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Photosynthesis and Biomass Growth U.S. DEPARTMENT OF Energy Efficiency & ENERGY EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ENERGY Renewable Energy Photosynthesis and Biomass Growth (Seven Activities) Grades: 9-12 Topic: Biomass Owner: National Renewable Energy Laboratory This educational material is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This lesson plan may contain links to other resources, including suggestions as to where to purchase materials. These links, product descriptions, and prices may change over time. Photosynthesis and Biomass Growth Science Content Standards: 5-8 For the Teacher Science As Inquiry - Content Standard A: Today, corn plants are being “Abilities necessary to do used to create a renewable energy source scientific inquiry” called ethanol. Ethanol is used in gas “Understandings about scientific tanks to power our cars and is one of the inquiry” leading alternatives to natural gas. We all Life Science know that Earth’s fossil fuel supply is – Content Standard C: finite, so fuels like ethanol provide an “Regulation and behavior” essential replacement for petroleum “Populations and ecosystems” products. Plant research is the starting “Diversity and adaptations of point for alternative fuel production. organisms” Throughout NREL’s Biofuels Program, Science and Technology scientists are uncovering ways to – Content Standard E: transform plant biomass into innovative “Abilities of technological and beneficial materials, such as fuel, design” plastic, and fiber. In addition, biomass “Understandings about science research is necessary for efficient food and technology” production and for understanding the Science in Personal and Social numerous other products that plants Perspectives provide. – Content Standard F: Introduce your students to the “Personal health” power of plants! Photosynthesis is “Populations, resources, and arguably the most important energy environments” transformation and is a fundamental “Natural hazards” concept for students of all ages. Projects “Risks and benefits” listed in this section should be used as an “Science and technology in exciting starting point for both classroom society” and science fair projects. Most of the Science Content Standards: 9-12 materials are easily obtainable at your Science As Inquiry local home or garden center. We - Content Standard A: encourage you to modify the experiments Abilities necessary to do scientific to fit your curriculum needs. inquiry” “Understandings about scientific National Science Education inquiry” Standards by the National Academy of Sciences 85 This lesson plan may contain links to other resources, including suggestions as to where to purchase materials. These links, product descriptions, and prices may change over time. Life Science When you breathe, your body - Content Standard C: uses oxygen (O2) and gives off carbon “Interdependence of organisms” dioxide (CO2). Since all animals “Matter, energy, and organization breathe in oxygen, why don’t we ever in living systems” run out? During photosynthesis, plants Science and Technology use carbon dioxide and release oxygen, so animals and plants have a – Content Standard E: “Abilities of technological design” symbiotic relationship; we rely on each other to survive! “Understandings about science and technology” Science in Personal and Social Photosynthesis Perspectives – Content Standard F: “Personal and community health” “Population growth” “Natural resources” “Environmental quality” Plants, trees and aquatic algae “Natural and human-induced all create energy (in the form of hazards” glucose) through photosynthesis. “Science and technology in local, Since people can’t make their own national, and global challenges” energy from the sun, we eat food instead. We can use the energy Technology Description stored in plants in other ways too! Scientists are interested in biomass Why are plant leaves green? How energy for things such as fuel for your do plants get the energy to live? Do car. Biomass can be found all over the plants “breathe”? All of these questions world and there is an endless supply can be answered with one idea, since it can keep growing! Things such photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a as corn stalks that are leftover from process where plants take the sun’s light harvesting, and forest brush that may energy and change it into glucose, a kind cause a fire hazard, can be converted of sugar. A green chemical in the in plant into fuels. These biomass fuels burn leaves, called chlorophyll, makes it all cleaner than gas or oil does, so it is happen and gives plants their green color. also safer for the environment. The only problem is that right now biomass fuels are not as economical (or cheap) as we would like. Scientists are trying to find ways to grow biomass where they can get the most energy with the lowest cost. Can you discover some ways in which we should grow biomass? Use the ideas below or come up with your own! 86 This lesson plan may contain links to other resources, including suggestions as to where to purchase materials. These links, product descriptions, and prices may change over