lOMoARcPSD|11837912
Biology 1441 Lab 4
CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (The University of Texas at Arlington)
, lOMoARcPSD|11837912
Laboratory 4 Report
The Effects of Caffeine on Photosynthesis and Aerobic Respiration in Elodea
Morgan Greenwade
Barbra Forgione, Nicolas Hergenrother, and Jimmy Tu
Biology 1441-003; Michael Gillis; July 28, 2015
In this experiment, the effects of caffeine on the production and consumption of CO2 in the
Elodea plant was studied. The experimental Elodea plants were submerged in CO2 saturated
water; one was put in a dark drawer and the other was put under a lamp, then they were left for
60 minutes before calculating the NET change in carbon dioxide levels. The final results showed
that the addition of caffeine had a positive effect on the processes of photosynthesis and aerobic
respiration in plant cells.
Introduction
Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy to chemical energy, taken place in a plants
chloroplasts; whereas aerobic respiration is the part of the metabolic pathway that coverts O2 to
CO2 for energy that occurs in the mitochondria of the plant’s cell. Aerobic respiration produces
CO2 in the plants, and then the CO2 is consumed by the process of photosynthesis. As the
amount of aerobic respiration that takes places grows, so will the amount of CO2 that is released
by the organism into the water, leading to the growing formation of carbonic acid in the water,
raising its acidity level. The more the photosynthesis process transpires, the more CO2 will be
1
Biology 1441 Lab 4
CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (The University of Texas at Arlington)
, lOMoARcPSD|11837912
Laboratory 4 Report
The Effects of Caffeine on Photosynthesis and Aerobic Respiration in Elodea
Morgan Greenwade
Barbra Forgione, Nicolas Hergenrother, and Jimmy Tu
Biology 1441-003; Michael Gillis; July 28, 2015
In this experiment, the effects of caffeine on the production and consumption of CO2 in the
Elodea plant was studied. The experimental Elodea plants were submerged in CO2 saturated
water; one was put in a dark drawer and the other was put under a lamp, then they were left for
60 minutes before calculating the NET change in carbon dioxide levels. The final results showed
that the addition of caffeine had a positive effect on the processes of photosynthesis and aerobic
respiration in plant cells.
Introduction
Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy to chemical energy, taken place in a plants
chloroplasts; whereas aerobic respiration is the part of the metabolic pathway that coverts O2 to
CO2 for energy that occurs in the mitochondria of the plant’s cell. Aerobic respiration produces
CO2 in the plants, and then the CO2 is consumed by the process of photosynthesis. As the
amount of aerobic respiration that takes places grows, so will the amount of CO2 that is released
by the organism into the water, leading to the growing formation of carbonic acid in the water,
raising its acidity level. The more the photosynthesis process transpires, the more CO2 will be
1
