SCIENCE 8

PHOTOSYNTHESIS-THE FOUNDATION OF LIFE

 

            Readings:

Science Plus:Technology and Society Chapter 1 (pp2-25)

 

Web Sites:

Arizona State University: The Photosynthesis Center

http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/default.html

The Alien Explorers Whole Earth Page

http://www.alienexplorer.com/ecology/topic3.html

Western Michigans Photosynthesis Pages

http://www.chem.wm.edu/chemWWW/courses/chem105/projects/group3/page2.html

FT Exploring Photosynthesis Site

http://www.ftexploring.com/photosyn/photosynth.html

Newtons Apple Web Site: How Do Plants Make Food (#907)

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/newtons/9/phytosy.html

Maricopa Community College (maybe the BEST site)

http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~pamharrison/chapter10/sld001.htm

 

Activities

 

POSTER CREATION- (Individual) Each student must make a small poster that includes the following:

Side One

1. The balanced chemical equation of photosynthesis.
2. The same equation written in word form.
3. Artwork, drawings, or pictures that depict what is happening in photosynthesis.

Side Two

1. A graphical representation of the light reaction, showing what goes in and what comes out.
2. 2. A graphical representation of the dark reaction, showing what goes in and what comes out.

 

 DEFINITIONS-(Individual)The following words need to be defined (as they relate to photosynthesis) and placed in your journal

 

 Chloroplast                              starch                           carbon dioxide

Water                                       sugar                            stoma

Light energy                              light reaction                 dark reaction

Palisade cells                            upper epidermis            lower epidermis

Spongy cells                             guard cells                    pigments

Leaves                                     carbon cycle                 ATP

 

 

 

 

 LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS-(You and your Lab Partner)- You must complete experiment number one from the text book, plus you may choose any two of the labs listed below from your textbook.

Exploration #1              pp 7-8              The Search for Starch

Exploration #2              pg 10               Is Light Necessary for Photosynthesis

Exploration #3              pg 14               Do Green Plants Use Carbon Dioxide to Make Food?

Exploration #4              pg 15               Guess Which Gas?

Exploration #5              pp 17-18          A Good Look at Leaves (parts 1 & 2)

 

 ESSAY READING- (Individual)- You must read essay #1 and one other essay about photosynthesis, and make a mind map that summarizes each article . The following titles are:

1. Why study Photosynthesis?

http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/study.html

2. Why Do Leaves turn color in the fall? How Do plants prepare for the winter?

http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/education/colorchange.html

3. Joseph Priestly and Photosynthesis

http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/priestly/priestly.html

4. Biosphere #2  Research

http://www.bio2.edu/Research/res_entry.htm

5. Corn and Photosynthesis- from the Ontario Corn Growers Association

http://www.ontariocorn.org/envphoto.html

 

5Photosynthesis Presentation (2 students, three for school presentation Possible)- Students are required to make a presentation about photosynthesis. This presentation must include all of the key concepts that were listed in section number two of this project. Possibilities include but are not limited to:

1. A PowerPoint presentation about photosynthesis
2. A web site about photosynthesis with links to outside sources
3. A presentation to an elementary school about how plants make food (Conant, Way,etc)
4. An oral presentation to class that includes some visuals.
5. A video in vhs format, perhaps like a segment of 60 minutes or 20/20 in which photosynthesis is explained.

 

 

 PHOTOSYNTHESIS PROJECT- (PAIRED OR GROUPS OF THREE)-Students will take part in a research project that involves using the scientific method, and  communicate their results either in written, oral, or presentation format.

These are some possibilities but you can make up your own to be approved by the teacher:

1. Build a greenhouse and grow plants in the house (I have plans available for you)
2. Create a controlled experiment looking at one aspect of photosynthesis
1. comparison of growth in different types of soil
2. comparison of growth in different types of light
3. comparison of growth with fertilizer or plant food
4. comparison of growth at different temperatures