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Extended project ideas: biology and biochemistry
When you're thinking about possible ideas for your extended project, the choice can seem overwhelming. We've put together a selection of ideas for topics to get you thinking, based on a research paper by a group of biologists and biochemists which identified a hundred important questions for research.
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Student Project - Medicinal plants and the inhibitory effects of conifers
This project starter is full of ideas to help you look at the medical effects of plant extracts, suitable for advanced higher biology investigations and extended project qualifications. An extract from the bark of Yew trees is used in the treatment of cancer as it has an inhibitory effect on cancer cell growth. Other conifers contain nti-bacterial agents which may be effective against MRSA.
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Student Projects - Environmental investigations and testing toxicity
Duckweeds look like simple plants: small, green, and with no flowers. But this simplicity makes them ideal experimental organisms for labs, or for your own investigations. Using duckweeds, you can investigate a variety of environmental topics, including pollution, competition, and many more. This project starter contains ideas for investigating autolysis, suitable for Advanced Higher biology investigations or extended projects.
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Student Project - Enzymes and their activity . . . in fruits and vegetables
Have you cut open a freshly picked apple (or newly dug potato) and seen how quickly it goes brown? Then compare this with an apple or potato stored for several weeks. Which do you think goes brown more quickly? In the process of ripening, followed by senescence or spoilage, the activity of a range of different enzymes may change and indeed may be different in different fruits or vegetables. This offers possibilities for a wide range of enzyme-based investigations, suitable for AH investigations or extended projects.
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Student Project - Colour changes during ripening of fruits and vegetables
What makes unripe fruit green? And what health benefits might yellow fruit have compared to green fruit?
This project starter is full of ideas to help you look at the changes in pigments present during the ripening process, and consider the benefits of these pigments in the diet, suitable for advanced higher biology investigations and extended project qualifications.
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Student Project - Ethene: a Plant Growth Substance with the Key to Ripening
Have you thought why a ripe banana can speed up the ripening process when placed amongst some green tomatoes? What is the invisible signal that passes between these fruits? This project starter contains ideas for practical investigations suitable for Advanced Higher Biology investigations and extended projects.
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Student Project - Medical Matters: Investigating Fungal Inhibition
A variety of fungi are found living within the human body as part of the natural fauna. In recent years there has been an increase in the incidents of fungal infections and in the last 2 decades the number of patients with deadly fungal diseases has increased exponentially. This project starter contains ideas and examples for looking at fungal inhibition, suitable for Advanced Higher Biology investigations and extended projects.
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Student Project - Food Waste: Catechol Oxidase Activity in Fruits and Vegetables
What are the mechanisms behind bruising and browning of fruit, and how does it protect damaged plants against both bacterial and fungal disease? Making sure that food reaches the consumer in good condition is both big business and an environmental issue. In this project starter for Advanced Higher Biology Investigations and extended projects, you’ll investigate the enzyme activity in plant tissues.
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Student Projects - Investigations with Plants
Stuck for ideas for your extended project or investigation? Here are some ideas. Get into the habit of asking yourself some simple questions about your observations of the biology of the plants around you. It is quite likely that, sooner or later, one of your questions will turn into a good project.
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Student Project - Medical Matters: Investigating Antimicrobials
How many times do you see a product claiming to be antibacterial, antifungal or both? This project starter is full of ideas for Advanced Higher Biology investigations and Extended Projects, explaining how to go about testing the validity of these claims, and ideas for possible project titles.
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Student Project - Sweet or Sour
Fruits evolved as a means of dispersing the offspring of the plant (the seeds) well away from the parent plant, by tempting animals to eat the fruit. Sweetness and sourness is key to making sure that the fruit is eaten by the animals only when the seeds are ripe. This project starter includes ideas for Advanced Higher Biology investigations and extended projects on the levels of sweetness and sourness in fruit.
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Student Projects - Feeding a growing planet: respiration and ripening
Have you thought about respiratory activity in fruits and vegetables after they have been harvested? This project starter looks at a variety of ways in which you can study the metabolic rate of plant tissues such as fruit and vegetables. Suitable for AH investigations or extended projects.
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