Enhancement of Photosynthesis Labs Using Vernier’s Spectrovis Plus™

 

Kathleen Nolan & Marlon Joseph

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2015, Volume 36

Poster file:

Abstract

Students blend various vegetable products such as beets, greens, orange and yellow peppers with water in a blender, strain through cheesecloth, and pour into cuvettes or glass test tubes. These are then used in first a spectrophotometer to create an absorption spectrum, and then in a Vernier SpectroVis Plus spectrometer, which is a colorful tool that yields an instantaneous absorption spectrum. Surveys, after the completion of the laboratory exercise, reveal that most students feel that the SpectroVis Plus helped them understand the concepts of: wavelengths of light, absorbance of light energy, and reflection of a color better.

Keywords:  spectrophotometry, photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigments

University of Oregon (2014)