Stomata and Oxygen Production in Plants

I. Problem How does the absence of stomata in leaves affect oxygen production in plants

II. Hypothesis Oxygen production in plants is due to stomatal function and photosynthesis.

III. Related Literature of the Study
Photosynthesis is the process of food production in plants. All energy comes from the sun. Animals unlike plants do not have the capability of converting the energy of the sun to food. The whole planet is dependent on the plants to produce food. When grass is consumed by herbivores like cows or chicken, this is the chance how carnivores can then be nourished. Photosynthesis takes place due to the pigment chlorophyll. The equation for photosynthesis is

6 CO2  6 H2O ------sunlight and chlorophyll----------------- C6H12O6 6 O2

This means that 6 molecules of carbon dioxide and 6 molecules of water is transformed into glucose molecules of oxygen using sunlight and chlorophyll intervention. Plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. In this way, unclean air with carbon dioxide is processed by plants to transform deadly carbon monoxide to oxygen.

The planet does not only get food from plants. They also produce oxygen that the planet needs which is essential for life on the Earth. Oxygen production is found in the leaves of plants. Oxygen production occurs in the granum of the choloroplast where light is absorbed by cholorophyll. Chlorophyll is a type of photosynthetic pigment that converts the light energy to chemical energy. This chemical energy reacts with water. The output of this reaction is the production of oxygen and glucose.

This oxygen output is one of the crucial benefits in tree planting and reforestation. With more trees in the environment, oxygen is secured. Urban areas that do not have trees suffer excessive pollution due to carbon dioxide accumulation in the surroundings. The oxygen in the earths atmosphere is entirely the product of green plants If all the plants were to die, or the earth be cut off from sunlight, the oxygen in the atmosphere would soon be gone. Even if all life were removed from the earth in a moment, the oxygen in the atmosphere would combine with rocks and soil and other inorganic materials in a fairly short time. Interestingly, the very oxygen produced by green plants is what allows life to live out of the water. Until there was oxygen in the atmosphere, there could be no ozone layer, since ozone (O3) is another form of oxygen (O2). And the ozone layer is what protects life on the surface of the earth from powerful, damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Transpiration occurs in the leaves of the plants. Transpiration is affected by different factors. It is affected by the amount of light available to the plant. The light helps the stomata to open. It also warms the leaf that speeds up respiration. Since transpiration is the evaporation of water from plant, if the plant is subjected to high temperatures, water evaporates more rapidly. To illustrate this, transpiration can occur three times faster if with a 10 percent increase in degrees centigrade temperatures. Humidity is another factor in transpiration. Transfer of liquids from two regions flow from a region that has high humidity to an area with low humidity. Water inside the plant will go out of the plant faster if the air outside the plant is drier. Wind is also a factor because wind speed affects humidity thereby affecting substance transfer. Humid air is replaced by drier air if there is available wind or breeze. Another factor that affects transpiration is the rate of how the plant water is replaced by available water in the soil. If roots fail to absorb water, there is loss of turgor pressure that brings about the closing of the stomata. Immediately, the rate of transpiration which occurs in the stomata closes, and the plant begins to wilt. The volume of water lost in transpiration can be very high. It has been estimated that over the growing season, one acre of corn plants may transpire 400,000 gallons of water. As liquid water, this would cover the field with a lake 15 inches deep. An acre of forest probably does even better.

IV. Importance of the Study
The study attempts to replicate proof that stomata presence helps plants in photosynthesis. Oxygen production of plants is a byproduct of photosynthesis. It also attempts to illustrate the transpiration process. Understanding the processes found in plants helps in the appreciation of their role in the protecting the environment and life.

Photosynthesis is one of the major reasons why the Earth is the planet for all living things. It is imperative that people understand the role of plants in photosynthesis and how photosynthesis is enhanced or hindered. Many activities by human beings lead to the environments oxygen depletion such as cutting of trees, water pollution and soil degradation. Using this experiment as guide, the young scientist can devise ways that can sustain oxygen production by taking importance in the role of plants in the environment.

V. Materials
A. Prepare the following materials
Two pop bottle terrariums.
2 bunch of plants where stems and leaves are still intact with about the amount of leaves
Well-lighted and safe area where there is sunlight
Colorless Nail Polish to coat the whole leaf.

VI. Methodology
Label the bottles A and B. A will be the control.
Get 2 stems of leaves from a nearby bush.
Apply colorless nail polish on the leaves in one bunch of plants. The whole leaf must be coated with nail polish.
Put the plants in two separate bottle containers.
Leave the containers under direct sunlight for three hours.
Observe for dewdrop accumulation in the glass jar.
Observe the color of leaves.
Observe the quality appearance of leaves.

Bottle A -  Control Bottle B     (nailpolish)

V. Results
Table 1. Oxygen Production Observation after four hours in the sunlight.
Pop Bottle Terrarium APop Bottle Terrarium BWater Drops AccumulationWater drops can be seen around the glass bottle.There are no water drops found around the glass bottle.Color of LeavesGreenPale yellowAppearance of LeavesHealthy and looking normalCurled up, wilted
After exposing the bottles under sunlight for four hours, it was observed that Control Bottle A had more moisture accumulation observed on the glass bottle compared to B. In terms of color of leaves, A had more green leaves compared to B. The leaves in bottle B started to wilt and most of the leaves were wilted. The leaves were all curled up and had started to wilt.

VI. Discussion
Coating the leaves with colorless nail polish maintained the green colors of the leaves but essentially blocked the stomata found in the leaves. Without the stomata, photosynthesis and transpiration could not take place in Bottle B.

The water found around the water bottle came from the release of water by the plants to the atmosphere. This is possible if photosynthesis is allowed to occur. Photosynthesis occurs when sunlight, air and carbon dioxide and water is present in the plant. Even though the plants used for the experiment were just cuttings for nearby bushes, the plants have existing water found inside their stems and leaves. Turgor pressure is still working at the whole duration of the experiment. Since the stomata in the control bottle was still working, and with enough sunlight, transpiration occurred transferring the water in the plant to be released toward the immediate surroundings of the plant. Since water vapor was trapped inside the water bottle, it accumulated on the glass as water droplets.

The presence of water droplets on the glass bottle signifies the amount of oxygen that was produced by the plant. Transpiration occurs in the stomata. The presence of the water droplets signify that the stomata of the leaves are working. If the stomata is present, there is a good chance to not that with enough sunlight, photosynthesis is at work. And if photosynthesis is present, oxygen which is a by product of photosynthesis is present.

On the other hand, the plant that had nail polish coated leaves had their stomata closed and inactivated. Due to this, transpiration cannot occur, that is why no moisture droplets were found on the bottle of B. Instead, the wilting of the leaves can be observed. The wilting is due to loss in turgor pressure brought about by the inability of the stomata to do its function.

VII. Conclusion
I therefore conclude that stomata presence helps oxygen production in plants.

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