With the help of an experiment show that chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis.
With the help of an experiment show that chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis.

1. We’ll start with a potted plant like a croton, which has partially green and partially white leaves. Chlorophyll is present in the green portion of the leaf, but not in the white portion.
2. Destarch the leaves of this plant by placing it in a completely dark environment for three days.
3. Remove the potted plant from its dark environment and set it in direct sunlight for three to four days.
4. Remove the variegated leaf from the plant, boil it in water for a few minutes, and then boil it in alcohol to remove the green colour ‘chlorophyll’. The leaf’s green sections get discoloured. As a result, we have decolorized leaf.
5. Soak the decolorized leaf in hot water for a few minutes to soften it and remove any remaining chlorophyll.
6. Pour the iodine solution over the colourless leaf and see how it changes colour.
7. When we add iodine solution to the outer section of the leaf that was initially white (without chlorophyll), it does not become blue-black, indicating that there is no starch in this part of the leaf. We can deduce from this data that photosynthesis for the production of starch does not occur without chlorophyll.