The following diagram demonstrates a physiological process taking place in green plants. The whole set up was placed in bright sunlight for several hours. Study the diagram and answer the questions that follow:

(i) What aspect of the physiological process is being examined?

(ii) Explain the physiological process mentioned in (i) above.

(iii) Label the parts numbered 1 and 2 in the diagram.

(iv) Write a well-balanced chemical equation for the physiological process explained in (ii) above.

(v) What would happen to the rate of bubbling of the gas if a pinch of sodium bicarbonate is added to the water in the beaker? Explain your answer.

(i) The aspect being examined is the release of Oxygen during Photosynthesis.

(ii) Photosynthesis is the process by which living plant cells, containing chlorophyll, produce food substances (glucose and starch), from carbon dioxide and water, by using light energy. Plants release oxygen as a by-product during photosynthesis.

(iii) The parts numbered 1 and 2 are:

• 1 → Oxygen
• 2 → Hydrilla plant

(iv) Balanced chemical equation representing the process of photosynthesis is given below:

$6CO$2 + 12H2O \space \space \overset{\text{light energy}}{\underset{\text{chlorophyll}}{\longrightarrow}} \space \space C6H{12}O6 + 6H2O + 6O_2 \uparrow

(v) Sodium bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide into the water which is made available to the plant. This increases the rate of photosynthesis. So more oxygen is released thus more bubbles are released.