Practical work to deliver ‘How science works’

1. Practical work to deliver ‘How science works’ SAPS (Science and Plants for Schools)

2. Why are we here? • There are many positive changes to the new KS4 curriculum

3. Changes to KS4 There is an emphasis on scientific literacy Pupils should get better at distinguishing between opinion based on scientific evidence and opinion based on non scientific ideas – they should be increasingly able to question the reports they see in the media.. They should learn about the applications of scientific knowledge and how these have changed over time and they should develop a greater understanding of the social, economic and ethical implications of certain decisions

4. Slight worry.. Many of the texts and resource materials being published for the new specifications do not emphasise practical work Lots of good activities and exercises but many rely only on secondary data or analysing articles from the media And yet if we look at the statements in the ‘how science works’ section……

5. Data, evidence, theories and explanations 1a. How scientific data can be collected and analysed. 1b. How interpretation of data, using creative thought, provides evidence to test ideas and develop theories. 1c. How explanations of many phenomena can be developed using scientific theories, models and ideas. 1d. That there are some questions that science cannot currently answer, and some that science cannot address.

6. Practical and enquiry skills 2a. Plan to test a scientific idea, answer a scientific question or solve a scientific problem. 2b. Collect data from primary or secondary sources, including using ICT sources and tools. 2c. Work accurately and safely, individually and with others, when collecting first hand data. 2d. Evaluate methods of collection of data and consider their validity and reliability as evidence.

7. Communication skills 3a. Recall, analyse, interpret, apply and question scientific information or ideas. 3b. Use both qualitative and quantitative approaches 3c. Present information, develop and argument and draw a conclusion, using scientific, technical and mathematical language, conventions and symbols and ICT tools.

8. Applications and implications of science 4a. About the use of contemporary scientific and technological developments and their benefits, drawbacks and risks. 4b. To consider how and why decisions about science and technology are made, including those that raise ethical issues, and about the social, economic and environmental effects of such decisions. 4c. How uncertainties in scientific knowledge and scientific ideas change over time and about the role of the scientific community in validating these changes.

9. Our view is .. • The best way to encourage this is to do real investigative science • To help students to become genuinely curious by… setting investigatory work in a context and providing stimulus material to get them to generate their own questions

10. Tissue culture 4a Hydroponics 3abc4a Growth 1ab 2bcd Natural selection 1c3abc Photosynthesis 1b4c Inter/intra specific competition 3abc Pods/seeds 2bcd Variation TLC Productivity 1b2bcd3abc Crops e.g. carrots, sugar cane, rice, wheat, beans, rcbr, lettuce, tomatoes 2a Crop variation – length, girth, mass (1a2bcd) and flavour (3b) carotene Genetics 1c Nutrients 3bc4b Evolution (wild types) 1c Graph work 1b,2bcd Efficiency and waste 3abc4 Protein, carbohydrates G.M crops 1cd, 3c4abc Commercial varieties 1d Selective breeding 3abc Ethics 3c Species hybridisation Food miles 4b Supermarket selection 4bc Customer choice 4bc Farming 3ac organic intensive insecticides Fertilisers 1ab2bcd Effect of human activity on the environment

11. Hydroponics 4a Germination of plants 1a 1b 1c 1d 2a,2b,2c,2d 3a,3b,3c Seed viability Effects of human activity on the environment 8a Variation and natural Selection 5b Contemporary science Genetic modification Ethical issues 4a Selective breeding

12. Copper pollution from medieval mine -potential health threat… Slag heap from copper mine. Storm – washed onto land – reduction in yield – some plants dying. Scientists say "The drainage waters are more acidic than vinegar, with pH values around 2, and carry large loads of metals, including copper, zinc, and iron.”.

13. Questions generated by pupils • Does copper affect germination? • Does copper affect growth? • Are some plants more tolerant of copper than others? • What minerals do plants need to be healthy? • Do plants grow better with more minerals? • How do some plants grow in poor soils?

