EFFECT OF LIGHT INTENSITY ON THE RATE OF

PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Light intensity is one of the factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis.
Other factors are concentration of carbon dioxide, temperature and to a
lesser degree, water. Light intensity directly affects the light-dependent
reaction in photosynthesis and indirectly affects the light-independent
reaction.
Light is a limiting factor when the light intensity is too low to allow the
light-dependent reaction to proceed at its maximum rate. Light is not
normally a limiting factor except for plants in forest understory of other
shaded plants. Very high light intensities may slow the rate of
photosynthesis due to bleaching of chlorophyll. However, plants exposed to
such conditions usually have protective features to include thick, waxy
cuticles and hairy leaves.
Measuring the rate of oxygen evolution using a water plant is commonly used to measure
the rate of photosynthesis. Oxygen is a gaseous product, so can be measured by noting
volume changes of the number of bubbles evolved (less accurate).

PROCEDURE
1. Cut the stem of a bubbling pond weed
which has been well illuminated to about
5cm. Place the cut surface upwards in a test
tube containing sodium hydrogencarbonate
solution.
2. Place the test tube in the beaker of water
and note the temperature. The beaker of
water acts as a heat filter or heat shield, so
its temperature should be checked at
intervals to ensure that it is constant
throughout the experiment; the water should

be renewed if necessary.
3. Attach the gas-collecting apparatus, if
any.
4. Darken the laboratory by turning off as
many lights as possible.
5. Place lamp 10 cm away from the
beaker. Allow the plant to equilibrate or
adjust to the light intensity for 2-3 minutes
When the rate of air bubbles is regular and a
adequate (>10 bubbles/minute), place the
capillary tube/test tube over the cut tip of the
pondweed and then measure the volume.
OR, count the number of bubbles. This
should be done for 5 minutes. Repeat twice
and obtain an average of the results.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, with increasing
distances away from the light source e.g. 20
cm, 30 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm. Light intensity
is a inversely proportional to the square of
the distance, so as the distance is increased
the light intensity decreases. Note that
doubling the the distance does not half the
intensity, rather quarters it.
7. Record results in a table, then plot a
graph of volume of oxygen/minute OR
number of bubble/minute against the

distance between the lamp and the plant.

OBSERVATION/RESULTS
As light intensity increases (distance between
lamp and plant decreases) the volume of
oxygen (or the rate of bubble production)
increases. This indicates that the rate of
photosynthesis increases with light intensity.
However, at sufficiently high levels of light
intensity, the rate oxygen evolution remains
constant.

DISCUSSION
Why is sodium hydrogen carbonate
solution used instead of water?
Sodium hydrogencarbonate increases carbon
dioxide availability, and ensures that carbon
dioxide is not a limiting factor for the the
reaction. Plain water water may not contain
enough oxygen so that the maximum rate of
photosynthesis can occur.
Ideally, pondwater should be used to make
up the sodium hydrogencarbonate solution.
Tap water may be used to make the solution,
but only after it has been left to stand
overnight, so that it chlorine content is
reduced. Chlorine tends to inhibit the rate of
photosynthesis.
In some cases, a trace of detergent is

also added to the water in the test

tube. Explain why.
Detergent may be added to reduce surface
tension. This will allow bubbles to escape
freely. When surface tension is high, bubbles
are of varied sizes.
What are the main sources of
inaccuracy in the experiment?
When counting bubbles, the bubbles may be
of varied sizes, leading to inaccurate
conclusions about the rate of oxygen
production. If the rate of bubbling is very
high, then there may be errors in counting.
Another source of inaccuracy is the presence
of other light sources, of which intensities
may be varied by shifting shadows.

How can we prove that oxygen was the

gas produced?
A glowing splint should be placed near the
mouth of the test tube, where the gas was
collected.If oxygen is present the splint is reignited into a flame.
If the gas which was produced was
analyzed and found not to be pure
oxygen, how would you account for this?
Water contains other dissolved gases which
came out of solution and mixed with the
oxygen. Carbon dioxide is expected in this
mixture, particularly if sodium hydrogen
carbonate was used.

What is the relationship between the

light intensity and the rate of
photosynthesis at low light intensities?
At low light intensities, the rate of
photosynthesis increases with the intensity;
the rate is directly proportional to intensity
( but inversely proportional to distance)
Why does the rate of photosynthesis not
increase at very high light intensities?
At very high light intensities, the rate of
photosynthesis levels off or remains constant.
At this point, another factor - other than light
- contributing to the rate of photosynthesis is
limiting. The most likely reason for the
leveling off of the reaction rate is the
saturation of active sites in the enzymes
catalyzing the reactions.
In the case of this experiment - the limiting
factors are unlikely to be water or carbon
dioxide. A limiting factor may be temperature
- a slight increase in the ambient
temperature may result an increase in the
rate of reaction. However, a high
temperatures the enzymes catalyzing the
photosynthetic reactions would be denatured.