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This case study takes place at a fictional biotechnology company developing herbicides against invasive plant species. The case study focuses on five herbicides with different effects on photosynthesis. Students play the role of lab interns and explore photosynthesis and the herbicide effects by engaging in concept mapping, experimental design, data manipulation, and data analysis. The goal is to use the experimental data to predict the steps in photosynthesis that are inhibited by each herbicide. Students should come away from the case study with a process-based understanding of photosynthesis. This case study is designed for the "flipped" classroom with suggested preparatory videos and associated assessment questions included. Videos can be supplemented with textbook readings or mini-lectures. This activity was developed for a non-majors introductory biology course but it could also be used in any general biology course, including majors' courses. It might also be used to establish foundational knowledge for more advanced discussions of photosynthesis in plant biology (botany) courses.

4:0o video Photosynthesis is an essential part of the exchange between humans and plants. Amanda Ooten walks us through the process of photosynthesis, also discussing the relationship between photosynthesis and carbohydrates, starch, and fiber -- and how the air we breathe is related to the food we ingest.

5:37 video A hearty bowl of cereal gives you the energy to start your day, but how exactly did that energy make its way into your bowl? It all begins with photosynthesis, the process that converts the air we breathe into energizing glucose. Cathy Symington details the highly efficient second phase of photosynthesis -- called the Calvin cycle -- which converts carbon dioxide into sugar with some clever mix-and-match math.

By taking near-atomic, high-resolution X-ray images of proteins from primitive bacteria, investigators at Arizona State University and Pennsylvania State University have extrapolated what the earliest version of photosynthesis might have looked like nearly 3.5 billion years ago.

In this interrupted case study developed for use in a flipped classroom, students read about a picnic that takes place in autumn during the peak of fall color and along the way learn about light absorption by photosynthetic pigments, why leaves turn color in the fall, atmospheric CO2 concentrations and their effect on photosynthesis, and the C3, C4, and CAM photosynthetic pathways. The case is designed to provide introductory biology students with a basic understanding of photosynthetic pathways and how environmental factors affect plants using these pathways. The activity could also be used in an advanced high school biology course covering photosynthesis. The case includes several short videos that students watch as homework before coming to class so that they are prepared to work together in class in small groups to answer the case questions.

7:26 animation on photosynthesis

Learn how the light dependent and light independent cycles work together to create glucose for plants. We'll also explain why this is so important for humans! Get ready to start cooking with photosynthesis.

Rate of photosynthesis

The sun shines a massive amount of energy onto the Earth's surface every day. What if humans could take a cue from plants and use sunlight to make their own food? From chloroplasts to carbon dioxide, Reactions creates a hypothetical photosynthetic human and gives a quick crash course on the chemistry of photosynthesis.

Chemist Daniel Nocera of Harvard University and his team joined forces with synthetic biologist Pamela Silver of Harvard Medical School and her team to craft a kind of living battery, which they call a bionic leaf for its melding of biology and technology. The device uses solar electricity from a photovoltaic panel to power the chemistry that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen.

This flipped case study is formatted as a PowerPoint presentation that uses group experimentation to encourage active learning in a large science classroom. There are options for using either wet bench experimentation or an online simulation, depending on the class goals. Students learn about plant transpiration and how it affects normal plant processes (photosynthesis). The basics of transpiration are covered in an animated video viewed outside of class. The experiment and/or simulation of transpiration can be conducted in or out of class. If the class is very large, the instructor may choose to assign the experiment/simulation for outside of class (post-video) and have the students bring their data to class, or the instructor may choose to just present the students with a data set from which they can work with their groups in class. At the end, students should be able to define transpiration, explain climate effects on transpiration rates, and how transpiration rates affect the overall physiology of the plant itself, through their own hypothesis design and experimentation.

Human activities currently add about nine gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere yearly. Photosynthetic organisms on land and in the ocean absorb about five of those gigatons through the natural uptake of CO2, leaving to humans the task of dealing with the rest. But no matter how much carbon there is, capturing it and preventing it from reentering the atmosphere is an immense engineering challenge; even today's best technology is orders of magnitude less effective than photosynthesis at trapping atmospheric carbon.

China is engulfed in an extreme amount of pollution, and it's causing health problems for people living in this area! How can we help fight some of these diseases? Laci explains how broccoli could incredibly helpful when it comes to ridding the body of deadly toxins! Follow DNews on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dnews Follow Laci on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18  Read More: China's toxic air pollution resembles nuclear winter, say scientists http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014... "Air pollution now impeding photosynthesis and potentially wreaking havoc on country's food supply, experts warn."

Explore how ATP is made in 3 steps of aerobic cellular respiration with the Amoeba Sisters! This also compares this process to photosynthesis and introduces ATP structure. Most importantly, learn why all of this matters to you!

TeachEngineering.org is a collaborative project between faculty, students and teachers associated with five universities and the American Society for Engineering Education, with NSF National Science Digital Library funding. TeachEngineering.org is a searchable, web-based digital library collection populated with standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 teachers and engineering faculty to make applied science and math (engineering) come alive in K-12 settings. The TeachEngineering collection provides educators with *free* access to a growing curricular resource of multi-week units, lessons, activities and living labs. Initiated by the merging of K-12 engineering curricula created by four universities, the collection continues to grow and evolve over time with new additions from other universities, and input from teachers who use the curricula in their classrooms.

videos and animations for cellular processes

As weather warms up off the coast of France, blooms of plankton have once again begun to form, creating a beautiful, multicolored swirl visible from space.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the chloroplast in plants harnesses power from the Sun to form high energy molecules like glucose. The structure of a chloroplast as well as a brief discussion of the light reaction and Calvin cycle are included.

Teacher website with great worksheets and links

Collection of video animation/movies