Cyclosis of an Elodea Leaf

            
             Plant cells contain organelles called chloroplasts which are responsible for photosynthesis in plants, the movement they create around the plants cells is defined as cyclosis (cytoplasmic streaming). We examined this movement in plant cells to determine if the intensity of light has an effect on the rate of cyclosis. To do this, we had torn a part of an Elodea leaf, with a drop of water followed by it on a slide to observe the chloroplasts movement around the cell walls with the aid of a microscope. Secondly, we timed the chloroplasts movement around the cell walls at different amount of light intensity. As a result, during this chloroplasts reacted differently with the amount of light that they were observed through. We encountered that as the amount of light intensity increases the rate of cyclosis decreased as well, and therefore having an effect on the leaves ability for photosynthesis .
             Formulate alternative hypothesis.
             1. Yes, an increase in light intensity causes an increase in the rate of cyclosis.
             2. Yes, an increase in light intensity causes a decrease in the rate of cyclosis.
             3. No, an increase in light intensity has no effect {null hypothesis}.
             Introduction .
             All plants relay on photosynthesis, the process when the energy from light/sunlight is used in order to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts in to ATP, the "fuel" used by all livings (Farabee). To determine whether does light effect cyclosis rate, in some plant cells there is rapid rotatory cytoplasmic movement, which is limited to the peripheral parts of the cell next to the cell wall; chloroplasts and granules move in this stream (The Columbia Encyclopedia.) This movement may be increased by light, and is dependent on temperature and pH. Specialized cell components, microtubules, may direct the flow or may serve as a framework upon which the streaming occurs. Examples of cells in which cyclosis can be seen are the leaf cells of small aquatic plants, such as Elodea, which is a leafy flowering plant commonly found in aquariums (The Columbia Encyclopedia).