Materials and Methods
Baking soda
Liquid soap (approximately 5 mL of dishwashing soap in 250 mL of water)
2 plastic syringes without needle
Living spinach leaves
Hole punch
2 clear plastic cups
Timer
Light source
Tinted red plastic covering
Tape
For Procedure 1, a bicarbonate solution was placed into a clear plastic cup to a depth of about 3 cm. The cup was then labeled with “C0₂”. A second cup with only water (noC0₂) is used as a control group. Using a pipette, one drop of a liquid soap solution was placed in each cup. Using a hole punch, 10 disks were obtained from spinach leaves, for each cup making a total of 20 disks. The disks were then placed into separate syringes without the piston. The pistons were then attached and pushed in until only a small volume of air and leaf disks remained in the barrel. Syringe number one pulled a small volume of sodium bicarbonate plus soap solution. The second syringe pulled a small amount of only water. The pistons in each were manipulated to get rid of air from the plunger. A vacuum was then created to draw the air out of the leaf tissue. A finger was placed over the narrow syringe opening while drawing back the plunger. Once the vacuum is released, the solution allowed the disks to sink. The syringe was then opened and the disks and its’ solution were placed into their appropriate clear plastic cups. Both cups were placed under a light source and the timer was started. The amount of disks that began to rise to the
