Photosynthesis and Respiration

This semester biology students started with a challenging unit on cellular energy. Photosynthesis and respiration were the main topics of this unit. For several class periods, students learned about the detailed process of how solar energy can be converted into chemical energy stored in glucose. Students then designed their own experiment to test how a particular factor would affect the rate of photosynthesis.


The most common factors chosen by students included intensity of light, amount of carbon dioxide present, temperature of water and the color of the light.  Each lab group decided how they would collect data, planned out their procedure, wrote a hypothesis, and began conducting their tests.  Just this week, students turned in a formal lab report that included an analysis of errors in their data, a conclusion explaining the scientific reasoning behind their results and improvements for next time.

Now we are finishing up the unit by asking the question, "How does the food we eat supply us with energy?"  The respiration process is a lengthy explanation to answer the question, but the students are doing a great job using abstract thinking, finding patterns, and making analogies to learn about how our cells transform energy.