Question

Different in rate of carbondioxide and oxygen in photosynthesis

Answer 1

There would be no biology without photosynthesis. Plant biomass is the food and fuel for all animals. Plants are the primary producers. These amazing organisms are capable of capturing the energy of sunlight and fixing it in the form of potential chemical energy in organic compounds. The organic compounds are constructed from two principle raw materials; carbon dioxide and water (which is a source of hydrogen). These compounds are stable and can be stored until required for life processes. Hence animals, fungi and non-photosynthetic bacteria depend on these for the maintenance of life.

But how can we measure the rates at which photosynthesis takes place?

The quantities are mind boggling. A hectare (e.g. a field 100 m by 100 m) of wheat can convert as much as 10,000 kg of carbon from carbon dioxide into the carbon of sugar in a year, giving a total yield of 25,000 kg of sugar per year.

There is a total of 7000 x 109 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and photosynthesis fixes 100 x 109 tonnes per year. So 15% of the total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere moves into photosynthetic organisms each year

There are a few key methods to calculate the rate of photosynthesis. These include:

1) Measuring the uptake of CO2

2) Measuring the production of O2

3) Measuring the production of carbohydrates

4) Measuring the increase in dry mass