INTRODUCTION

Photosynthesis is an important process that all living things rely on. The exchange of light energy, carbon dioxide, and water for sugar in the form of glucose and oxygen, which is vital for the survival of living things. We investigated the effects of leaf color on the rate of photosynthesis.

Other studies have found that yellow leaves lead to a lower rate of photosynthesis, while green leafs lead to a higher rate of photosynthesis. The study concluded that this was because green leaves contain more green chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b photosynthetic pigments than yellow leaves (Nazarian & Murie, 2003).

Another study found that colored leaves also have chlorophyll, but our eyes do not see it. Leaves that contain anthocyanins will appear to the eye as red or purple. Red or purple leaves usually have high anthocyanin concentrations relative to chlorophyll (Savonen, 2003).

Leaf color is related to photosynthesis because chlorophyll is located in the photosystems, which absorb light and excite electrons. These electrons power the light dependent reactions, which produce NADPH and ATP. NADPH and ATP are used in the Calvin Cycle to produce glucose.