Using Broad Beans in the Lab
Quick and reliable to germinate in the lab, broad beans are a member of the pea and bean family, the Fabaceae, and so an excellent example for topics including mutualism and nitrogen fixation
Quick and reliable to germinate in the lab, broad beans are a member of the pea and bean family, the Fabaceae, and so an excellent example for topics including mutualism and nitrogen fixation
Hints and tips for using our resources with primary age pupils.
Commelina communis seeds are no longer commercially available. This resource is now archived on the STEM Learning site....
This resource provides guidance for teachers on composting and recycling in schools as well as ideas for pupil activities....
Can understanding photosynthesis help save thousands of lives a year?This poster and accompanying article introduce C3 and C4 photosynthesis in the context of food security and genetic modification.
In this lively starter activity to introduce the topic of xylem, students are posed the question ‘Can you beat a Giant Redwood?’. Pupils are set the challenge to play the role of xylem in a tree, and see how far they can suck water up a straw.
African Violets (Saintpaulia) are cheap, easy to get hold of, and are excellent plants for investigating specialised plant cells using a microscope.
Use large discarded plastic drinks bottles and turn them into a compost column and see what happens to waste materials during the composting process...
These suggestions for investigations help link your school garden to different topics in the curriculum.
This video introduces the concept of mathematical modelling in biology, and explains its uses in a clear and relevant context.
A summary of methods for measuring the rate of photosynthesis.
Much more than just the ‘starch test plant’, geraniums can be used for a wide variety of topics from adaptation to pollen tube growth.
This group of activities for 11-14 students is about what plants need to grow healthily, addressing ideas in biology, chemistry and physics.
This practical is designed to be used as the opening lesson of the transport in plants section of the A level specification. It aims to engage the students in an investigation-based introduction to this topic rather than one based on content. The simple investigation will ask, “What happens to the surface temperature of leaves if petroleum jelly is applied to their lower surfaces?”
Students conduct Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) individually or in pairs to separate and identify the photosynthetic pigments from plant material within half an hour.
These resources for post-16 students introduce evolutionary relationships and phylogenetic trees, putting it in the context of modern drug discovery.
An ecosystem that will run for months on a warm, sunny windowsill: a shrimp-world using Artemia, the Californian brine shrimp.
This video clip from the BBC looks at how commercial growers manipulate the limiting factors of photosynthesis to increase crop yield....
This activity involves practical observations and comparing habitats....
This article describes how quadrats can be used to help pupils at lower secondary level estimate the relative abundance of plant species.
In this activity, perfect for STEM science clubs, students investigate what causes a Venus' Fly Trap to shut its trap.
...
This simple potometer allows students to work individually or in pairs to measure the rate of transpiration of a plant specimen within a one hour lesson. Assembled using low cost parts the apparatus offers an affordable potometer for all your students, giving them a chance to record water loss at regular intervals and an opportunity to investigate the effect of different abiotic factors on the rate of transpiration.
In this practical, students will prepare and observe dividing cells from the meristems of actively growing garlic root tips.