Do Plants Eat?

http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/duk_/lessons/duk_photo_mary_less/duk_photo_mary_less.xmllessontext/xmlDo Plants Eat?Engineering K-Ph.D. Program, photosynthesislight energychloroplastchlorophyllglucose

Through a teacher-led discussion, students realize that the food energy plants obtain comes from sunlight via the plant process of photosynthesis. They learn what photosynthesis is, at an age-appropriate level of detail and vocabulary, and then begin to question how we know that photosynthesis occurs, if we can’t see it happening. Elodea is a common water plant that students can use to directly observe evidence of photosynthesis. When Elodea is placed in a glass beaker near a good light source, bubbles of oxygen will be released as products of photosynthesis. By counting the number of bubbles that rise to the surface in a five-minute period, students can compare the photosynthetic activity of Elodea in the presence of high and low light levels.

Students perform data analysis and reverse engineering to understand how photosynthesis works. Both are important parts of being an engineer. Students will be able to explain that photosynthesis is a process that plants use to convert light energy into glucose, a source of stored chemical energy for the plant. Students will be able to summarize photosynthesis as a chemical process in which the plant uses carbon dioxide and water to form glucose and oxygen. 1.5TeachEngineering.orgMary R. Hebrank (Project and Lesson/Activity Consultant), Pratt School of Engineering, Duke UniversityS10220DBNorth_CarolinaMath4.01 Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including stem-and-leaf plots) to solve problems.55S1000C52North_CarolinaMath4.03 Solve problems with data from a single set or multiple sets of data using median, range, and mode.55S1014376North_CarolinaMath4.01 Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including box plots and histograms) to solve problems.77S1013809North_CarolinaMath4.02 Calculate, use, and interpret the mean, median, mode, range, frequency distribution, and inter-quartile range for a set of data.77S102336ANorth_CarolinaMath4.03 Describe how the mean, median, mode, range, frequency distribution, and inter-quartile range of a set of data affect its graph.77S100076DNorth_CarolinaMath4.04 Identify outliers and determine their effect on the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data.77S100C65ANorth_CarolinaMath4.01 Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including scatterplots) to solve problems.88S10283DFNorth_CarolinaScience1.04 Discuss and determine the role of light, temperature, and soil composition in an ecosystem's capacity to support life. 55S1028413North_CarolinaScience1.01 Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.66S1028419North_CarolinaScience1.04 Analyze variables in scientific investigations. • Identify dependent and independent.66S102841ENorth_CarolinaScience1.05 Analyze evidence to: • Explain observations.66S1028421North_CarolinaScience1.06 Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present quantitative data resulting from scientific investigations: • Measurement.66S1028465North_CarolinaScience4.03 Examine evidence that green plants make food. • Photosynthesis is a process carried on by green plants and other organisms containing chlorophyll.66S1028467North_CarolinaScience4.04 Evaluate the significance of photosynthesis to other organisms: • The major source of atmospheric oxygen is photosynthesis.66S102846ANorth_CarolinaScience4.05 Evaluate designed systems for ability to enable growth of certain plants and animals.66S10284A0North_CarolinaScience7.02 Investigate factors that determine the growth and survival of organisms including: • Light.66S10284AFNorth_CarolinaScience1.01 Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.77S10284B5North_CarolinaScience1.04 Analyze variables in scientific investigations: • Identify dependent and independent.77S10284BANorth_CarolinaScience1.05 Analyze evidence to: • Explain observations.77S10284BDNorth_CarolinaScience1.06 Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present quantitative data resulting from scientific investigations: • Measurement.77S1028531North_CarolinaScience1.01 Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.88S1028537North_CarolinaScience1.04 Analyze variables in scientific investigations: • Identify dependent and independent.88S102853CNorth_CarolinaScience1.05 Analyze evidence to: • Explain observations.88S102853FNorth_CarolinaScience1.06 Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present quantitative data resulting from scientific investigations: • Measurement.88United StatesCopyright 2012 - Engineering K-Ph.D. Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2008-09-266Teacher