Get the oxygen out of the leaf!

MATERIALS :

1. A drinking glass or a glass jar or a transparent container

2. Some fresh water

3. A healthy, green leaf which is free from browning

4. A magnifying glass or a convex lance (Can be obtained from any science supply store)

INSTRUCTIONS :

1. At first fill the glass jar i.e. the transparent container with some fresh water.

2. Now submerge the green, healthy leaf you collected completely into the water.

3. Place the glass jar or transparent container under direct sunlight at least for one hour.

4. After one hour examine the submerged with a magnifying glass or convex lance.

RESULT :

There should be many tiny bubbles on the surface of the leaf.

EXPLANATION :

The cells of a plant undergo a process named photosynthesis to survive. The plant uses water, carbon dioxide, chlorophyll, minerals and sunlight to produce energy. Chlorophyll is the substance which normally exists in the tree leafs and gives them green color. When the trees produce energy oxygen is also produced as a by-product. The bubbles which appear on the surface of the leaf under the water are originally oxygen bubbles. This oxygen is created when the cells of the tree undergo photosynthesis. Generally the oxygen should be released into the air. But the leaf is underwater. So much of the oxygen gets trapped inside some bubbles under the water which appears on the surface of the submerged leaf. This is a prof of leaf cell activities.

MORE EXPLANATIONS:

All the plants and also some bacteria use photosynthesis to make sugar. Those who have the photosynthesis system inside them are actually self-depended when it comes to food or energy producing. The bio-chemical reaction which occurs in the photosynthesis 

process actually looks like this:

H20    +            CO2        + Sunlight à C6H12O6 + O2

Water + Carbon dioxide + Sunlight à         Sugar + Oxygen

The sugar must be converted into energy using a process which is called cellular respiration.

MORE EXPERIMENTS FOR YOU :

1. Leave the glass jar or transparent container in total darkness to see what happens.

2. Leave the glass jar in the synthetic or the electric light to see what happens.