PHOTOSYNTHESIS-THE FOUNDATION OF LIFE
Science Plus:Technology and Society
Chapter 1 (pp2-25)
The Photosynthesis Center
The Alien Explorers Whole Earth Page
Western Michigans Photosynthesis Pages
FT Exploring Photosynthesis Site
Apple Web Site: How Do Plants Make Food (#907)
(maybe the BEST site)
POSTER CREATION- (Individual) Each student must make a
small poster that includes the following:
balanced chemical equation of photosynthesis.
same equation written in word form.
drawings, or pictures that depict what is happening in photosynthesis.
graphical representation of the light reaction, showing what goes in and
what comes out.
- 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
Leaves carbon cycle ATP
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
Search for Starch
Exploration #2 pg
10 Is Light Necessary for
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)
(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:
- Why Do
Leaves turn color in the fall? How Do plants
prepare for the winter?
Priestly and Photosynthesis
and Photosynthesis- from the Ontario
Corn Growers Association
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:
PowerPoint presentation about photosynthesis
- A web
site about photosynthesis with links to outside sources
presentation to an elementary school about how plants make food (Conant, Way,etc)
oral presentation to class that includes some visuals.
video in vhs format, perhaps like a segment of 60 minutes or 20/20 in
which photosynthesis is explained.
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:
a greenhouse and grow plants in the house (I have plans available for you)
a controlled experiment looking at one aspect of photosynthesis
of growth in different types of soil
of growth in different types of light
of growth with fertilizer or plant food
of growth at different temperatures