Analyze overall reactions including reactants and products for photosynthesis and respiration and factors which affect their rates. (pH, temperature, light, etc.)  Conclude that energy production by organisms is vital for maintaining homeostasis and that maintenance of homeostasis is necessary for life. 

This lesson will discuss the process of respiration. We will also compare the similarities and differences between respiration and photosynthesis.

In this activity, students will learn that there is a finite amount of carbon on earth, which moves around in the environment, from one place to another.

Students are presented with a graph of atmospheric becomes CO² values from Mauna Loa Observatory, and are asked to explore the data by creating a trend line using the linear equation, and then use the equation to predict future becomes CO² levels. Students are asked to describe qualitatively what they have determined mathematically, and suggest reasons for the patterns they observe in the data. A clue to the reason for the data patterning can be deduced by students by following up this activity with the resource, Seasonal Vegetation Changes. The data graph and a student worksheet is included with this activity. This is an activity from Space Update, a collection of resources and activities provided to teach about Earth and space. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site.

In this lesson, students identify atoms as the smallest building block of matter and explain that atoms, in different combinations, form different materials. Students will also differentiate between photosynthesis and respiration.

This teaching guide provides background information and extension questions to accompany several Twig videos that deal with plants' energy and growth needs.

The three interactive resources in this collection clearly show students what occurs during the process of photosynthesis, including an exploration at the molecular level in the "Atomic Shuffle" interactive.

Students observe demonstrations, and build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect, the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming, and the implications of global warming theory for engineers, themselves and the Earth. In an associated literacy activity, students learn how a bill becomes law and research global warming legislation.

Looking for lichens is an activity that can be done almost anywhere. Students get to search for them in the playgrounds and schoolyards, and they can be used as an indicator of air quality.

Students will collect data on the quantity of sunlight penetrating different locations within the cloud forest and relate this data to the percentage of green plant growth observed. Students will also have an opportunity to study a light gap within the forest, comparing the information they previously gathered with this important site.

Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the atmosphere. With this understanding, students test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration by growing a plant from seed. They learn how plants play an important part in maintaining a balanced environment in which the living organisms of the Earth survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their evolving understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

Gases get into and out of the tree and to chloroplasts in the leaves of plants, the chemical reaction occuring at these chloroplasts and compare it to a chemical reaction model of photosynthesis.

What is needed for a plant to do photosynthesis and where does it occur?

This activity will review functions of glucose, cell division, mitosis, cytokinesis, cell wall, cell plate, cellulose, starch in plants.

This unit is under construction and should be ready by January 2019. Some of the materials for this unit will be taken from the former Unit 4 (Ecosystems Matter and Energy) but will also contain new material. Here is some of the source material that will be in the new unit when we get to it.

Visitors to this site can study a discussion of the need for computer modeling to examine the terrestrial biosphere. Emphasis is placed on integration of multiple measurements across varying scales of time and space into a single tool for visualizing a system, and its use in predicting future changes. Links to a glossary are embedded in the text.