Mustard Plants

Propose experimental designs by which the rate of photosynthesis and respiration can be measured and studied.

Plants go through both photosynthesis and cellular respiration, so they would be perfect subjects to use in an experiment that measures the rate of the two processes. Mustard plants [these plants are easy to grow, and grow quite rapidly] can be grown under lights with different colored filter, and their growth will be monitored to see how photosynthesis is impacted by different colored waves of light. To study the rate of respiration, a separate set of mustard plants can be grown in containers that vary in the amount of oxygen they allow in for the plant to use. Light is required for photosynthesis, and oxygen is required for respiration, so these are the two independent variables that will be changed, and the dependent variable, growth of plant, will provide rates of photosynthesis and respiration.

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/3477/how-to-grow-mustard/page/all