Ch-6

Plant Nutrition
 Part-1: Photosynthesis
Work in pairs to make a list of information that you
know about photosynthesis
[5 minutes]
 Photosynthesis
•Plants make the carbohydrate glucose from the raw materials carbon
dioxide and water
•At the same time oxygen is made and released as a waste product
•The reaction requires energy which is obtained by the pigment chlorophyll trapping
light from the Sun
•So photosynthesis can be defined as the process by which plants manufacture
carbohydrates from raw materials using energy from light
•It can be summed up in the following equation:
 Chlorophyll
•Chlorophyll is a green pigment that is found
in chloroplasts within plant cells
•It reflects green light, giving plants their
characteristic green colour
•Chlorophyll absorbs light energy; its role is
to transfer energy from light into energy
in chemicals (converts light energy to chemical
energy) , for the synthesis of carbohydrates, such
as glucose
•Photosynthesis will not occur in the absence of
chlorophyll
 Balanced Photosynthesis Chemical Equation
•The balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis is:

•The light energy is converted into chemical energy in

the bonds holding the atoms in the glucose molecules together
 Use & Storage of Carbohydrates
How are the products of photosynthesis used?
•The glucose produced by plants during photosynthesis can be used in
the following ways:
• Converted into starch molecules which act as an effective energy
store
• Converted into cellulose to build cell walls
• Glucose can be used in respiration to provide energy (ATP)
• Converted to sucrose for transport in the phloem
• As nectar to attract insects for pollination
Part-2: Plant minerals
 Minerals in Plants
•Photosynthesis produces carbohydrates, but plants contain many other types of
biological molecule; such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acid (DNA)
•As plants do not eat, they need to make these substances themselves
•Carbohydrates contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but
proteins, for example, contain nitrogen as well (and certain amino acids contain
sulfur too)
•Other chemicals in plants contain different elements as well, for example
chlorophyll contains magnesium and nitrogen
•This means that without a source of these elements, plants cannot
photosynthesise or grow properly
•Plants obtain these elements in the form of mineral ions actively absorbed from
the soil by root hair cells
•‘Mineral’ is a term used to describe any naturally occurring inorganic substance
Magnesium deficiency
Nitrate deficiency
Part-3: Factors needed for photosynthesis
 Investigating the Need for Chlorophyll
[Link]
•Although plants make glucose in photosynthesis, leaves cannot be tested for its presence as the glucose is
quickly used, converted into other substances and transported or stored as starch.
•Starch is stored in chloroplasts where photosynthesis occurs so testing a leaf for starch is a reliable indicator
of which parts of the leaf are photosynthesising.
•Leaves can be tested for starch using the following procedure:
• A leaf is dropped in boiling water to kill the cells and break down the cell membranes
• The leaf is left for 5-10 minutes in hot ethanol in a boiling tube. This removes the chlorophyll so
colour changes from iodine can be seen more clearly
• The leaf is dipped in boiling water to soften it
• The leaf is spread out on a white tile and covered with iodine solution
• In a green leaf, the entire leaf will turn blue-black as photosynthesis is occurring in all areas of the leaf
• This method can also be used to test whether chlorophyll is needed for photosynthesis by using
a variegated leaf (one that is partially green and partially white)
• The white areas of the leaf contain no chlorophyll and when the leaf is tested only the areas that
contain chlorophyll stain blue-black
• The areas that had no chlorophyll remain orange-brown as no photosynthesis is occurring here and
so no starch is stored
Using variegated leaf
 Investigating the Need for Light
•The same procedure as above can be used to investigate if light is needed for
photosynthesis but no need of variegated leaf here
•Before starting the experiment the plant needs to be destarched by placing in a
dark cupboard for 24 hours
•This ensures that any starch already present in the leaves will be used up and will
not affect the results of the experiment
•Following destarching, a leaf of the plant can be partially covered with aluminium
foil and the plant placed in sunlight for a day
•The leaf can then be removed and tested for starch using iodine
•The area of the leaf that was covered with aluminium foil will remain orange-
brown as it did not receive any sunlight and could not photosynthesise, while the
area exposed to sunlight will turn blue-black
•This proves that light is necessary for photosynthesis and the production of starch
[Link]
 Investigating the Need for Carbon Dioxide
•Destarch two plants by placing in the dark for a prolonged period of time
•Place one plant in a bell jar which contains a beaker of sodium hydroxide/soda
lime (which will absorb carbon dioxide from the surrounding air)
•Place the other plant in a bell jar which contains a beaker of water (control
experiment), which will not absorb carbon dioxide from the surrounding air
•Place both plants in bright light for several hours
•Test both plants for starch using iodine
•The leaf from the plant placed near sodium hydroxide will remain orange-
brown as it could not photosynthesise due to lack of carbon dioxide
•The leaf from the plant placed near water should turn blue-black as it had all
necessary requirements for photosynthesis
[Link]
•Care must be taken when carrying out this practical as ethanol is extremely
flammable, so at that stage of the experiment the Bunsen burner should be turned
off.
•The safest way to heat the ethanol is in an electric water bath rather than using a
beaker over a Bunsen burner with an open flame
Part-4: Factors affecting the rate of
photosynthesis
 Investigating the Rate of Photosynthesis
•The plants usually used are Elodea or Cabomba - types of pondweed
•As photosynthesis occurs, oxygen gas produced is released
•As the plant is in water, the oxygen released can be seen as bubbles leaving
the cut end of the pondweed
•The number of bubbles produced over a minute can be counted to record
the rate
•The more bubbles produced per minute, the faster the rate of
photosynthesis
•A more accurate version of this experiment is to collect the oxygen released
in a test tube inverted over the top of the pondweed over a longer period of
time and then measure the volume of oxygen collected
•This practical can be used in the following ways:
[Link]
Investigating the effect of changing light intensity
•This can be done by moving a lamp different distances away from the beaker containing
the pondweed
Investigating the effect of changing carbon dioxide concentration
•This can be done by dissolving different amounts of sodium hydrogen carbonate
in the water in the beaker
Investigating the effect of changing temperature
•This can be done by changing the temperature of the water in the beaker
•Care must be taken when investigating a condition to keep all other variables
constant in order to ensure a fair test
•For example, when investigating changing light intensity, a glass tank should be
placed in between the lamp and the beaker to absorb heat from the lamp and
so avoid changing the temperature of the water besides the light intensity
Part-5: Limiting factors
 Limiting Factors
•If a plant is given unlimited sunlight, carbon dioxide and water and is at a warm
temperature, the limit on the rate (speed) at which it can photosynthesise is its own
ability to absorb these materials and make them react
•However, most often plants do not have unlimited supplies of their raw materials so
their rate of photosynthesis is limited by whatever factor is the lowest at that time
•So a limiting factor can be defined as something present in the environment in such
short supply that it restricts life processes
•There are three main factors which limit the rate of photosynthesis:
• Temperature
• Light intensity
• Carbon dioxide concentration
•Although water is necessary for photosynthesis, it is not considered a limiting
factor as the amount needed is relatively small compared to the amount of water
transpired from a plant so there is hardly ever a situation where there is not enough
water for photosynthesis
Temperature
•As temperature increases the rate of photosynthesis increases as the reaction is controlled by
enzymes
•However, as the reaction is controlled by enzymes, this trend only continues up to a certain
temperature (optimum temperature) beyond which the enzymes begin to denature and the rate of
reaction decreases
Light intensity
•The more light a plant receives, the faster the rate of photosynthesis
•This trend will continue until some other factor required for photosynthesis prevents the rate
from increasing further because that is now in short supply
•At low light intensities, increasing the intensity will initially increase the
rate of photosynthesis. At a certain point, increasing the light intensity
stops increasing the rate. The rate becomes constant regardless of how
much light intensity increases as some other factor is limiting the rate now.
•The factors which could be limiting the rate when the line on the graph is
horizontal include temperature not being high enough or not enough
carbon dioxide.
 Carbon dioxide concentration
•Carbon dioxide is one of the raw materials required for photosynthesis
•This means the more carbon dioxide that is present, the faster the reaction can occur
•This trend will continue until some other factor required for photosynthesis prevents the rate from
increasing further because it is now in short supply

