KS4 Biologists

Have you ever wondered how plants get the energy they need to grow and reproduce?

They do not eat like humans and animals; they make their own food using a chemical reaction called photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants convert light energy from the sun, and carbon dioxide from the air into oxygen and sugars.

Last Monday, our KS4 Biologists observed the production of oxygen in leaves by doing a floating leaf disk experiment. They first used a hole puncher to cut a fixed number of leaf disks from the plant leaves. They then placed the leaf disks in a syringe containing a solution of baking soda and sucked the air out of the leaves, which then got replaced with the solution in the syringe.

Next, they placed the disks inside a beaker containing baking soda solution and placed the beaker under a lamp. Initially, all the leaf disks were at the bottom of the beaker. After a few minutes, the disks began to float to the top of the solution due to the production of oxygen. This was proof that photosynthesis was occurring inside the leaf disk!

A huge thank you to Anuyah for her help!