Photosynthesis Theory..

[ScottishKevin]

Okay. I'm still quite young and therefore not very good with theories and who said what etc.. But the other day I thought of something and I would like if someone could prove it right or wrong, but I know I am not the one to make it up:

As it is summer, there is more sunlight being exposed to grass. Grass is growing quicker in the summer. Therefore, as there is more sunlight grass is Photosynthesising at roughly twice the rate as it was before, producing more Glucose and more Oxygen. It is of this Glucose the plants use up so therefore are they growing quicker because they are using up more Glucose?

But also, as they are producing more Oxygen wouldn't that mean that we would actually be healthier in the summertime. If the air we breathe was 100% Oxygen we would be superhuman, so therefore by increasing the % of Oxygen in the air due to increased rate of Photosynthesis, are we healthier? This could also explain why the majority of people tend to be in happier moods in the summer, as more Oxygen is coming into their bodies making them feel less tired and provided with more energy through Respiration?

I'm sorry if I'm confusing anyone here but I was just thinking of this the other day when I was sitting in my garden as the sun shone- is this theory right?

Thanks.

[mith]

Most people are happy in the summer time is because of exposure to light...not really the oxygen. Look up info on seasonal affective disorder.

As for increasing output, note that the levels of oxygen have remained constant over the centuries, probably because of some limiting factor. One thing I can think of is as oxygen increases(and co2 decreases), the rate of photosynthesis slows down a la limiting reactants.

[zami'87.]

as I know light and concetraton of CO2 are limiting factors in photosynthesis light up photosynthesis up to limit that depends on CO2 conc. if Co2 conc up then photosynthesis up to limit that depends on light.

[victor]

I think the factor that limit the amount of oxygen which is increasing in the summer is the amount of CO2 and the second is....do you think that plants don't need oxygen for themselves??According to my opinion is the faster of photosynthesis reaction goes, the faster the plants consume some of the oxgen that they're producing also....Plants not only giving anabolism but the do catabolism also and the main oxydator is oxygen...

[MrMistery]

I am sorry but your theory is WRONG from more than one point of view.
First of all, the level of oxygen has been a steady 20.95% in the athmosphere for a lot of years!! It does not fluctuate, because that plant, although it does more photosynthesis during the summer is using that excess glucose it created to grow(as victor said). Now, when it reaches a certain intensity light actually puts the breaks on photosynthesis.
And another thing. You said that if we were to breathe 100% oxygen we would be superhumans. Wrong again! Oxygen is a corrosive gass, the only reason what it does not harm living things is because there is 78% nitrogen in the air to counteract it's corrozive nature
Sorry for disspapointing you
-Edited due to lack of grey brain matter-

[ScottishKevin]

Lol! It's okay for disappointing me. I'm sure I'll have many other options in my life to come up with new 'theorys', lol. I can see why it was wrong now. I based it upon simple things and didn't bother to look it up to see the more complex things which happen. My bad .

Thanks for the info, anyway.

[victor]

Learning new theories is good....thanks Mr.mystery....it's a new knowledge for me because till now, I only know things that I wrote in the reply above...

[Cecilie]

Furthermore, I guess the plant would have a higher rate of respiration, thereby using more oxygen. So there wouldn't really be more oxygen in the air.

[MrMistery]

Just for the sake of argument, Cecilie... How exactly does an increase in transpiration mean higher consumption of oxygen?

[mith]

she wrote respiration

[MrMistery]

Yeah... respiration... How does transpiration influence respiration? I can not think of anything...

[bellyjelly]

Photosynthesis was producing oxygen both before and after the GOE. The difference was that before the GOE, organic matter and dissolved iron chemically captured any free oxygen. The GOE was the point when these minerals became saturated and could not capture any more oxygen. The excess free oxygen started to accumulate in the atmosphere.

The rising oxygen levels may have wiped out a huge portion of the Earth's anaerobic inhabitants at the time. From their perspective it was a catastrophe (hence the name). Cyanobacteria, by producing oxygen, were essentially responsible for what was likely the largest extinction event in Earth's history. Additionally the free oxygen combined with atmospheric methane, triggering the Huronian glaciation, possibly the longest snowball Earth episode ever.