The factors which could be limiting

the rate when the line on the graph
is horizontal include temperature not
being high enough or not enough
light.
Part-6: Gaseous exchange in
plants
 Investigating Gas Exchange

•Plants are respiring all the time and so plant cells are taking in oxygen and
releasing carbon dioxide as a result of aerobic respiration
•Plants also photosynthesise during daylight hours, for which they need to take
in carbon dioxide and release the oxygen made in photosynthesis
•At night, plants do not photosynthesise but they continue to respire, meaning
they take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide
•During the day, especially when the sun is bright, plants are photosynthesising at a faster rate
than they are respiring, so there is a net intake of carbon dioxide and a net output of oxygen
•We can investigate the effect of light on the net gas exchange in an aquatic plant using a pH
indicator such as hydrogencarbonate indicator
•This is possible because carbon dioxide is an acidic gas when dissolved in water
•Hydrogencarbonate indicator shows the carbon dioxide concentration in solution
•The table below shows the colour that the indicator turns at different levels of carbon dioxide
concentration
• Several leaves from the same plant are placed in stoppered boiling tubes
containing some hydrogencarbonate indicator
• The effect of light can then be investigated over a period of a few hours
• Results from a typical experiment are shown in the table below:
[Link]
Part-7: Leaf Structure & Adaptations for
Photosynthesis
Leaf structure
•Pathway of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to chloroplasts by diffusion:
atmosphere → air spaces around spongy mesophyll tissue → leaf mesophyll cells → chloroplast
 Identifying Leaf Structures in a Dicotyledonous Plant
•You will be expected to identify the following structures in the leaf of
a dicotyledonous plant:
• Chloroplasts
• Cuticle
• Guard cells
• Stomata
• Upper and lower epidermis
• Palisade mesophyll
• Spongy mesophyll
• Air spaces
• Vascular bundles (xylem and phloem)