the roots of the plants to help
make these amino acids. Foods such as peas are good protein sources.

*Mcqs!

1. Photosynthesis is a vital process that occurs mainly in which part of a plant?

Leaves
Roots
Stem
Bud

2. I am the energy source needed for photosynthesis to take place. What am I?

Sunlight
Water
Soil
Carbon dioxide
3. Complete the word equation for photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide + water →
______ + oxygen

Glucose
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Air

4. Plants get carbon dioxide from the air through their leaves and light energy
comes from the Sun. Where does the water they need usually come from?

From the ground through their roots

Through tiny pores in their leaves
From the atmosphere, through flowers

5. "Plants do photosynthesis and animals do respiration.” Is this statement

completely correct?

Yes
No

6. Which three things does a plant need to take in for photosynthesis?

Carbon dioxide, water and light

Water, light and hydrogen
Light, hydrogen and water

7. Which part of the cell does photosynthesis take place in?

Cell wall
Cell membrane
The nucleus
Chloroplasts
8. During photosynthesis, the leaves use light energy to convert carbon
dioxide and water into what?

Oxygen and hydrogen

Glucose and hydrogen
Oxygen and glucose

9. What is photosynthesis?

A chemical reaction that takes place inside a plant, producing water for the plant to
survive
A chemical reaction that takes place inside a plant, producing carbon dioxide for
the plant to survive
A chemical reaction that takes place inside a plant, producing glucose for the plant
to survive

10. What can installing lights over a grass football pitch help increase?

Photosynthesis
Oxygen level
Weed suppression
Soil creation
Testing a leaf for starch

Investigating photosynthesis – starch and chlorophyll

During photosynthesis a plant absorbs light energy using the pigment chlorophyll.
This allows it to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose. This glucose is:

 transported to the growing parts of the plant for use in respiration

 transformed into cellulose, proteins and oils
 turned into starch for storage

Therefore, to test if a plant has been photosynthesising, you can test the leaf to see
if starch is present.

Starch testing

Iodine solution is used to test leaves for the presence of starch. You need to:

1. heat a plant leaf in boiling water for 30 seconds (this kills the leaf, stopping
any chemical reactions)
2. add the leaf to boiling ethanol in a water bath for a few minutes (the boiling
ethanol dissolves the chlorophyll and removes the green colour from the leaf
- it turns white so it is easy to see the change in colour)
3. wash with water to rehydrate and soften the leaf and spread onto a white tile
4. add iodine solution from a dropping pipette

After a few minutes, the parts of the leaf that contain starch turn the iodine from
brown to blue/black.

Variegated leaves have green parts (where the cells contain chlorophyll) and
white parts (where there is no chlorophyll). Only the parts that were green become
blue/black with iodine solution, showing the importance of chlorophyll in
photosynthesis. The parts without chlorophyll do not photosynthesise, and so they
do not make starch and the iodine does not change colour.

The leaf on the left is a variegated leaf. The green parts contain chlorophyll and
photosynthesise to make starch. The white part of the leaf does not contain
chlorophyll, so does not photosynthesise.

The leaf on the right shows a positive test for starch in the areas which contained
chlorophyll, and a negative test for starch in the areas which lack chlorophyll.
This is evidence that chlorophyll is required for photosynthesis.

A plant can be ‘de-starched’ by leaving it in the dark for a few hours. Parts of its
leaves are covered with dark paper, and the plant is left in the light for a few hours.
Only the uncovered parts become blue/black with iodine solution, showing the
importance of light in photosynthesis.

*Question

Ethanol is flammable and so is heated using a hot water bath instead of using
a Bunsen burner. Because ethanol boils at 78°C, a tube of it boils when
placed in a beaker of hot water.

In this experiment you need to place a leaf in boiling ethanol to decolourise

it. Write a risk assessment for this.

Hazard Risk Control measure

Does a plant need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis?

To investigate if a plant needs carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, we need to create

conditions for the plants where carbon dioxide is present in one test and absent in
another. The air contains 0.04% carbon dioxide. Scientists can use sodium
hydroxide to absorb carbon dioxide from the air so that it is unavailable for the
plants to use in photosynthesis.

Question

In this particular experiment, a de-starched plant is covered using an airtight

transparent plastic bag. The chemical sodium hydroxide is placed in the bag with
the plant to absorb the carbon dioxide. The plant is left for 24 hours and the leaves
are tested for starch using iodine. The leaves will show that no starch has been
made as no photosynthesis occurred without carbon dioxide.

What is the purpose of the control?

1. What is the light-absorbing green pigment found in the chloroplasts called?

 Cytoplasm

Sap

Chlorophyll

2.Which gas is a reactant (used) in photosynthesis?

Carbon monoxide

Carbon dioxide

Oxygen

3. Which of these is a limiting factor of photosynthesis?

Oxygen concentration

Temperature

Glucose concentration

4. What happens to the glucose made in photosynthesis in the plant?

It is released as a by-product

It is used in respiration

It is stored as glycogen

5. What is the name of the chemical used to test for starch?

Iodine solution

Biuret reagent

Benedict’s solution

6. What colour indicates a positive test for starch using iodine solution?
 Brick red

Blue-black

Purple

7. Which step in the method for testing a leaf for starch removes chlorophyll from the
leaf?

Step 1 – boiling in water

Step 2 – boiling in ethanol

Step 3 – washing the leaf with water

8. A lack of what in some parts of a variegated leaf makes it useful for investigating
photosynthesis?

Stomata

Cell walls

Chlorophyll

9. Why is it preferable to heat ethanol in a beaker of boiling water rather than over a
Bunsen burner flame?

Ethanol is flammable

Ethanol might spill onto the floor

Ethanol might splash into your eyes

10. What is the name of the chemical used to absorb carbon dioxide from the air in
photosynthesis experiments?

Sodium bicarbonate

Sodium chloride

Sodium hydroxide