The Effects of Various Wavelengths on Photosynthetic Rate

Photosynthesis is the process by which autotrophic organisms convert light

energy to chemical energy in the form of glucose [1]. Without this process life on earth

would be very different because every organism directly or indirectly depends on

photosynthesis. Because plants are at the bottom of the food chain they must create

their own energy; this is done through photosynthesis. Various pigments located

through out the leaves and stems of plants called chlorophylls absorb wavelengths from

sunlight. They absorb all wavelengths of natural light (400-700 nanometers), except

those between 525-550 nm which are reflected giving plants their green color [2].

The question of this experiment is how do different wavelengths effect

photosynthetic rate? The purpose of this experiment was to decide if blue light

(wavelengths of 425-475 nm) or red light (wavelengths of 650-700 nm) would produce

an increase in photosynthetic rate when compared to natural/white light (wavelengths of

400-700 nm). The hypothesis stated that the blue light would result in a higher

photosynthetic rate than the red light but both would be less than the control which was

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