Why do bananas fluoresce? An unexpected view of chlorophyll

As a banana ages, black spots appear on the skin. Shine ultraviolet light on them, and you will see an amazing fluorescent blue ring around each black spot. This is produced as the chlorophyll in the banana skin is broken down. This makes a fun and thought-provoking lesson starter for a topic on chlorophyll.

Can you beat the Giant Redwood? Investigating xylem

In this lively starter activity to introduce the topic of xylem, students are posed the question ‘Can you beat a Giant Redwood?’. Giant Redwoods can reach 100m tall and have to transport the water they absorb through their roots up through the trunk to the very top of the tree. How do they do this?

A-level set practicals collection

These brand new resources support the use of practicals across all A-level biology specifications (OCR, AQA and Edexcel).

Key Stage 3 Outline Scheme of Work

Plants and KS3 Science provides teachers with ideas and resources where ‘plants’ provide contexts for learning in some KS3 topics or parts of topics. And this doesn’t just mean the biology topics. Plants can provide intriguing contexts for learning chemistry and physics. These contexts include innovative applications of science, media coverage of science, and working with science and careers in science.

Biology animations - transport of water and sugar, respiration and photosynthesis and cell growth in plants

Animations on key topics in plant biology, including photosynthesis, xylem and phloem, and cell growth and division.

How to run a science journal club for A-level students

This resource introduces how to run a journal club for your A-level science students, together with a full list of appropriate open-access papers for your students to discuss. Great for stretching and challenging your students!

PlantPowerED 2014 - Science & Design Competition

The SAPS Summer Challenge 2014 asked students aged 14-19 to think about some of the challenges in everyday life – everything from flooded towns to charging up a smartphone in a desert - and to create an idea for an invention that could tackle them. The 'ideas and inspiration' section introduces some of the unexpected ways plants are being used by scientists and engineers today.

How healthy are your trees?

This activity is designed to get students thinking about plants as living organisms that have to survive, breed and defend themselves against disease. Students begin by cataloguing the health of trees in the area, and can then follow this with a statistical investigation.

CSI Trees - investigating plant pathogens

A sickly tree might not look like much of a crime scene, but the influx of pathogens on plants is causing increasing concern in the UK. In this resource, students take on the role of plant pathologists, asking questions to determine the cause of a tree's death.

Gravitropism at post-16 - the Role of Roots

This post-16 resource looks at root growth, with a focus on gravitropism. Using agar plates and white mustard seeds, students can visualise the development of roots, their root hair cells, observe the zones of elongation and differentiation and illustrates gravitropism very effectively in roots.

C4 rice - The science behind the poster

How can understanding photosynthesis help save thousands of lives every year? In this article, accompanying our poster on 'C4 Rice', we take a deeper look at the hidden aspects of photosynthesis and the work UK scientists are hoping might increase crop yields dramatically.

Epigenetics - The science behind the poster

How can understanding photosynthesis help save thousands of lives every year? In this article, accompanying our poster on 'C4 Rice', we take a deeper look at the hidden aspects of photosynthesis and the work UK scientists are hoping might increase crop yields dramatically.

Revising A-level Biology: Plants 'R' Mint

'Revising A-level Biology: Plants ‘r’ mint' is an innovative revision resource, designed to encourage synoptic thinking and to develop a broader understanding of biology in A2 students. Each of the four student revision packs brings together a range of topics in animal, human and plant biology, centred on a common theme. The revision packs are intended to stretch and challenge students.

Tackling tropisms: gravitropism and phototropism

This set of demonstrations into the effects of tropisms on seedlings is both simple and extendable. Seeds sown on damp cotton wool in (plastic) Petri dishes are grown either flat, or stuck vertically to a wall. Students enjoy the dramatic effect of sticking Petri dishes to the wall, and you will have well-grown seedlings within a week, showing the different effects of gravitropism and phototropism.

Tropisms - how do plants grow in space?

This short activity uses recently published research into plant behaviour, conducted on the International Space Station, to get your students thinking more about tropisms.

Photosynthesis Quiz: Test Your Knowledge!

This quiz about photosynthesis was designed to uncover various misconceptions that students often have, starting with GCSE level misconceptions and moving onto undergraduate level misconceptions.

Photosynthesis: testing a variegated leaf for starch

This resource tackles the learning objective “Only areas of the plant with chloroplasts can make starch in photosynthesis”. This is activity 11 in the ‘Photosynthesis: A Survival Guide’ scheme. Students carry out a starch test on a variegated leaf to demonstrate that only the parts containing chloroplasts are able to synthesise starch.

Sugar, starch or cellulose? What carbohydrates do plants make?

This resource tackles the learning objective ‘“Carbohydrates can be found in a range of plant organs”. This is activity 4 in the ‘Photosynthesis: A Survival Guide’ scheme. Pupils can test a variety of plant products for different sorts of carbohydrates, including glucose, starch and cellulose. These plant products can be fresh fruit and vegetables, but it is also interesting to test materials such as cotton wool and egg boxes, which contain a high proportion of cellulose. This is another good opportunity to get students engaged in practical work related to photosynthesis and will stretch their understanding of the carbohydrates.

Investigating photosynthesis and respiration using a carbon dioxide probe

This resource looks at photosynthesis and respiration through using a datalogger and carbon dioxide probe to measure amounts of carbon dioxide under different conditions. For schools with a carbon dioxide probe and a datalogger, this resource outlines a lesson plan making use of it to look at the different amounts of carbon dioxide detected as students enter the room, when a Bunsen burner is lit and when placed beside a plant in the dark or the light. For those without access to this equipment, the accompanying student sheet and Powerpoint gives an example graph that can be used for discussion and analysis.

Photosynthesis: what are chloroplasts?

In this resource, part of the 'Photosynthesis - A Survival Guide' scheme for 11-14 pupils, students investigate chloroplasts and starch production. Students observe chloroplasts directly under the microscope using a plant such as Elodea pondweed. Following this they take a thin section of potato tissue and stain it to show starch grains. Students then use their knowledge to hypothesise how variegated leaves might affect a plant’s growth.