Oxy-weed

By Sam Spackman

15-22/05/09

Equipment Used:

• Transparent Container (X2)

• Test Tube (X2)

• Bunch of Oxygen-weed (X2)

• Water (Lots)

• Rocks (Approximately 20)

We filled 2 containers with water, then put in oxygen-weed in side the containers. Trapping the oxygen-weed under a funnel which led into a test tube, to keep track of any oxygen produced, then putting stones on the funnel to stop it from floating. We put one container in the sunlight (on our dining room table) and one in a place where there is no sunlight (in the garage).

Proposition:

• Sunlight: I expect the test tube to have at least a little oxygen inside it, Possibly full, I don’t entirely know how much to expect as I’ve never seen oxygen-weed in action

• Darkness: I expect it to produce some oxygen but not as much as the one in sunlight as it won’t have as much energy to produce oxygen (from photosynthesis*)

Duration:

• Sunlight: Created some little bubbles which got trapped by the oxygen weed and hardly made it to the top. Some bubbles has escaped or it had been from the cats drinking the water (it had no lid)

• Darkness: I didn’t look at this one until the end of the experiment for added surprise.

The Winner Is…

Darkness!

Somehow, the experiment in the darkness had created more oxygen! Still not much but it had still created more than sunlight!

Outcome:

• Sunlight: At the end of the experiment, created a very little of bubbles. They wouldn’t even cover your little finger nail!

• Darkness: In an astounding turn around, Darkness made almost X3 then Sunlight! They would cover your thumb nail (Approx.). Even though it wasn’t given much sunlight (hardly any at all) it still had enough energy to create more oxygen then Sunlight.

I’m very, very surprised from this outcome! It shocked me! The fact that the one with no sunlight, no energy, no heat, was the one who could create more! A woman from my church came over for lunch and thought that they might be too crowded inside the funnels, stunting its production! This may be true. Or possibly that it had to much energy forced onto it?

Photosynthesis*:

When a plant takes in Light Energy, Water and Carbon Dioxide and then converts it into: Sugars, Starch, Water, Oxygen, Carbohydrates.

Here is a simple equation in which it explains how Photosynthesis works:

(Taken from Wikipedia)

CO₂ + 2 H₂O + photons → (CH₂O)_n + H₂O + O₂

carbon dioxide + water + light energy → carbohydrate + water + oxygen

Week 2.

Sunlight: It has produced heaps of oxygen, about 70% more then last time. It’s still not much but its a lot more then last week!

Darkness: No more oxygen has been produced, but some of the oxygen-weed has risen up the test tube. This maybe stopping the oxygen from getting to the surface?

I think it is safe to say that this weeks winner is:

Sunlight!

Sunlight has produced more oxygen then Darkness has in total. It is still a very little amount but never the less, it has produced more then Darkness.

Thank you for reading!

Sam Spackman