O2 Synthesis Lab

Multiple experiments were conducted to test the rate at which O2 production was influenced by the availability of inorganic carbon. In all experiments, a varying concentration of (either 0.1%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, or 1.0%) sodium bicarbonate was assigned to each lab bench, to use as the solution in which the aquatic plants were submerged. In the experiment my partner and I conducted, ~225 mL of distilled water was poured into two 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks. These would later be used as photosynthetic systems— an experimental control to regulate temperature changes. Two labeled test tubes were then filled with 75 mL of 1.0% NaHCO3, and were each placed into the Erlenmeyer flasks. At the front lab bench, two aquatic plants were obtained and submerged