Name: _______________________________
Carbon Dioxide & Photosynthesis
Collect materials for your lab including:
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2 oven bags
1 plant
2 thermometers
1 lamp
1 empty plastic bottle
2 balloons full of baking soda
1 bottle with about 3 tablespoons of vinegar (you’ll have to refill your vinegar supply)
The goal in this lab is to create 2 mini-micro-climates. One with a plant and one without. We will be
adding carbon dioxide to each of these different climates to see what differences occur because of the
plant (if any).
Set up
Step 1: Prepare your oven bags by placing thermometers in each bag and a plant only one of the bags.
Step 2: Set up a station where your lamp can easily shine on the bag. Be careful not to burn yourself on
the lamp!
Make Carbon Dioxide
Step 3: Take the balloon with the baking soda and place the opening of
it carefully over the mouth of the bottle. DO NOT let the baking soda
fall into the vinegar until it is securely over the mouth of the bottle.
Step 4: Lift the balloon so that the baking soda falls into the bottle with
vinegar. You just created carbon dioxide in the balloon! Step 3:
Carefully take the balloon off the bottle without letting the gas escape.
Close the balloon with a clothespin or alligator clip.
Consider this: Each day, the
average American produces
57 balloons (large 2ft wide
balloons) of CO2 through
transportation, electricity
usage, and lifestyle choices.
Step 5: Place the balloon in the bag with the plant and securely close the oven bag with a clothes pin or
alligator clip (see diagram on next page).
Step 6: Remove the seal from the balloon from outside of the bag so that all the gas escapes.
Step 7: Repeat steps 1-3 then place that balloon in the bag that has no plant. Repeat steps 4-5 to release
the gas into the oven bag.
Step 8: Place both oven bags under the lamp (just try to get each one equal amount of light.
Watch for temperature changes. Record changes every 5 minutes below:
Remove clip on balloon. Keep oven bag sealed.
Time
(min.)
5
10
15
20
25
30
Temperature
with plant
Temperature
w/out plant
Thermometer
Plant
Observations: Were there differences between the two “climates”? Why or why not? How does the
plant and the process of photosynthesis affect the carbon dioxide in the bag? How does carbon
dioxide impact temperature? Why?
You should know! Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through
human activities. In 2012, CO2 accounted for about 82% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions
from human activities. Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the
Earth's carbon cycle (the natural circulation of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, soil,
plants, and animals). Human activities are altering the carbon cycle—both by adding more
CO2 to the atmosphere and by influencing the ability of natural sinks, like forests, to remove
CO2 from the atmosphere. While CO2 emissions come from a variety of natural sources,
human-related emissions are responsible for the increase that has occurred in the
atmosphere since the industrial revolution.
Reference: National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.