1 / 24

Suck It Up! Understanding photosynthesis through quantitative analysis

Suck It Up! Understanding photosynthesis through quantitative analysis. Regional SI vignette by BIOLOGY-MATH GROUP Barbara Kunkel, John Majors, Eleanor Pardini Washington University in St. Louis Rachelle Spell and Lynn Zimmerman Emory University

barr
Download Presentation

Suck It Up! Understanding photosynthesis through quantitative analysis

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Suck It Up!Understanding photosynthesis through quantitative analysis Regional SI vignette by BIOLOGY-MATH GROUP Barbara Kunkel, John Majors, Eleanor Pardini Washington University in St. Louis Rachelle Spell and Lynn Zimmerman Emory University With thanks to our facilitator Peggy Brickman!

  2. Context • Introductory Biology, 100 freshmen • Background: Students will have already been exposed to • biomolecules (e.g. carbohydrates  cellulose). • cellular respiration • Basic graphing and data analysis skills (in/dependent variables, types of graphs, etc.)

  3. Overall Learning Goals • Quantitative literacy skills: Develop quantitative skills to interpret biological data • Biology content example = Photosynthesis: Apply relationship of carbon fixation and plant biomass to idea of forests serving as carbon sinks

  4. Quantitative Literacy Learning Objectives for Course • Perform simple manipulations of numerical data and express data in graphical form • Describe and interpret graphs • Use numerical evidence to formulate and test hypotheses • Present scientific arguments based on numerical evidence Speth et al. 2010 CBE-Life Science Ed.

  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbQAxYqC0JE&feature=related

  6. Clicker question A small acorn grows into a large oak tree. Where does most of the biomass (weight) of the oak tree come from? • From the natural growth of the tree • From carbon dioxide in the air and water in the soil • From water and nutrients that the tree absorbs through its roots • From sunlight that the tree uses for food

  7. Clicker question A small acorn grows into a large oak tree. Where does most of the biomass (weight) of the oak tree come from? • From the natural growth of the tree • From carbon dioxide in the air and water in the soil • From water and nutrients that the tree absorbs through its roots chosen by most HARVARD GRADUATES (see video on Blackboard) • From sunlight that the tree uses for food ✔ ✗

  8. Mini-lecture on photosynthesis 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + light energy  C6H12O6+ 6 H2O + 6 O2 Cellulose

  9. 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + light energy C6H12O6+ 6 H2O + 6 O2 How could you measure rate of photosynthesis?

  10. Amount of CO2 in chamber Before After

  11. 1. Talk with your group to decide what type of graph you should use for this data. In Class Graphing Activity

  12. Clicker question What type of graph would you use to display this data? Bar graph Pie chart Line graph Scatter plot

  13. Clicker question What type of graph would you use to display this data? Bar graph Pie chart Line graph Scatter plot BEST

  14. In Class Graphing Activity- 5 minutes 2. Label the axes. 3. Draw the graph.

  15. In Class Graphing Activity- Sample of Useful Graph Sample Group Graphs

  16. How do you describe the relationship? • As the CO2 level increases, photosynthetic rate increases • As the CO2 level increases, photosynthetic rate decreases • As the photosynthetic rate increases, the CO2 level increases • As the photosynthetic rate increases, the CO2 level decreases

  17. How do you describe the relationship? ✔ • As the CO2 level increases, photosynthetic rate increases • As the CO2 level increases, photosynthetic rate decreases • As the photosynthetic rate increases, the CO2 level increases • As the photosynthetic rate increases, the CO2 level decreases

  18. Homework: Keeling Curve

  19. Activities with Keeling Curve • Class activities or homework as needed for your course • Groups plot subsets (n=8) of atmospheric CO2 (Mauna Loa) over time • Trend lines, variance, sample size • Examine long term and seasonal trends in Mauna Loa data • Long term = fossil fuel; seasonal variation = photosynthesis • Examine trends at three sites: Mauna Loa Mauna Loa, Barrow, and South Pole. • Variation in amplitude of seasonal variation among sites with different amounts of vegetation

  20. Summative assessment – see handout 1. skill analysis2. content analysis

  21. Tips, tricks, and resources • Photosynthesis figures: Plant physiology textbook • Quantitative literacy problem sets: Intro statistics textbook • Personal carbon footprint calculator • http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm • Thinking like a scientist resources on Photosynthesis • BioDQC.org • Quantitative literacy resources at Project-based Applied Learning website (Brickman) • Pal.uga.org • Scripps CO2 Center • http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/ • CarbonDioxide Information Analysis Center • http://cdiac.ornl.gov/

  22. Homework: Keeling Curve • Charles David Keeling - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, from 1956 until his death in 2005. Charles David Keeling Manometer CO2 extractor

  23. Amount of CO2 in chamber Amount of CO2 in chamber Difference Time

More Related