6(iv)
Sara placed a healthy potted plant in a dark room for 48 hours to perform an experiment on photosynthesis. She plucked one of the leaves and tested it for starch. The leaf did not turn blue-black on adding Iodine solution.
(a) Why was the plant placed in the dark for 48 hours?
(b) What is the significance of boiling the leaf in alcohol during the starch test?
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(a) The plant was placed in the dark for 48 hours to destarch it, so that the stored starch would be used up in respiration.
(b) The leaf is boiled in alcohol to remove chlorophyll so that the colour change with iodine can be clearly observed.