time. Glucose: Sugar created in Resources: photosynthesis and the main energy source for our bodies. (C6H12O6) Arizona State University Photosynthesis Research Interdependence: Relying on each http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/ other. default.html Photosynthesis: “Putting together Department of Energy Biomass Site with light.” This process uses http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/ sunlight to create chemical energy (sugar) in plants and some Department of Agriculture Biofuel Site other organisms. http://ttic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index. php?info_center=6&tax_level=1&tax_subj Pigment: Coloring or dye. ect=318 Chlorophyll is a green pigment. State of Florida Agricultural Science Pollutants: Waste material that http://www.florida­ contaminates air, soil or water. agriculture.com/PlanetAg/ Symbiotic: Organisms mutually needing or helping each other. Vocabulary Variable: Something that is changed. Biomass: Plant material, vegetation, or Wetland: A lowland area, such as a agricultural waste used as a fuel or marsh or swamp that is saturated with energy source. moisture. Chlorophyll: Green pigment in the Chloroplast that aids in creating sugar (glucose) from sunlight. Projjectect Ideas Ideas Chromatography: A process used to separate mixtures by differences in 1 How do modern farming absorbency. techniques affect the growth of biomass? Control: A standard of comparison for checking or verifying the results of an Learning Objectives: The experiment. population of the Earth continues to grow about 7.4 million people a year, Ecosystem: Organisms and their and reached 6.3 billion people in 2003 environment functioning as a whole. (HTTP://WWW.CENSUS.GOV/). That is a lot of mouths to feed! With new advances in science and technology, 87 This lesson plan may contain links to other resources, including suggestions as to where to purchase materials. These links, product descriptions, and prices may change over time. we are able to create crops that are bigger and better through genetic Choose one or more of the alterations, pesticides, new fertilizers and following: synthetic (or fake) hormones. As the Plant hormone (Gibberellin: Sigma population of the world continues to $25.00) increase and farming area decreases, there is a widespread need for farmers to “Miracle Grow” (All purpose produce “miracle crops.” This project will fertilizer: Home Depot $4.00) help you discover and understand the benefits and problems that arise with crop Pesticides (Ortho Insect and modifications. Disease Control: Home Depot $14.00) Control and Variables: In this project, you will be selecting one or more modern Safety and Environment farming technique to look at more closely. Requirements: When using You can choose to do several, however materials such as insecticides and you must remember that you will need to hormones, gloves and safety glasses have a control setup so that you can should always be worn. Some plant compare your results to the control (the hormones, such as Gibberellin, are control would have no modifications). To poisonous, so they should not be used start, you will set up one growth chamber on food plants that will be eaten. (like an aquarium or large glass container) With all experiments, be sure to wash with several plants, using a modern hands thoroughly after application and farming technique. Set up another handling. growth chamber the same as the first, but do not add a modern farming technique. Suggestions: Since you will want to Then you can compare the two results. look for changes in growth, plants in You may also choose to do more the different growing chambers should than one modification, such as “how do be as similar as possible. You can use pesticides and hormones affect plant a scale to weigh biomass before and growth.” In this case, be sure to have a after the experiment. Regular control with no modifications, a control observations will identify other with just pesticide treatment and another changes as well, so a journal will help with just hormone treatment. This way to keep track of changes such as you can see what changes occurred when colors, leaf conditions, general they were separate and which ones only appearance and smell. occur when they are used together. Other Ideas: After you have looked Materials and Equipment: at the affects of a modern farming Growth Chambers (2 minimum) technique on your plant species, try a different species, such as a food plant Plants (3-4 per growth chamber) or a flowering plant. Are the effects the same as what you saw before? Scale 88 This lesson plan may contain links to other resources, including suggestions as to where to purchase materials. These links, product descriptions, and prices may change over time. How do aquatic plants react to the same pigments reflect or absorb the variable? wavelengths resulting in the wide There are also other ways to avoid variety of plant color. In this pests, such as biological controls. This is experiment, discover what happens when a predator of the pest is brought when plants are grown under various into the area to get rid of the problem.
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