Articles tagged as "14 -16 (KS4)"
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Spinach leaves are easily available all the year round, and make great resources for investigating photosynthesis and chromatography.
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Great plants for the lab, aspidistra make wonderful subjects for a range of classic investigations into photosynthesis.
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Dandelions are a valuable resource for the science lab, for topics including plant responses, gravitropism and, of course, ecology.
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Using Pelargoniums (Geraniums) in the Lab
Geraniums are often found in the school lab, but they're rarely used to their full potential as a scientific resource. Follow our guidance and care tips to ensure they flourish in your lab.
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Potatoes make a reliable and easy to obtain resource for key practicals such as investigating osmosis.
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Cauliflower is a useful resource in the classroom. This explores its classroom uses and how to grow it. Part of our 'Plants in the Classroom' sereis
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Diagrams showing parts of a plant and a flower
Download a powerpoint or an image showing labelled and unlabelled versions of a diagram showing parts of a plant, and a diagram showing parts of a flower
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Cauliflower Cloning - Tissue Culture and Micropropagation
'Cauliflower cloning' is an enjoyable way for students to see totipotency at work, and is now a key practical for GCSE specifications. This updated protocol, including technical instructions and a student sheet, is a reliable way to demonstrate this in the lab, with much less risk of contamination.
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Investigating Gravitropism with Dandelions
This experiment offers a simple, cheap and fun way to look at gravitropism over the course of a double lesson, using the strong gravitropic response of common dandelions.
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Investigations into eutrophication
This brief resource gives five starter ideas for students and classes who want to investigate eutrophication, with options including using duckweed, algae and other plants.
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Student Sheet 21 - Measuring the biomass of duckweed (Lemna minor)
A useful way to calculate the amount of duckweed in a pond or an aquarium.
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Video demo - How do nettles sting?
This video demo shows a quick and easy plant practical for your biology lab. Using Universal Indicator paper, students investigate the pH of nettle stings. This can easily be built up into a broader investigation, or used as a quick practical to introduce the topics of plant defences, adaptations and specialised cells.
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Floating garlic - growing roots
Here is a simple way of growing garlic roots for the root tip squash practical
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Diagram of a dissected flower with stamens and carpel, in this case a Brassica rapa (fast plant)
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The Structure of a Flowering Plant (Brassica rapa)
Diagram of a flowering plant, in this case a Brassica rapa ('fast plant') showing the root and shoot systems.
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A science garden: illustrating various topics in biology
Ideas for plants for a science garden to illustrate topics including genetic variation, hybridisation, plant evolution, chimeras and mutation.
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Investigating adaptation and defence - spines on holly leaves
Holly trees are well known for their spiny leaves. In this investigation focusing on adaptation and defence, students consider whether there is a relationship between the number of spines on a leaf and its height above the ground.
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Stomata control the movement of gases in and out of a leaf, making carbon dioxide available for photosynthesis, and controlling the loss of water from the leaf through transpiration. There are a number of ways to measure stomatal density, and the different techniques are explored here. These include using clear nail varnish, Germolene New Skin and water-based varnish.
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Student Sheet 24 - Microscale Investigations with Catalase
A simple yet accurate protocol looking at the results of the enzyme catalase, found in nearly all aerobic cells (animals, plants and microbes).
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Student Sheet 14 - Phosphatase Enzymes in Plants
A worksheet and accompanying teachers' notes looking at phosphatase enzymes extracted from germinating seeds.