Photosynthesis Lab

Photosynthesis Lab Photosynthesis is the process by which plants covert sunlight, water, energy, and carbon dioxide into glucose. A byproduct of photosynthesis is the oxygen as a result of water molecules being split in the electron transport chain. This can be shown in the equation: 6H2O + 6Co2 + Light  C6H12O6 +6O2. Essentially, plants are converting solar energy into chemical energy. Examples of organisms that perform photosynthesis are plants, bacteria, algae, and proteus. Plants obtain energy from the sun. This energy come in waves and have photons (the smallest unit of light) travelling along them. You can see photons in a wide spectrum of wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum. Photosynthetic organisms only use visible light.

The overall goal of cellular respiration is to breakdown sugar and make ATP. Cellular respiration has both anaerobic and aerobic processes. Anaerobic processes are process that don’t require oxygen while aerobic processes do. The breakdown of glucose (sugar) happens during glycolysis. Glycolysis is an anaerobic (no oxygen) process that takes place in the cytoplasm. When the glucose gets broken down, it forms two molecules of pyruvic acid and a 2:1 ratio of ATP to glucose. These pyruvic acids get sent into the mitochondria to be broken down by Acetyl CoA. The next step of cellular respiration is the Krebs or Citric Acid Cycle in the matrix of the mitochondria. In this cycle aerobic (uses oxygen) process, hydrogens get taken away from the Acetyl CoA molecule in order for electrons to synthesize ATP. When the hydrogens get used up, waste remains: carbon dioxide and water. The Krebs cycle makes a total of 4 ATPs and a lot of NADH which carry hydrogen electrons to the electron transport chain. Along with FADH2, NADH will form water when electrons travel down their hydrogen gradient to oxygen. This gradient, which is formed on the inner membrane, also allows electrons to return to the matrix via the ATP synthase. This will make more ATP. In the electron transport chain a total of 32 ATPs per glucose is made. Another anaerobic process (process without oxygen) that occurs in cellular respiration is fermentation. When there isn’t any oxygen, fermentation acts as a back-up generator by supplying cells with enough energy to at least perform partial glycolysis, until they’re able to restock on oxygen. Types of fermentation include lactic acid (forms in the body when muscle cells run out of oxygen when exercising) and ethyl alcohol (used in beer and yeast). The importance of this lab was to measure the rate of cellular respiration by measuring the consumption of oxygen during