More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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The objective is for the students to design and conduct an experiment to explore the effect of certain factors, including different environmental variables, on the rate of photosynthesis. They will learn how to perform a procedure using punched leaf disk to measure the rate of photosynthesis. They will fill the spongy mesophyll of the leaf disk with water alone or water with sodium bicarbonate (the source of carbon) and place the leaf disks in each of their clear cups. The cups need to be new and very clean so no other outside source of carbon is present and so that the light can be transmitted through them. The cups are clearly permanently labeled (sharpies) indicating the various amounts of bicarbonate and various light sources. The students then expose the leaves to different lights (colors and intensity) to see if they float. They can determine if photosynthesis occurs as the disks will float when oxygen is produced. The rate is reflected in how quickly the oxygen is made and as a result how fast the disks float. Timers are essential for proper data collection. Ultimately they will then be challenged to see if they can get their disks to float faster and as a result increase the rate of photosynthesis. The rates will then be shared out as class data and then graphed appropriately using colored pens. Some students will need to borrow the pens to complete their graphing at home. Graphs are used to clearly illustrate their results, and for comparison in a discussion about the factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis, a process that fuels our planet.
About my class
The objective is for the students to design and conduct an experiment to explore the effect of certain factors, including different environmental variables, on the rate of photosynthesis. They will learn how to perform a procedure using punched leaf disk to measure the rate of photosynthesis. They will fill the spongy mesophyll of the leaf disk with water alone or water with sodium bicarbonate (the source of carbon) and place the leaf disks in each of their clear cups. The cups need to be new and very clean so no other outside source of carbon is present and so that the light can be transmitted through them. The cups are clearly permanently labeled (sharpies) indicating the various amounts of bicarbonate and various light sources. The students then expose the leaves to different lights (colors and intensity) to see if they float. They can determine if photosynthesis occurs as the disks will float when oxygen is produced. The rate is reflected in how quickly the oxygen is made and as a result how fast the disks float. Timers are essential for proper data collection. Ultimately they will then be challenged to see if they can get their disks to float faster and as a result increase the rate of photosynthesis. The rates will then be shared out as class data and then graphed appropriately using colored pens. Some students will need to borrow the pens to complete their graphing at home. Graphs are used to clearly illustrate their results, and for comparison in a discussion about the factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis, a process that fuels our planet.