Without carbon dioxide, plants cannot photosynthesize. Reading various books and web pages it was clarified that carbon dioxide is definitely one of the raw materials needed for photosynthesis, but I wanted to see if this is actually true and if carbon dioxide is completely eliminated will the plant photosynthesize? Taking two plants of the exact same species, destarching them both, and then putting plant one in conditions where the carbon dioxide is removed completely, and plant two will then be put in conditions where carbon dioxide is added, after a day or in these conditions two leaves of both plants will be tested for starch, if the leaf tests positive for starch it means the plant has photosynthesized, if the leaf tests negative for starch it means the plant has not photosynthesized at all. The purpose of my experiment is to see if carbon dioxide is really necessary for photosynthesis and to see if a plant can photosynthesize without carbon dioxide being present in its environment even when it is still exposed to all the other factors that are too necessary for photosynthesis.Literature review1. About.com: Photosynthesis by Regina Bailey Carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight are used to produce glucose, oxygen, and water. The chemical process is: 6 carbon dioxide molecules + 12 water molecules + light = glucose + 6 oxygen molecules + 6 water molecules. Carbon dioxide is absorbed through the stomata in the leaves of the plant.2. Yahoo. Answers: How does carbon dioxide affect the rate of photosynthesis? By Hareez “As the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases.” If carbon dioxide concentrations are high, photosynthesis… half the paper… photosynthesis. Without the vital factors of; carbon dioxide, water, sunlight and chlorophyll, the plants would not be able to photosynthesize and therefore would not be able to produce their own food and would therefore die. Without plants there would be no life on earth as virtually all animals depend directly or indirectly on plants for their food as they are unable to produce their own food like plants. It is therefore essential that plants receive all these factors that they need to photosynthesize because they are so important for the well-being of the whole world, not only for food but also for giving us the oxygen we need to breathe and stay alive, as they release oxygen as a by-product. To further improve this experiment one could test how the amount of carbon dioxide influences the rate of photosynthesis and therefore the speed at which a plant can grow.