Biomass Photosynthesis
Biomass Photosynthesis
Biomass Photosynthesis
DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY
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Life Science
Content Standard C:
Regulation and behavior
Populations and ecosystems
Diversity and adaptations of
organisms
Content Standard E:
Abilities of technological
design
and technology
environments
Natural hazards
society
inquiry
inquiry
Life Science
- Content Standard C:
Interdependence of organisms
Matter, energy, and organization
in living systems
Science and Technology
Content Standard E:
Abilities of technological design
Understandings about science and
technology
Science in Personal and Social
Perspectives
Content Standard F:
Personal and community health
Population growth
Natural resources
Environmental quality
hazards
Technology Description
Why are plant leaves green? How
do plants get the energy to live? Do
plants breathe? All of these questions
can be answered with one idea,
photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a
process where plants take the suns light
energy and change it into glucose, a kind
of sugar. A green chemical in the in plant
leaves, called chlorophyll, makes it all
happen and gives plants their green color.
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Resources:
Arizona State University Photosynthesis
Research
http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/
default.html
Department of Energy Biomass Site
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/
Department of Agriculture Biofuel Site
http://ttic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.
php?info_center=6&tax_level=1&tax_subj
ect=318
State of Florida Agricultural Science
http://www.florida
agriculture.com/PlanetAg/
Glucose:
Sugar
created
in
photosynthesis and the main energy
source for our bodies. (C6H12O6)
Interdependence: Relying on each
other.
Photosynthesis: Putting together
with light. This process uses
sunlight
to
create
chemical
energy (sugar) in plants and some
other organisms.
Pigment:
Coloring
or
Chlorophyll is a green pigment.
dye.
that
Symbiotic:
Organisms
mutually
needing or helping each other.
Vocabulary
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Project Ideas
Project
Ideas
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Resources:
be
(Home
Depot,
Fluorescent bulb
Incandescent bulb
Rapid radish seeds
(www.boreal.com, $10.00/50)
Potting Soil
Labels
Graph paper
NUMBER
HEIGHT COLOR
OF
LEAVES
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Thermometer
At least four plants with a minimum of
5-6 leaves per plant
CO2 Source:
Dry ice can be purchased at places
that sell ice, such as grocery or ice
cream stores.
If your school has a CO2 cylinder, that
would also work well.
Safety and Environment
Requirements: Dry ice can cause severe
burns, so be sure to always have adult
supervision and insulated gloves. Dry ice
is a solid form of CO2, so it gives off CO2
gas (which is what we want for this
project). Be sure that the room you are
working in is ventilated well and you have
a fresh supply of air.
Also, CO2
compressed cylinders are under a lot of
pressure and should be handled with
great care.
Suggestions: Plants should have a
minimum of 5-6 leaves and be of about
equal size. Calculate total leaf area at
beginning and end of the experiment for
each plant (graph paper may be useful).
If dry ice is used, consider that CO2 is
heavier than air. Like its name suggests,
dry ice is very cold (-109.3 F or -78.5 C)
so the gas from the ice may be too cold
for your plants, depending on how you
set up your experiment.
Other Ideas: Collect data in varying
concentrations of CO2 to find a pattern of
biomass growth. Graph the results and
see if you can find a fitting equation (if
you have a math background). According
to your results, how will global warming
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Recommended
Pencil
plants:
Recommended
Rubbing alcohol
lavender,
solvents:
Safety
and
Environmental
Requirements: Use caution when
using alcohol!
It is flammable and
should not be splashed into eyes or on
skin. Goggles, gloves and a protective
lab coat are needed!
Suggestions:
Place the leaf upside down. At a spot
2 cm from the bottom of the filter
strip, rub gently on the leaf with the
pencil point.
Make the rubbing
approximately the size of a penny. Re
adjust the leaf and continue rubbing
until the spot on the filter paper is
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Heres a great
demo! Tea is a
solution
that
extracts plant
compounds to
flavor water.
The sugar that
we generally use to sweeten tea
is sucrose. Amazingly, when you
add the sucrose to hot tea, there is
a chemical reaction changing
sucrose to two other sugars:
glucose and fructose. These two
sugars make tea nearly 10%
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Metric Ruler
Graph Paper
Learning
Objective:
When we have
plants
in
our
house, we usually
only have one or
two plants in each pot. However, in many
ecosystems there are lots of plants and
trees crowded together.
This is one
reason why the rainforest is so amazing!
In this experiment, you will document
ways in which plants change their growth
strategies to compensate for lack of
nutrients, light and root space. Can you
think about ways that plants survive in
crowded conditions?
Control and Variables:
Controls:
Plants grown
crowding
without
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special
Suggestions:
Use the data generated from
this experiment to compare and
contrast growth patterns between
crowded and uncrowded plants.
Plants are amazing in how they
can survive under adverse conditions.
In the rainforests, understory plants
devised ways of using just one fleck of
light to provide the energy for growth
and reproduction. This system took
millions of years to evolve. Identify the
structural differences between plants
that like shade and plants that need
full sun.
What short-term strategies did
your plants exhibit? Did your
vegetable plants produce seeds?
Rainforest Education
http://www.rainforesteducation.com/
HTTP://WWW.ABSBONSAI.ORG/
pollutants.
Learning Objectives:
Often overlooked in the past, wetland
ecosystems are now recognized as playing
a vital part in earths water cycle. Through
this
exercise,
children
gain
an
understanding of the complexity of the
wetlands and measure the impact of
pollution on common wetland species.
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Suggestions:
First, measure and record the
height and health of your plants.
In this experiment, the first
wetland should be watered with
the polluted water. Runoff water
from the first is then used to water
the second, and so on. Document
the characteristics and volume of
each watering.
Water the plants three to seven
days with the polluted water,
Resources:
Environmental Protection Agency wetland
homepage
http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/wetlands/ind
ex.html
In-depth information on Midwestern
wetlands:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/199
8/mnplant/mnplant.htm
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are
natural
pest
References
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
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