14. Generating primary data • Set up your own dish with white mustard seeds.

18. Generating primary data • Collect the ‘ones we did earlier’ What observations/measurements could you make?

21. Collecting primary data

23. Comparison of seed germination rates

26. Using secondary data

30. A leading UK Plant Scientist says “plants need minute quantities of copper because some oxidase type of enzymes require copper to function, and because copper is involved in electron transfer during photosynthesis. However, amounts in excess of 30 parts per million are usually toxic. Root growth is impaired as the copper binds to cell membranes, damaging them” Full article available to read OLD SCIENTIST Volume 1, Issue 1 4th December 2006 Copper not so harmful

31. macnair_cu.ppt (This link may need adjusting if you have downloaded this presentation to a different directory/folder)

32. Hydroponics 4a Growth of plants The need for minerals 2a,2b,2c,2d 3a,3b,3c Nitrogen cycle Effects of human activity on the environment 8a

33. Vetch mulch fetches more veggies? • The way a tomato plant grows depends on how a farmer mulches and fertilizes it,” say researchers from the Department of Agriculture.

34. Hydroponics prompt article

35. any1_here_eaten_lettuce.ppt (This link may need adjusting if you have downloaded this presentation to a different directory/folder)

36. Questions generated by pupils • Is the nitrogen or the potassium more important to the growth of the plant? • Are all parts of the plant affected equally? • What minerals do plants need to be healthy? • Do plants grow better with more minerals? • How do some plants grow in poor soils? • How do plants grow without soil?

37. Students are provided with some equipment and seeds to investigate aspects of this for themselves. Mineral solutions lacking particular essential elements can be used to grow seedlings in. Mung beans and wheat have both generated good data. Students plan an investigation which they can set up next lesson

38. Skills • Fine manipulation of seed transfer • Observational skills (qualitative data is as important as quantitative) • Develop ideas to explain their observations.

39. Complete v minus K

41. Results • Decide how to record your data.

44. Volume 1 Issue 2 11th December 2006 11th December 2006 “Scientists have known of the necessity of minerals for healthy plant growth for over 200 years. In the middle of the 19th century, three German workers (Pfeffer, von Sachs and Knop) realised how difficult it was to determine the kinds and amounts of minerals that plants need. They therefore grew plants in solutions containing mineral salts. It was then relatively easy to vary the minerals both qualitatively and quantitatively to see which were important. This became known as soil-less culture or hydroponics. Even today, plant scientists are adding to the list of nutrients required (it was only as recently as the early 1990s that Nickel was added to the list)”. Full article available  OLD SCIENTIST HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS FOR EFFICIENT PLANT GROWTH

45. Hydroponics 4a Insectivorous plants 5a Growth of plants The need for minerals 2a,2b,2c,2d 3a,3b,3c Nitrogen cycle Changes in farming practice – Organic and inorganic fertiliser. Increasing mechanisation Social, economic and environmental Implications 4c Consumer choice.. Is organic best ? Ugly fruit 4b Effects of human activity on the environment 8a Eutrophication Blue baby syndrome 4b Food miles. Effect on the environment Should we eat strawberries all year round? 4b Contemporary science Genetic modification Ethical issues 4a

46. food_miles_case_study.ppt (This link may need adjusting if you have downloaded this presentation to a different directory/folder)

47. Spectacular orchids double due to global warming …. Both the bee orchid and the pyramidal orchid have virtually doubled in frequency since 1987, according to a new survey carried out by the BSBI …. From: THE INDEPENDENT Monday 24th April 2006

48. Warmer Britain will grow sunflowers, sweetcorn and teaby Juliette JowitSunday September 11, 2005The Observer • Scientists predict that climate change, which is largely blamed on global warming, will lead to hotter summers and wetter winters. Such changes are already credited with making possible crops such as apricots, almonds and tea in southern England. Milder weather has encouraged 300 vineyards, and talk of a French champagne house crossing the Channel.

49. Is it possible that the extra CO2 associated with global warming will be absorbed by plants? • Look at the rate of photosynthesis at different concentrations of carbon dioxide

50. Skills • Measuring the rate of photosynthesis using bubbling rates • Collecting the oxygen and using a variety of micro manipulation techniques to measure the volume produced