Re: How can i test the carbon dioxide in a plant?

Complete Question: 

I am conducting an experiment in which i have grown some beans.the beans 
are growing in different "habitats". i have let them sit for a while now 
and i was wondering how to test them to see the CO2 levels. 

Reply:

A botanist would sample the air in each habitat with a syringe and then measure 
the carbon dioxide level using an infrared gas analyser. However, high schools 
will not have infrared gas analysers. Maybe a nearby college has one you could 
arrange to use.

A simple way of detecting carbon dioxide is using a saturated solution of 
calcium hydroxide. When air is bubbled through calcium hydroxide solution, 
carbon dioxide reacts and a precipitate of calcium carbonate forms. This is 
only semiquantitative. 

A calcium hydroxide solution can also be used to scrub carbon dioxide from air 
to grow plants in carbon dioxide free conditions. Two-liter soda bottles, 
aquarium tubing, rubber stoppers, and air pumps were used to make such as 
system as described in the reference.

Reference

Hershey, D.R. 1995. Plant Biology Science Projects. New York: Wiley.