1. Photosynthesis Lab
To further reinforce the overall process of photosynthesis and also the details of how it works

2. We’re using Fruit Loops!!

3. Procedures
Fruit Loop Count: At your table, you have THREE bags of Fruit Loops separated into 3 colors.
18 BLUE Fruit Loops
12 PURPLE Fruit Loops
6 GREEN Fruit Loops
Draw the chart below on PAGE XXX of your journal to represent each type of ATOM.
Color of Cereal
# of Cereal Pieces
Atom Represented
BLUE 18
OXYGEN
PURPLE 12
HYDROGEN
GREEN 6
CARBON

4. Procedures - continued
3. Assemble the raw materials needed for photosynthesis. For a chemical reaction like photosynthesis, the materials used are called reactants. On your photosynthesis paper provided, group the appropriate colored pieces as follows:
To make a water molecule, H20, cluster two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
To make a carbon dioxide molecule, CO2, cluster one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen.
Continue to make these clusters of water and carbon dioxide until all of the cereal pieces are used up on your paper.

5. Procedures - continued
4. Draw a diagram of all of your cereal molecules below on PAGE XXX. Use colored pencils to make circles to represent each piece of cereal.
(Diagram 1) The reactants
Water Molecules Carbon Dioxide Molecules
How many molecules (clusters) of water were you able to make? ____
How many molecules of carbon dioxide were you able to make? ____

6. Procedures - continued
5. To provide the energy needed to break the bonds which hold the atoms together in the water and carbon dioxide molecules, carefully shake the paper to mix up the cereal pieces, making sure you keep all the pieces on the paper.
6. This is a simple simulation of photosynthesis, which is actually a chemical reaction with several steps. When the molecular bonds are broken, the atoms are rearranged to form the products.
Use the same cereal pieces to make a simple sugar molecule called glucose (C6H12O6)- 6 Carbons, 12 Hydrogens, and 6 Oxygens.
With the remaining pieces, put together pairs of oxygen atoms to form 02 molecules.

7. Procedures - continued
7. Draw a diagram of all of your cereal molecules below. Use colored pencils to make circles to represent each piece of cereal.
(Diagram 2) The products
Glucose Molecules Oxygen Molecules
How many molecules of glucose were you able to make? ____
How many molecules of oxygen were you able to make? ____

8. Analysis
Write the total number of each kind of atom that is present in the reactants. (Diagram 1)
Write the total number of each kind of atom that is present in the products (Diagram 2)
OXYGEN
HYDROGEN
CARBON
OXYGEN
HYDROGEN
CARBON

9. Analysis - continued
3. When you shook up the carbon dioxide and water clusters to make the glucose and oxygen molecules, you added energy in the form of motion to break up the pieces.
In nature where does the energy come from to break and make the bonds during photosynthesis.
During photosynthesis, light (reactant) is changed in to chemical energy (product). In which product is the energy stored and for what purpose?