Interviews with scientists – Drew Purves on computer modelling, ecology and climate change
This video introduces the concept of mathematical modelling in biology, and explains its uses in a clear and relevant context.
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.
This video clip from the BBC TV series Botany: A Blooming History looks at how geneticists in the early 20th century investigated the puzzle of the inheritance of characteristics.
In this practical activity, students use magnification to examine leaves showing symptoms of a common plant disease, and produce labelled drawings of the fungal spores....
In this activity, students act as detectives, piecing together information from the sources provided to identify common plant diseases, including the type of pathogen causing it, ways in which the...
This collection of 10 activities supports students in developing the key skills they need to carry out a successful EPQ.
...shows that plants slam their stomata shut against invading bacteria.But when and how did this complex ability evolve? In this 5 minute talk, Professor Alistair Hetherington of Bristol University discusses...
Watching gas bubble up from a pondweed as it photosynthesises can be a great demonstration or student practical. Our video demonstrates how best to use this protocol with your students in the lab, which species of pondweed can be used, how to care for pondweeds and a short explanation on the physiology that allows pondweed to bubble.
This practical activity aims to develop students' understanding of primary, secondary and tertiary structure of proteins through computer protein modelling....
This glossary includes definitions of horticultural and botanical words regularly used in our resources
Here you will find a selection of resources that have been carefully selected with your students in mind. The resources contain a mixture of videos, animations, practicals and some which are intended for learning outside where possible. Grouped by the anticipated age of the students, we have tried to be mindful of availability of equipment in order to undertake these activities.
In the lab, spider plants are a useful, cheap and reliable resource for investigating photosynthesis, asexual reproduction and the role of plant hormones, and great for stomatal peels